Something with Mushrooms

I am trying to do these meal things, and with each one show something that can be adapted to other food items.  For example, that foil container could be used to cook other types of fish if one were so inclined. Just after you've gotten comfortable with how done your fish should look, check it and see if the cooking time varies, but it won't be by much. 

This time, we'll do some sautee-ing, but we'll also do some roasting. To keep the rest simple, we'll just make a salad to go along with it. That will also let us do a quick dressing, which can be made whenever you have a a spare moment, and can be easily tweaked to suit your mood. 

So, this mushroom business...At first I didn't want to tell you to just sautee a bunch of mushrooms. Then I started to think that you could adapt them several different ways---try to keep in mind that these mushrooms don't have to be eaten by themselves. You could eat them like a steak. You could combine them with bell pepper and onion to be the foundation of a burrito (or bowl, as it were). You could also mix multiple varieties, and with minor adjustments, serve them over a risotto or noodles. 

Think about it like the Beatles. Sometimes John sang, sometimes Paul sang. Sometimes they traded off different instruments like a flexible web of combinations. Depending on the goal, you can use the same four ingredients in nearly infinite variety. Hell, you could even add some Yoko if you want. Just sayin'. 

Your key ingredients will be olive oil, red potatoes, portobello mushroom, a little red wine vinegar (or some fresh lemon juice), and some spring mix. For seasoning, you will need salt and pepper, thyme, parsley, and garlic powder. Make sure you have a good chopping knife, or you will NOT be a very happy camper.

Thing one will be to preheat your oven, 375 is usually a reliable medium temperature. You can leave the skins on your potatoes--they will crisp nicely and add some texture + nutrient value. While the oven is heating, chop your potatoes. You can season them in a bowl or go straight to the pan (which I often do, one less frakking dish to wash). For the pan, it can be glass or aluminum or whatever. You just want it to be big enough so your potates aren't all crowded and laying on top of each other. That will increase your cooking time too much. 

With your olive oil, you're going to drizzle it on like this: 

It's a funky gesture, and it's kindof dependent on you keeping the bottle in motion. Then sprinkle two three finger pinches of salt from up high. Shake out some garlic powder, thyme, and (somewhat less of this) parsley. Keep in mind while you're doing this, you're about to toss the potatoes to distribute these goods. So it's going to look like a little bit more than you want at first, and then come out just right. The picture below is on the light side. 

These aren't red potatoes, but you get the idea. 

While those are in the oven (~25-30 mins), we shall do other things. Now would be a good time to do the salad business, because it's not as if it's going to get hot or cold. I like to dump however much spring mix I want into a really big bowl, grind some fresh pepper over it (think ~5 turns? Adjust as needed), sprinkle a small  amount of your chosen acid (lemon or vinegar), and finally drizzle a small amount of olive oil. Toss to distribute. Tadar!

Now, we're going to do mushrooms. I'm just describing this with 'bellas, but you could use a combination here, too. Just make sure when you're slicing they're roughly the same thickness, or it will screw with the cooking time. The other important thing is not unlike the potatoes: make sure that they have enough space in the pan. If they're too close together, the moisture won't evaporate quickly enough, and they will not brown properly. They might taste ok, but they won't have the carmelized surface that you  really want.  You can also add a small amount of garlic and/or onion, which would add some texture and sorta complete the flavor profile. I tend to think of it like a harmony, with the other flavors as supporting notes. 

This whole mushroom business should take ~13 mins, and you really don't have to be super nitpicky about stirring it, because it is going to need to be almost sticking to the pan. You'll probably be able to smell when the magic happens. If you can, it will mean you don't have to keep staring at them. But either way, peek in on your potates at some point. They should wind up being finished about the same time. 

However, if your potatoes get done before the mushrooms, just turn off the oven and crack the door. They'll stay warm in there. If your mushrooms get done before the potatoes, turn off the burner and throw some tinfoil on top. When you're all set, maow down :-)

Surrendering Summer

I had been back from the beach for a few days...In fact, I hadn't even been at the beach very long. About two days, including one scalding sunburn, several large cigars, and much much booze. I came home a salty pickled lobster, still basking in the afterglow. I was unpacking and pulled out this shirt, which sent a tiny breeze of ocean and sand scent through the room. I was loathe to put it away, hanging it  up on my closet door, pretending that the intensity of that remembrance wouldn't fade.

Sometime before that, I had planted carrots and leeks. The carrots look slightly like cilantro leaves, but they seem to be doing much better than my cilantro ever did. I know that's a sad admission, but I think I overwatered them..or perhaps they were missing something from the soil. Anyhow, these little leeks are slow growers, but it seems they are trucking along. I should plant many, many more of them, but I don't know if I will have time. 

I don't want to quite admit that a new part of my life is about to start. I am kinda, really, scared. I keep thinking that if I hadn't been so foolish or wasteful; if I had just been a little smarter with my money, a little better at managing my time...I would be in a much better spot. But I suppose all of that doesn't really matter now, and I can't keep dwelling on it.

It's like this house I live in: It's good in that it is my space, I have spread out all over it. I have painted some, and made music, and food. I have shared it with other people and leavened much time with humor and conversation. Yet it is never clean enough, I can never fix it up to my satisfaction or even feel like something more than crazy teenagers live in it. It is peeling and on a slant and I am constantly evicting spiders from every corner. But it just is.  I have to accept that, for now, and stop wasting energy fighting what really isn't going to matter in the long run. Sigh.