Mushrooms La Jawab Appetizer

How are you celebrating National Mushroom Month? 

Here are a couple of fun facts about Mushrooms. According to a Food & Wine article: from 2019 to 2020, Pennsylvania sold 526 million pounds of mushrooms; that's 2/3 of the total amount sold in the United States. That's a lot of mushrooms! 😮

I also watched this interesting documentary called Intelligent Trees, which talked about the symbiotic relationship between mushrooms and trees. Both benefit from this relationship. The mushroom or fungus colonizes the tree's root tissues, improving the tree's moisture and nutrient absorption. In return, the tree provides the fungus carbs produced through photosynthesis. That's was really cool!  

Do you know some fun facts about mushrooms? Share with us. 

How many mushrooms can you name?  How many mushroom varieties have you consumed? I know a few and have eaten the following: cremini, shiitake, portobello, baby Bella, white button, black Truffle, and Enoki. 

We use baby Bella and white button mushrooms most often in our cooking, like when we make omelets, stuffed bell peppers, soups, as well grilled vegetables. They are more readily available as well. 

Check out our recipe for Tandoori mushrooms below that is made with a few ingredients and it's easy to make. 

Ingredients

• 6 to 7 oz or 10 to 15 white button mushrooms, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 tbsp Tandoori Paste (we used Deep brand)
• 1 tsp plain yogurt (or as needed)
• 1½ tbsp Vegetable oil
• few sprigs of cilantro/coriander or basil (for garnish)

Procedure

1) Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel, and then chop them into half as needed; you can leave the small ones as is.

2) Add the tandoori paste to a bowl and mix in the yogurt to loosen it. Next, add the mushrooms into the bowl and toss with a spoon to coat the marinate well. Leave it in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours for the marinade to soak in. 

3) In a non-stick pan (saute pan or saucepan) heat oil on medium heat and when it's hot, add the mushrooms and mix well to coat with oil. 

Pan roast the mushrooms with a half-closed lid for a few minutes mixing intermittently. Remove the lid and allow the mushrooms to carmelize for 2 to 3 minutes or until oil is seen on the edges. The whole roasting and sauteing will take roughly about 7 to 8 minutes. 

4) Transfer the mushrooms to the serving plate, and garnish with fresh coriander or basil. You can serve this appetizer with any type of drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic). 

We hope you try our recipe for this yummy appetizer and share your feedback with us by leaving a comment below. We love hearing from our readers. If you love mushroom dishes, check out Mushroom and Bell Pepper Szechuan Stir Fry and Mushroom and Bell Pepper Medley. 

All-in-One Cheesy Pepper Cups

Although I started my vegetable garden later than expected this year, I managed to grow some delicious vegetables like sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, and herbs. 

One of my favorite ways to cook sweet bell peppers (red, orange, and yellow-colored ones) is by stuffing and then baking them. The flesh gets soft when you grill or char it and then you can stuff it with whatever you want. 

I've made this dish several times but never wrote the recipe down. My mom nudged me to share it since I'm always at her back to write all of her recipes so I can make them at my leisure. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. 

Ingredients

• 3 Bell peppers (red, orange, and/or yellow can be used) 
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 10 oz mushrooms (Baby Bell or white button mushrooms), chopped
• 1 tomato (vine or plum variety), finely chopped
• 8 oz fresh spinach* leaves
• 1/2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp salt (adjust salt as per your taste)
• 1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup cooked rice* (plain or brown)
• 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese (or mozzarella cheese)

Instructions

• Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add ginger-garlic paste and onions. Saute them until the onions are translucent, and then add garam masala, turmeric powder, and chili powder. Mix well. 

• Reduce the heat to low-medium and add mushrooms. Cover with lid and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until mushrooms reduce in size. Remove the lid and add tomato and salt and cook for a few more minutes. Next, add spinach and cook uncovered until the leaves are wilted and the mixture is not as watery. 

• Lastly, add the cooked rice or your favorite carb like quinoa or brown rice. Mix well and remove from heat. 

• Chop the bell peppers in half so you end up with 6 halves (or cups) so they can be stuffed. Then place them on a dinner plate, season each pepper cup with a little salt, and microwave them for 4 to 5 minutes. Let them cool down. 

• Grill/char the halves on a griddle or flat pan to your liking. Transfer the pepper cups to the desired baking sheet/dish safe to use in the oven. Sprinkle cheese into each of the grilled pepper cups. 

• Scoop about 1/3 cup of stuffing into each pepper cup. You can stuff as much as you want. 

• Sprinkle the top of each stuffed pepper with more cheese. 

• Preheat oven to 350 °F and bake peppers for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

• The stuffed peppers are ready to be served. I can easily eat one to two pepper halves for lunch or dinner. 

Quick Tips

1. Frozen spinach can be used but make sure that you pick up frozen spinach leaves. 
2. You can substitute with quinoa as well. 
3. You can make the stuffing, while you are preparing the bell peppers.  
4. I sometimes add some cheese to the stuffing to hold it together. 

I like using red, orange, and yellow bell peppers because they have a sweeter flavor than the green ones. Add some cooked lentils or legumes to increase the nutritional value of this recipe. I like making this dish because it is heart-healthy and you can use up whatever vegetables and/or rice you have on hand for the stuffing. 

Please feel free to share your comments about this recipe. Let us know if you end up making it or have any questions. 🙏

🎊🎉🎇 Happy Holidays 🎇🎉🎊

~Funky Fast Fungi~

A Mushroom walks into a bar to get a drink. He walks up to the bar area and asks the bartender, "Can I have a drink?" The bartender looks down and says "We only serve people".  So then the mushroom responds, "But I'm a Fungi" (as in Fun guy). 

My Biology teacher shared this joke with the class the first day of the class to start off with a laugh. Until this day I still remember it and it cracks me up every single time. 

Anyways, let's get down to cooking. My mom came up with this recipe post Thanksgiving weekend. We had a lot of vegetables leftover from the holiday grocery shopping trip. So she thought, what better way to use them up but to create a whole new recipe:

Mushroom and Bell Pepper Medley Ingredients:
Serving Size: 4 to 6

- 1 lb of White button mushrooms, chopped

- 3 Green bell peppers,  remove seeds chop into cubes

- 1 medium Red Onion, chopped into cubes

- ½ cup (frozen) of Carrot and Peas

- 1-1 ½ tbsp of MTR Vangeebath powder

- 2-3 tbsp of Vegetable oil

- 2 tbsp of Dry Grated Coconut 

- 1 tsp each of Mustard and Jeera seeds

- ½ tsp of Turmeric powder

Procedure:

1) In a saucepan heat oil and add mustard and jeera seeds. When they splatter, add turmeric powder, chopped onions, mushrooms & bell pepper.

2) Add salt and Vangeebath powder and mix well. Cook the vegetables till soft & firm.

3) Then add frozen peas & carrots. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Next, sprinkle coconut powder and mix well.

Finished Mushroom & Bell Pepper Medley

4) The curry can be served with hot rotis, rice or eaten by itself.