Asian Flavored Mushrooms, Cabbage and Collards

Sorry I have not been overly chatty recently. I have been in a bit of funk. Nothing specific just the pressure of life getting to me I think. Most of the time I can put a positive spin on everything but that hasn’t been my attitude the last week or so. I hope I snap out of this soon. I much prefer to be up and happy. But who doesn’t?

When I get overwhelmed by life I tend to retreat into my cocoon to heal. Having a blog doesn’t make that as easy as it used to be. I need to figure out how to do both.

If you sent me an email and I haven’t responded please know that I will. Right now I just a little time alone to figure out what has me bummed. That is enough doom and gloom let’s get to the food. ;-)

Dinner Last Night:

Mushrooms were on the menu again last night. You are shocked I know, LOL. Even though we were having mushrooms I didn’t want anything similar to what we have been eating recently. There were 10 ounces of king oyster mushrooms in the refrigerator that made me want to make an Asian inspired dish. Here is what we had or dinner last night:

Asian Flavored Mushrooms, Cabbage and Collards
Serves 2

Ingredients:

10 ounces mushrooms (I used king oyster which I sliced lengthwise but any mushroom would do)
6 cloves garlic, minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before heating so the allicin can develop)
½ tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce (which is actually mushroom based and lower in sodium than most Asian sauces)
2 tablespoons mirin (or substitute rice wine vinegar with a little stevia)
splash of water if the mushrooms start to dry out in the pan
3 cups cabbage, finely shredded
2 collard leaves, finely shredded
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons cashews, for garnish

Directions:

Place the mushrooms, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and mirin in a pan and cook on medium high heat stirring occasionally. If the mushrooms start to stick add a splash of water. When the mushrooms are done (in about 5 minutes) add the cabbage and collards and cook for a few minutes. You want the cabbage to just soften.

To serve, top the quinoa with the mushroom and veggies and finish with a few cashews.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 372.04
Calories From Fat (18%) - 66.25

Total Fat - 8.11g
Saturated Fat - 0.87g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 283.47mg
Potassium - 1115.48mg
Total Carbohydrates - 67.83g
Fiber - 11.27g
Sugar - 6.8g
Protein - 15.34g

Comments:

Both Dan and I really enjoyed this last night. In fact I think we were both sorry I didn’t make more. If you are in the mood for heat adding a little sriracha with the mirin would be good. You could also add a sprinkle of crushed red pepper if you don’t have any sriracha on hand. This was a good way to add more mushrooms to our diet.

Other things I ate since the last post:

After the guacamole wrap yesterday I got a little hungry at about 6pm and had a bowl of fruit with two peaches and a few black berries.

For dinner we had the mushroom dish I detailed above.

This morning for breakfast I had two peaches which I started eating before I remembered to take a picture. I must have been hungry. ;-)

To go with the peaches I made a small salad with ½ head of romaine ½ cup cold cooked quinoa (left over from last night), ¼ cup salsa, and a half serving of mushroom walnut pate.

For lunch today I made an enormous salad, because I was extra hungry after exercising. The salad included: 1 head romaine, ½ cup salsa, 1 cup marinated artichokes, 1 yellow tomato, ½ cup cucumber, ½ cup peas, and 2 tablespoons almond feta. I think my eyes were a little bigger than my stomach because I am still full. *rolls eyes*

Food plans today:

I packed the end of the cream of tomato soup for Dan's lunch today so I need to make more soup for the refrigerator inventory. Since we are at the beginning of Ramadan I thought I would make something Middle Eastern. I make an Egyptian lentil soup that we both like. That may be on the agenda today.

I also want to make some zucchini chips in the dehydrator. All I need to decide is how I am going to flavor them.

Dinner tonight is anyone’s guess. I may stick with the Middle Eastern theme in solidarity for my Muslim friend Walid who will be fasting this month from sun up to sun down. I really have no idea how he does that for a month. But we will all have a good time celebrating Eid with him when it is over. It always seems wrong for Walid to fast and the rest of us get to celebrate that being over.

I need to start working on those zucchini chips and soup. Talk to you all again soon. I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday.