Mushrooms Mysteries

Who knew they could be so fascinating ?

Incredible Exotic Mushrooms, Honey and Vanilla

The bi-annual ag tour conference took us to the organic raw honey company - Volcano Island Honey (run by proud card carrying old hippie attorney who escaped to Hawaii), the pristine mushroom farm, Hamakua Mushrooms, and the high mountain vanilla cafe at Hawaii Vanilla. Check out how they grow the mushrooms - in clean sterilized wood chip base - not dirt/manure/chemicals (we learned). At the vanilla place they served us lunch and my meal (the only vegetarian I think) was a dish of the incredible Ali'i Mushrooms from the Hamakua Farm. WOW - these are all about eating the stem, not just the cap, and the stems are solid, meaty in texture (dare I say?) and a really tasty - complex flavor.


Everything in the meal had a little bit of vanilla somewhere in it - the raisins in the mushroom stir fry ( with onions garlice kabota squash and parsely), the foccacia appetizer, the ice cream dessert, and even the final coffee.


Much to my surprise, one of the trip highlights was that I ended up at the back of the line at the mushroom farm and scored all of the samples. That is them on the green plate - the lighter big ones are the Ali'i, the strange ruffled red ones are an endemic Hawaiian they are just getting ready to start selling. I've done a few stirfrys with them - one mixed into a re-heated eggplant parmesan that was excellent.





And I am new to the idea that mushrooms are not a 'plant' ! Did you know that ? Certainly not an animal or a mineral, so what ARE they ?

(brings to mind some old children's rhyme about the 'fungus amongus ;)

Polenta Stuffed Peppers

We ate these sliced and fried with black beans, creamed kale, pineapple-ginger salsa, and a garnish of cilantro and green onions.

6 bell peppers (preferably a combination of red, green, and yellow)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
6 cloves garlic, diced
5 c broth
1 t salt
1 1/2 c polenta
1 c soy milk
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
2 T nutritional yeast
2 t paprika

Pre-heat oven to 375F.
Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs.
Stand peppers upright in a glass baking dish.
Saute onion in a little oil until translucent.
Add garlic, cook for one minute.
Add broth and salt, bring to a boil.
Slowly add polenta, whisking it in as you pour it.
Stir in soy milk, cilantro, and seasonings.
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 12 minutes. Polenta should become thick.
Pour polenta mixture into peppers.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until peppers are cooked.
Serve hot, whole or sliced into circles. Alternatively, cool, slice into thick circles and fry in olive in oil.

The Definitive Waffle Recipe

This is it! Eureka! We have made the perfect waffle!

We ate these with maple syrup and blueberries this morning, and I hummed the whole time.

3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c white flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 T brown sugar
1 1/2 c soy milk (we used an unsweetened variety)
2 T canola or safflower oil

Combine dry ingredients.
Whisk together soy milk and oil vigorously for about a minute.
Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring only as much as is necessary. Don't worry if the batter still looks lumpy.
Cook according to your waffle iron's directions.