Hey y’all, it’s Rachel visiting from A Southern Fairytale! It’s the New Year and like so many others, I’m working towards a better, healthier me.  One of the ways that I’m doing this is by trying to incorporate some of my favorite healthy power packed foods into my meal plan, more frequently.  I’m doing this by trying to use veggies more and meat less, as a bonus, it’s also less expensive!

I love to play with foods and textures and flavors and while I’m actually fairly easy to please in the kitchen, my husband is another story.  He loves savory, full flavors and he wants to feel like he’s eaten a meal.  He is a Texas guy after all.

So I decided to make something easy, yet delicious and tempting and something that would leave me happy and feeling sated, but not full and heavy, while at the same time, would leave him feeling like he’d eaten a real meal, one that would get him from lunch to dinner while working.

I turned to a few of my favorite ingredients:  Mushrooms, Garlic, Spinach, Cucumber, Red Onion and Whole Grain Pitas to create a delicious and soon to be frequently repeated Sauteed Garlic Mushroom Stuffed Pita, I made my husband’s a little fuller than mine and with the first bite his eyebrows raised, his dark eyes lit up and he gave me that look, the one that said that he was willing to admit it; I’d done it again.  I’d taken him by surprise and he was not just liking, but loving something he wasn’t too sure about to begin with.

Sauteed Garlic Mushroom Stuffed Pitas

6 oz sliced mushrooms (I use the 100% Vitamin D enriched Mushrooms)
1/4 medium red onion, sliced or chopped
1/4 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 whole grain pita pockets
Handful of fresh spinach leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil

Drizzle your olive oil in a cold skillet and heat it to medium, saute the garlic for about a minute, then toss in the mushrooms.  Saute them until soft and brown, about 8 minutes

The smell will be unbelievable.*

Take your whole grain pita and open it up gently, stuff in some of your spinach leaves (*you can gently wilt the spinach with the mushrooms and garlic if you’d like… I chose not too because I love raw spinach)
layer in some of your cucumber slices and then spoon in  your mushrooms and garlic, top with chopped red onions

** some other delicious options, drizzle with your favorite vinaigrette or top with chipotle mayo (like i did with my husband’s)

MC Editor Note: We have a new guest contributor among us! Everyone give a warm, seasonal welcome to Umami Girl!

Thanksgiving at our house inspires a devotion that borders on the comical. A day when the whole country stops to give thanks for delicious food is essentially a national endorsement of our family’s way of life, and we think that’s really something to celebrate.

Most of the time our devotion borders on the comical. Then, of course, there are the times when devotion shows its passport, crosses the border and never looks back. We train for Thanksgiving dinner the way runners train for a marathon. With a certain scientific precision, all meals on Thanksgiving Eve balance maximum stomach stretching with minimal caloric intake. Several family members arrive on the big day with elastic-waisted sweatpants in tow, in case the need arises before dessert. And then, of course, there’s the stuff-off.

Its proper name is The Great Great-Grandmas’ Stuff-Off, but don’t try to say that five times in a row after the tryptophan hits your bloodstream. Each year the two family matriarchs prepare their two outrageous stuffings. This recipe is adapted from one of them.

Although the original recipe contains no small amount of meat, I’ve adapted it over time into a vegetarian dish. With all the savory, meaty mushrooms in this version, it’s sure to please carnivores and vegetarians alike. The gravy is our go-to recipe for a versatile vegetarian sauce. It can also be prepared with turkey stock if that’s how you like to gobble.

Umami Girl’s Vegetarian Mushroom Stuffing

Ingredients
1 1/2 to 2 baguettes, cut into 1-inch cubes (12 slightly heaping cups)
6 Tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, diced
3 stalks celery, with leaves, diced
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved if large and sliced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved if large and sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme
2 Tablespoons minced fresh sage
1 cup dry white wine
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 250° F. Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 25 minutes to dry. (Alternatively, leave the bread cubes out, uncovered, overnight.) Remove the bread from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 375° F.

2. Meanwhile, in a wide pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery along with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have halved in volume, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. There will still be liquid left in the pan. Remove from the heat to cool slightly.

3. In a very large bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until slightly frothy. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the vegetable stock and stir to combine. Add the bread, the mushroom mixture and the parsley and stir to combine thoroughly. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bread has absorbed all the liquid.

4. Bake in a 3-quart covered casserole or a deep 13×9-inch pan covered with aluminum foil for 35 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake 15 minutes more. Serve hot with mushroom gravy.

Note: You can, of course, also bake this recipe stuffed inside a turkey. It will fill an approximately 17-pound bird.

Umami Girl’s Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, chopped
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved if large and thinly sliced
6 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a wide pan. (If making the stuffing, you can use the same pan from Step 2 without washing.) Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned in spots and substantially reduced in volume, 5 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly to prevent burning, for one minute.

2. Add the wine and stir for one minute, scraping up any bits of flour from the bottom of the pan. Then add the soy sauce and vegetable stock along with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to maintain a brisk simmer and cook until the gravy thickens slightly, 5 minutes or more.

Mushroom Channel Editor’s Note: Jenna from Eat Live Run has been contributing to the Mushroom Channel since its inception. Earlier this week she made a very exciting announcement- she got a book deal!!! So read ahead , make this delicious gnocchi recipe of any of Jenna’s other contributions- we’ll be able to say “we read her when.” Congratulations, Jenna!

One of the wonderful things about living in Northern California is the abundance of farm stands with the freshest possible produce.

Since moving here last month, I have made it my mission to hit every farm stand that I see on the side of the road and this recipe came to fruition after spotting a huge sack of potatoes for only one dollar.

I’ve always wanted to make my own gnocchi and what better to top these little potato pillows with than rich, meaty mushrooms? The flageolet beans add some chew and protein to the dish and I recommend buying them dry and soaking/cooking them the old fashioned way. Beans from scratch just taste way better than from a can. Trust me on this. This dish, although seemingly time consuming, is actually quite simple to prepare and is quintessentially autumn.

Gnocchi with Browned Butter, Mushrooms and Flageolet Beans

Serves 4

16 oz prepared gnocchi, either homemade or storebought (homemade is preferable)
8 oz assorted mushrooms, sliced
1 cup flageolet beans, either canned or cooked from scratch
2 tbsp butter
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a cast iron or regular skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until the butter has turned a golden brown color. Remove pan from heat immediately when butter has began to brown because over browning the butter will lead to a strong bitter flavor.

2. Add the sliced mushrooms to the browned butter and toss to coat completely. Sprinkle mushrooms with a tiny pinch of sea salt. Place pan back on stove over medium low heat and cook until mushrooms have softened, about five minutes.

3. While the mushrooms cook, cook the gnocchi in simmering water, being careful to not overcook. When done, the gnocchi should float like little pillows. Immediately drain and drizzle with olive oil so the gnocchi don’t stick together.

4. Add the beans to the mushrooms and toss over the heat so the beans heat up. Scoop out a portion of gnocchi on each plate and top with the mushroom bean mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on each serving as well as an extra drizzle of olive oil.