Doctor uses some foods as medicines Keith Martin, a nutritionist at Arizona State University revealed some fascinating research to the Washington Post this week. Martin found that in the presence of viruses like the common cold and the flu, all mushroom varieties can help raise the levels of the immune system’s proteins to three to five time normal! Your immune system just called and would like a side of mushrooms for dinner tonight.

The You Docs have a beef about red meat Move to the meaty mushroom! That’s what “The You Docs” are telling the Idaho Statesman. Big, thick and juicy, Portabella mushrooms have been rated as satisfying and tasty as beef in studies, and they make your arteries younger. Use in place of beef in stroganoff, or throw ‘em on the barbecue for a “make yourself younger with great taste” burger.

White vegetables: The forgotten color Many people believe that white vegetables have no significant nutritional value. Not so! In fact, most white vegetables are packed with flavorful nutrients that fight disease. KIVI-TV reminds you to enjoy those white veggies, mushrooms included!

Asthma’s possible link to vitamin D Did you know 40,000 American miss work or school every day because of asthma; that’s a lot of people and a lot of work! USA Weekend reports on recent research linking low vitamin D levels and asthma.

Pizza with mushrooms, goat cheese, arugula and walnuts Nothing beats a good pizza with mushrooms, but check out this exceptional recipe from the New York Times, mouth-watering goodness!

Mushrooms: A nutritious part of a balanced dinner The Wilmington News Journal declares mushrooms should be a part of everyone’s diet and we couldn’t have said it better! With few calories, no fat and full of vitamins and minerals, who could disagree.

Another reason to take vitamin D: Your lady business Fit Sugar reports on yet another reason why vitamin D is imperative for your health. The impact of being vitamin D-deficient goes beyond softening our bones; it affects the health of your lady business. A new health study found that low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of a woman developing vaginosis, the most common bacterial infection for women of child-bearing age.

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“Over the years, these frustrating experiences have prompted me to take a closer look at nutrition and herbal research. Take that soup: Unlike standard pharmaceutical cold preparations, which study after study has shown do little to block symptoms or speed up recovery, ginger and mushrooms have the potential to help, and with virtually no ill effects. Indeed, a phalanx of lab-coated scientists have finally convinced me of something that generations of traditional Chinese and Japanese healers, and my great-grandmother, already knew to be true: Ginger is an excellent decongestant, and mushrooms boost your immune system.

Some of the most compelling mushroom research has been done by Keith Martin, a nutritionist at Arizona State University and author of more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Martin and his colleagues have tested a variety of common mushrooms, such as white buttons and shiitakes, and found that in the presence of viruses such as those that cause cold and flu symptoms, all of them can raise the levels of the immune system’s proteins to three to five times normal.

Although mushroom extracts and supplements have gained popularity on store shelves, with promises that they can stop the spread of cancer and help manage infections, Martin cautions that no one has been able to definitively pinpoint the substances that give fungi the immune-boosting qualities he has identified. “Nutrition researchers have gotten themselves in trouble before when they tried to find the magic bullet in foods,” he says, referring to studies where high-dose nutrient extracts given to reduce a cancer paradoxically caused a cancer spike in the study participants.”

- Daphne Miller for the Washington Post

We have a new Featured Blogger in our midst and she’s combining two of our favorite things- Grilling and Pizza!  Everyone say hello to Elle from Elle’s New England Kitchen!

Lately, my husband and I have been trying to cut meats mostly out of our diet.  We’ve been doing surprisingly well!  We have decided to keep one day a week to have meat.  It can be whatever we choose.  Last week, it was burgers, because we had last minute company and had some in the freezer.   They were good.

Since we just celebrated a holiday weekend, we decided to smoke some beef ribs for our “one meat dinner per week thing.”  They smelled amazingly good while smoking.  They were delicious, too!  But afterward, we realized we didn’t feel as good as we had been feeling.  In fact, as tasty as they were, the meat didn’t sit well at all in our systems.  Our bodies were loving the new, lighter way we’d been eating–lots of fresh, raw foods, and lighter, vegetarian meals–and they let us know about it!

Which brings me to the reason for this post.  Portobello Mushrooms.  They’re such a great substitution for meat, and they lend themselves so well to what you’re cooking.  There are so many ways you can use them too!

I had four of them in the fridge that needed to go into something.  I had a few ideas, but the one I kept coming back to was pizza.  I’d been dying to try grilling pizza–and since it’s grilling season, we had no reason to put it off.  In thinking of different ways to season the mushrooms, I remembered some Italian Sausage Seasoning I had.  One of my all-time favorite street foods is a sausage and pepper sandwich.  I’ll have one anytime (though my body might disagree now).  So it was natural for me to equate the sandwich to pizza.

Grilling pizza is easy, but a little tricky at first.  I think having a couple of pieces of dough for “test runs” is a good idea.  They still taste great, but it may take a couple of tries to get them to look the way you want.  At least, it did for us.  And speaking of dough, we’re still looking for a favorite recipe.  So for this recipe, we used a couple of dough balls from our local pizza joint, Sal’s.   They sell them ready to go, and their crust tastes so, so good–it’s a quick, easy fix.  You can also get the toppings ready ahead of time.  I like to sauté them first, to get rid of the extra moisture in them.  If you put them on the pizza raw, they tend to make your pizza soggy.

Grilled Portobello Pepper Pizza

Olive oil
4 large Portobello Mushroom caps, rinsed(Some say not to, but I rinse them just before using.)  I also scrape out the gills underneath
1 teaspoon Italian sausage seasoning
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
3 small garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 red bell peppers, sliced
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 tbsp white wine vinegar
Your favorite pizza dough
Thinly sliced provolone and mozzarella
Your favorite pizza sauce, but see the recipe we like below*

Rinse and dry the mushrooms, then slice them into strips, then into chunks.   Toss them in a bowl with a little olive oil, the Italian sausage seasoning, and the fennel seeds.  Sauté with the garlic in a little more oil until done to your liking, set aside.

In the same pan, heat some olive oil, and add the onions and peppers.
Sauté for about 5 minutes, add the garlic, and sauté for about 4 more minutes.
Add the vinegar, sauté for 1-2 more minutes, and set aside.

Now get all of your pizza things ready to go and head out to your grill.   We used my friend Kat’s method as a guideline.
Basically, get your coals hot.  Then take the dough that you’ve flattened out and shaped on lightly oiled foil.  Put the dough–foil side up–on the grill, and carefully peel off the foil.  Cook the dough for a couple of minutes, remove from grill, and place toppings on the grilled side of the dough.
Resist the urge to add too many toppings to grilled pizza.  Return it to the grill and close the  lid for 5 minutes or so, until it looks done.

That’s it!  And I challenge even the meat lovers out there with this one.  It’s a great way to make pizza.  And something fun to do with family or friends.  Everyone can choose the toppings they like and go from there.  Get to know your friends, the mushrooms!

*Pizza Sauce
1 clove garlic, mashed and minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
dash red pepper, optional
Combine all ingredients.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups, enough for 2 pizzas.

Turn down grill heat on cancer risk It’s Memorial Day weekend and many of us are looking forward to officially breaking out the grill, yay! However, you might want to reconsider what foods you grill this season. Health News Digest reports on research from Duke University Medical Center suggesting that recent findings add fuel to the link between grilled meat and cancer. This weekend consider grilling a Portabella burger instead of meat (you’ll love it!).

Magic mushroom burgers As mentioned above, Duke University Medical Center findings suggest that grilled meat may contribute to a higher risk of cancer. Here’s a tasty recipe from The Plain Dealer to try on the grill, “Magic Mushroom Burgers!” Easy and delicious!

Portobello mushroom $6 burger back at Carl’s It’s back! The “Portobello Mushroom $6 Burger” is now available at Carl’s Jr. Let’s be honest, Portobello mushrooms are delicious, versatile and part of a nutritious diet, especially for young hungry carnivores, and we know fun guys will really like this burger. Fun guys, fungi…get it?

Savory Dutch baby pancake, mushroom pancake filling Who doesn’t love starting their morning with mushrooms?! The Seattle Times goes beyond the typical “mushroom omelet” with this mushroom pancake filling. Can’t wait to test this out!

Foodies flock to Twitter-friendly carts Are you tweeting yet? NBC Philadelphia reports on a pair of ordinary taco trucks that recently became recognized by foodies and consumers nationwide. While this is no small task to accomplish, Twitter allowed the food vendors to successfully spread the word about their business, and popular foodies expect this trend to continue. Stop by Twitter and say “hello” to us (@MushroomChannel), we’d love to hear from you!

Changing the way Americans eat mushrooms The Hokto Corporation recently starting producing mushroom within the U.S. and offers four unique types of mushrooms, including King Trumpet, Maitake, Brown Beech, and White Beech. According to the Examiner, the American facility is the only one of its kind to produce all four varieties under the same roof.

Mother knows best.  That’s why when one of my favorite moms posted this gorgeous recipe, I knew I’d found a winner for this week’s award.

Penne pasta with mushrooms, chicken, spinach and vodka sauce- Rachel from A Southern Fairytale has a new classic on her hands.

Even though I know Rachel mostly as a mommy-blogger, admittedly things with vodka in the title doesn’t usually run to the front of my mind when I’m coming up with chicken finger alternatives for kids. But for date night? I’m thinking she had a very happy hubby at the dinner table.

When I was talking to Rachel about the recipe, I did ask the question that seems to come up a lot around here. “Do your kids eat mushrooms?” We know that vitamin D is important to healthy growth and we all love them, so why are mushrooms occasionally relegated to the “grown-up tastes” table?

Well Rachel’s kids happen to love them so stay tuned, we thought the topic deserved a post of it’s own. Help is on the way!

Hi Everyone!  I’m back! It’s Jenna from Eat Live Run returning for more mushrooms!

I came up with this particular recipe when I was craving the comfort of risotto without the hour standing by the stove, stirring.

Turns out, you can actually make a very reasonable risotto without all the stirring—just throw it all in the pot, simmer, and go! This entire recipe took about 30 minutes, start to finish and tastes like a fancy restaurant side dish. The goat cheese lends an unparalleled creaminess but be sure to buy the fresh goat cheese logs, not the crumbles, which do not melt well.

Serve this risotto alongside roast chicken or steak….or by itself to vegetarian friends. I find this alone to be a very filling and satisfying meal when paired with a glass of merlot and a light green salad.

Quick Mixed Mushroom Risotto with Spinach and Goat Cheese

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 lb sliced mixed mushrooms
• 5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté quickly, for about one minute, or until just beginning to golden. Be careful, garlic burns quickly!

Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat each piece of rice with olive oil. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the chicken stock, wine and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. If the rice is not cooked all the way, add a little bit more stock then bring back to a simmer.

Once all the liquid has been absorbed, add the baby spinach and cook for about three to five minutes, until the spinach has just started to wilt into the risotto. Add the goat cheese last and stir only briefly, careful to allow clumps of the cheese to remain in the risotto.

Season with sea salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

When it comes to food, I am, beyond a shadow of  a sliver of doubt, a “stuff” girl. Making an omelet? I will try to get 4 kinds of vegetables and cheese into the fold. Lasagna? Not without mushrooms, spinach and chunky tomato sauce. The same goes for soups, sandwiches and, goodnight, salads.  My regular lunch salad has 11 ingredients. I’m just one of those people that loves the way certain flavors come together- the more the merrier!

I think that’s one reason why, long before the Mushroom Channel came along, I loved to cook with our namesake ingredient.  Mushrooms absorb cooking liquid and sauces and flavor at a rate that trounces almost any other meal component.  When cooked mindfully, the mushrooms never sacrifice their own meaty flavor in the process.  Shallots, white wine and thyme sauteed with mushrooms over chicken…that’s only four ingredients and I’m already salivating.

That also brings me to my next point.  One of the best ways to add rich flavor to a dish without adding extra fat is snipping a few fresh herbs to add to the mix.  Below you’ll find a few recipes across the interweb that I think tie this concept together beautifully.  I’m glad I weeded my own herb garden yesterday.  They taste better when you grow them yourself and I can see that I’m going to be busy!

Mushroom Salad with Chives and Rosemary- Can you blame me for including one of our own entries first?  This is one of my favorites from The Wednesday Chef.

Roasted Mushroom Salad with Mint and Basil- Recipe is from AllRecipes but pointed out to us by Featured Contributor Cheap Healthy Good in an awesome herb post.

Mushroom Risotto with Tarragon and Basil- If ever there was a set of photos I could eat off the page.  Alicia from bread & honey came up with a gorgeous spin on an Italian classic.

Warm Roasted Potato Salad with Mushrooms, Runner Beans, Proscuitto and Thyme- A new favorite from Lucullian, with regard to Tastespotting. Runner beans are due for the day in the sun I think.

Gnocchi with Mushroom Sage Ragout- Fromt the aptly named “I Like to Eat,” a political correspondant who has our vote. This would also help us use up the parsley we inevitably have leftover. Plus-points to anyone who can use nutmeg or cinnamon well in a savory recipe.

Foods for an ironclad immune system Yahoo! Food thinks you’ll happy to know that the mouth-watering mushroom gravy over your favorite steak is actually a tremendous immune booster. According to recent studies, increased intake of white button mushrooms enhances those natural killer cells, thus promoting immunity.

Mushroom best practices – a Mushroom Council report The Packer reports that fresh mushrooms are one of the highest profits per square-foot items in the entire produce department! Keep cooking with those mushrooms; they taste great and are good for your health.

Researchers see link between vitamin D, flu immunity  There has been a lot of news about the flu and immunity recently. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wants you to remember that vitamin D can help boost your immunity, and we want you to remember that mushrooms are the only fruit or veggie that naturally contains vitamin D.

Brown rice with pineapple and shitake mushrooms This is a great summertime dish that comes to us from Turn to 10 News. Try it out at your next sun-filled gathering and let us know what you think.

The vitamin-D debate The debate about how much vitamin D we need has intensified over the past 10 years. TIME magazine reports that amid all this new evidence, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has assembled a panel of experts to re-evaluate just how much vitamin D we really need and can safely tolerate. Stay tuned as we find out more information.

Vitamin D and Olympic athletes Okay, so maybe you’re not training for the Olympics, but since Looking Fit reports that vitamin D can improve reaction time, muscle strength, speed and endurance for Olympic athletes, we think it’s something for us “normal” people to take into consideration too. Add some extra vitamin D to your meals simply by tossing in a handful of mushrooms, it’s that easy!

Could there be the magic in mushrooms to beat swine flu  According to Short News, researchers at the Tufts University in Massachusetts believe mushrooms can improve your health by defending the body against viral infections and tumors.

The Atwood Café is a cozy restaurant in the heart of Chicago’s Central Business District serving American comfort foods with an updated twist. Executive Chef Heather Terhune has been cooking since she was a young girl and attended the New England Culinary Institute. Beyond providing customers with delicious food, Chef Heather also opens up her kitchen to inspire inner city high school students to learn about food and encourage them to take up cooking as a career.

At Atwood Café, Chef Heather enjoys baking fresh breads every day and creating a seasonal menu that reflects all of the best local produce, including lots of mushrooms!  We love her Egg White Frittata with Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Spinach and Goat Cheese as a healthy and delicious breakfast. Take a look at the recipe below to try it yourself!

Egg White Frittata with Tomatoes, Spinach, Mushrooms, and Goat Cheese

Recipe courtesy of Chef Heather Terhune, Atwood Café, Chicago

Yield: 4 servings

• 1 1/2     teaspoons olive oil
• 1  medium red onion, diced
• 2 cups sliced (about 6 1/2 ounces) mixed exotic mushrooms (crimini, oyster, etc)
• 1 cup (5 1/2 ounces) halved grape tomatoes or
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (re-hydrated)
• 2 cups (packed) spinach leaves, torn into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 9 large egg whites (about 9 ounces)
• 2 ounces creamy goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Directions

Heat the oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms; sauté until golden. Add the tomatoes; sauté until tender. Add the spinach; stir just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg whites, and salt and pepper to taste until frothy. Pour the egg mixture over the hot vegetables in the skillet; stir gently to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook without stirring until the eggs are set on the bottom, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the cheese over the frittata. Broil until the cheese melts and the top is set, 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped basil.

Serious Eats has us seriously salivating over this week’s Recipe of the Week.  Now that we’re halfway through May, grilling is becoming a realistic dinner plan for more and more of the country.  If you’re looking for a way to lighten up the barbeque’s offerings, a portabella cap stuffed with leafy spinach sounds like a particularly delicious way to do it!