Food
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Thursday, October 9, 2014
On one of our hikes, I looked over and spotted a pot of gold in the
woods! Not really, but it may as well have been. The gold we found was
chicken of the woods mushrooms, growing in the woods, right there in
front of our faces. Now, we're not mushroom foragers and usually don't pick things out of
the forest we don't know, but these mushrooms are easily identifiable.
We checked with local intelligent people and the internet to confirm
that they were in fact what we though. We grabbed as many as we could
and took them home, not believing that we just gotten a ton of free
food.
Chicken of the woods mushrooms are called that
because they have the texture of chicken and tastes like mushrooms, a
vegetarian delight. Immediately the wheels in our culinary minds begin
spinning as we conceptualize the many dishes we can make. We decide to
create dishes from around the world and pay homage to specific countries
and their cuisine.
We came up with more dishes than we
made, but we felt that we should quit while we were ahead,not overdo
the mushroom thing even though I don't think that's possible since all
of the dishes taste so different.
We started with a local dish, an homage to where we live, right here in beautiful Maine.
Pan
seared scallops with braised chicken of the woods mushrooms and roasted
kale. Every element of this dish is local which is the way we should
all be eating.
Chicken
"of the woods" salad sandwich with pea shoots, caramelized onions, and
homemade potato chips. This is our take on an American classic. The
mushrooms have an amazing texture that mimics actual chicken meat. Pea
shoots are an underutilized accompaniment which add a delicate freshness
to the sandwich.
"Spaghetti
and meatballs". Ground chicken of the woods mushroom meatballs with
spaghetti squash, pumpkin seeds, and shaved pecorino. The key to this
dish is grinding the mushrooms in a food processor. Substitute this for
the meat you would put in a meatball recipe. We seared the meatballs to
get a nice crust and then slowly cooked the them in a spicy tomato
sauce. The spaghetti is simply made by roasting the squash and then
pulling the insides out with a fork. It comes out looking like perfect
angel hair pasta.
BBQ chicken of the woods mushrooms with local organic Heiwa tofu,
roasted corn, cheddar, and red onion. The BBQ sauce was made with
roasted cherry tomatoes and local honey instead of corn syrup ridden
ketchup. There is no reason to use a pre-made shitty product when you
can easily make it yourself. This dish was so delicious it made us cry.
Chicken
of the woods mushrooms with mole, homemade queso fresco and pickled red
onion on a homemade flour tortilla. The original photo has some other
elements, but we ate it too quick to even take a photo first. Homemade
mole takes a bit of work, but it's well worth it. Flour tortillas are
very easy to pull off, even at home, and it's a shock that ALL Mexican
restaurants don't make their own. Store bought tortillas almost always
taste of preservatives and never taste fresh.
It
was a great experience working with these mushrooms to create dishes
that were tasty, healthy, and local. You never know what you're going to
find in the woods that you can eat. **Kids, don't try this at home...or
do.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
We are so fortunate to live in a place where there is a ton
of fresh, delicious produce for us to play with. It also doesn't hurt that one
of us is a trained culinary chef (and it's not me!). We love to make food and
eat together looking out our window at the ocean, which is a block away. Today,
we feasted!
First, we made a quinoa salad with local corn, carrots, and
mint. Everything is local and organic and you can certainly taste it. The mint
is from right outside our door.
Organic kale and local yellowfoot mushrooms
Lobsters from 1 block away!
The Maine meal! 2 -
1 1/4 lobsters steamed to perfection
When you put it all together with a nice glass of rose it
feels like a 5 star meal. Beautiful view, check Delicious food, check. Great
company, check. Huge price tag, NOT. This = Happiness.
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