Balsamic Mushrooms

It may seem I have gone a bit mushroom crazy lately, but these recipes haven't been prepared as close together as they are being posted. That said, I have a meal with mushrooms on the menu this week, so perhaps I have gone a little mad cap. Get it? Cap, mushroom, mushrooms have caps. Alright, I'll reign in my attempts at humor and just tell you about this delicious recipe. Way back in January Josh had himself a birthday, and I wanted to make him a little something special. Can you believe that I had never made him a birthday meal before? We always have a lot of family dinners to celebrate, so I'd never really had the opportunity. This year though I really wanted to put something together. I wasn't looking for the hardest or fanciest recipe. Josh isn't a foodie frou-frou, he just likes stuff that tastes good. I roasted a pork loin that came pre-stuffed with mild Italian sausage (ohmygodsogood), and roasted up some asparagus along with it since we're both a big fan of that. I didn't really want to make a dessert for him (did I mention we closed on our house just two days after his birthday?), so I picked up some of our favorite Tiramisu from Central Market. Don't worry, we put a candle in it. So, now that you know about all the rest of the meal, here's the side that became the show-stopper. This recipe had been on the to-cook list for a while. It comes from the June 2007 issue of Living, but I stumbled across it online and had printed it out for future use. I thought it would be just the thing, especially since I could make it on the stove top since I already had so much else going into the oven. These mushrooms cook up really fast, and they are just as good at room temperature as they are fresh from the stove. I think that is a great trait for a good side dish to have; I am not always the best at planning my kitchen timeline. Well, I'll stop rattling on and just share the recipe already so you can give it a shot sometime soon.

Balsamic Mushrooms
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living; Serves 4














1/4 cup olive oil
12 ounces white mushrooms, halved (quartered if large)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Freshly ground pepper

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, salt, and red-pepper flakes, and season with pepper. Cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl, and serve.

Cool Kitchen

Well, after trying to put together a menu that would work for Josh we pretty much scrapped everything. I just let Josh eat what he feels like eating, which is mostly crackers. And I've been noshing on a Middle Eastern Platter, so the kitchen has been pretty quiet this week. I did make dinner Monday, along with some cupcakes for my mom's birthday on Tuesday. But those were from a box mix that I had in the cupboard, so not anything to brag about. And we'll be going on a little trip this weekend to Galveston to visit my sister Nicci & her husband Bryan, and our friends Destiny & Will. So, the kitchen will be very still this weekend too.

And when I get back, the attempt to cook for Josh's new stomach will continue. No onions(!), no tomatoes(!), no citrus, no caffeine, no chocolate(!), no spicy foods(!)- I am in big trouble people. That covers about half, if not two-thirds, of my repertoire. I mean, when you try to eat half vegetarian meals onions and tomatoes suddenly become important, not to mention spiciness. Hopefully he'll be mended and can eat these things again, but in moderation. I can deal with moderation, I can handle moderation.

I'll try to post a recipe that I've been hanging onto before we hit the road early tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see my sis and friends!

Healthy Treat

Josh went back to the doctor today and got a prescription for Nexium (which incidentally is expensive without insurance), so hopefully he'll be on the road to recovery tomorrow morning. For tonight's dinner I made scrambled eggs, and some turkey bacon that I picked up on the way home. Josh has lost 7 pounds over the past week, so I figured he could use the protein. And to try and cheer him up I put together a little sundae for dessert.

Yogurt Banana Split
Recipe by moi
1 baby banana, peeled and split
low-fat vanilla yogurt
granola
maraschino cherry

• Pretty self explanatory- top the split banana with yogurt, then granola, and top with a cherry.

My notes: The cherry is key, in my opinion. The combination of the banana and cherry flavors really gives you that banana split taste. And it's really pretty good for you, especially since I used the low-fat granola I made a couple weeks ago.

Scarcity

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. I made a macaroni & cheese Thursday night that just didn't come out at all. The night before I was supposed to make Mexican Lasagna, but that had to be shelved because Josh can't eat anything spicy. He's had a really severe case of acid reflux since late Sunday night. He went to the clinic on Wednesday and they gave him a GI shake and told him to start on Prilosec in the morning. He had already tried Tums and Pepcid AC to no avail. And he's still not feeling much better. He'll be going back to the doc on Monday. I'm a bit concerned, but trying to just concentrate on helping him feel better. It's especially hard feeding him because anything he eats hurts. I've been looking up acceptable foods for an acid reflux or GERD diet, and only come up with a handful of ideas really. But, here's what next week's menu is looking like.

Scrambled Eggs (2 whites to 1 yolk) & Yogurt Banana Splits
Baked Potatoes topped with Broccoli & Feta
Trout with Brown Rice & Mixed Veggies
Rotisserie Chicken with Brown Rice and Green Beans

Anyone who stops by here have acid reflux issues? I do, but mine are usually due to medications instead of a sudden attack, so I'm not sure how to cook for him right now. Most of the stuff above seemed to be okay according to all the different websites I looked at. Any suggestions?