Spicy Lemon Marinated Mushrooms and Asian Walnut Sauce

Sorry I bailed on you yesterday. I pulled a muscle in my back Wednesday night and now my knee is bothering me again.  Something tells me this just hasn't been my week.  I am happy to see it end because I know next week must be better. ;-)

Needless to say I am cranky and not exactly up beat at the moment and decided to keep my grouchiness to myself yesterday. I expected to feel much better today and while my back is better my knee is worse. What I wouldn’t give to be in my 30’s again rather than getting dangerously close to the big 50. *shudders* I finally gave in and called my pharmacist buddy late this afternoon and started taking ibuprofen for my knee which means I feel better though not 100%. *shakes head*

Given my fussiness I have not been doing much exciting in the kitchen. There has been lots of stuff in the Vitamix, savory and sweet oatmeal, salads and other very quick meals. Sorry I didn’t even feel up to photographing many of them but I assure you that you didn’t miss anything. I was eating to fuel myself without thinking of anything more.

The last two evenings I did make something that resembled a meal since I felt sorry for Dan. The first meal was a BBQ baked tofu, roasted sweet potato fries with black pepper and Eden Shake, and spicy lemon marinated mushrooms. The mushrooms were very simple and I didn’t measure but can describe what I did. I roasted the mushrooms briefly to allow them to absorb the marinade. The marinade was lemon zest, lemon zest, chili garlic sauce, grated garlic and water to taste. I tossed the mushrooms in the liquid and allowed them to sit in it in the refrigerator for a few hours. To serve, drain the mushrooms of the excess liquid.

The other dinner I made was brown rice topped with veggies and walnut, ginger miso sauce. The veggies were quickly cooked onion, garlic, broccoli, carrot and shitake mushrooms. I cooked the onions and garlic first in a little water then added the remaining veggies and cooked until the broccoli was just tender. Remember the broccoli is most nutritious if cooked briefly. The walnut sauce was very simple and made entirely in the Vitamix. I combined walnuts, water, fresh ginger, fresh garlic and a small amount of white miso. Start with a little water since you can always add more if necessary. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth and the consistency you like, which may require you to add a little more water. To serve top the rice with the veggies then sauce and end with few black and white sesame seeds with dried ginger on the top.

Happy Thoughts:

This is a tough section to write today but I am sure that means it is more important for me to write than usual so here goes:

• I laughed my way through “The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics”. I swear the author must also be a comedienne. Not only did a get a lot of giggles but I also learned quite a bit at the same time. If you are looking for something to entertain you on your commute to work I highly recommend looking for this at your local library. I thought it was very entertaining.

• Is it possible to hear or read anything on macrobiotics and not come away thinking that you don’t chew enough? I don’t think it is. But I have known I long time that I eat too quickly and now I am inspired to work on that. It is good to have these little reminders in life that there is always more that can be done to live a more healthy life.

• Since I had a lot of time on my butt the last two days *sigh* I used my time constructively. I spent quite a bit of time on Amazon which means ….. there are five more books coming. ;-) You all know I never have enough to read right? Two of the books I ordered were on macrobiotics since I was so inspired by the book on CD. I don’t expect to convert to macrobiotics but if there is anything that I can learn from that philosophy I am open to it. I will keep you in the loop on this one.

• I also found time to search the library website and now I have 24 additional books in my queue to be requested. As much as I read you would think I would run out of things to check out but somehow that never happens. Reading and learning makes me very happy. ;-)

• I am very fortunate to have a number of very good friends. Not only can I call my pharmacist friend and ask questions but he checks up on me to see how I am doing. It is a nice feeling to have such wonderful friends. Thank you Louis!

• Today I have been listening to “The Shadow Effect” and it is enlightening. It has given me a lot of things to think about. If you enjoyed philosophy class in college as I did I think you will enjoy this book on CD. It is always good to have time to contemplate life and how our actions shape our relationships.

• I am very happy that Dan has gone to the gym in the morning last few days without me. It is nice one of us feels up to it.  ;-)

• There was a lovely sunset tonight with varying shades of blue and grey. I love to watch the sun rise and set and the beautiful colors and shapes that nature paints across the sky.

Signing out:

I am going to sign off and get soak in a hot tub to help my knee feel better. I hope you had a much better last few days than I have. With a little luck I will be back tomorrow with another post. Wish me luck!