Tag Archives: mushrooms

A simple supper salad made with fridge finds

Sassy salad greens with poached egg and balsamic vinaigrette-sauteed mushrooms and grape tomatoes

Salad greens with fried egg and balsamic vinaigrette-sauteed mushrooms and grape tomatoes

I get paid to say nice things about eggs. As the Food and Nutrition Specialist for Egg Farmers of Ontario, it’s my job to promote the nutritional goodness of eggs and the many different ways they can be prepared.

Before I signed on for this gig, I was already an egg lover, readily extolling the virtues of eggs. One of the reasons I was – and still am – a fan of this nutritious and economical food is that it’s quick to cook, so versatile and always available.

The other night I came home late from work, tired and hungry. There wasn’t much in the fridge except for some mushrooms, eggs and salad greens. Within minutes I had put together a simple supper salad and was sitting down to eat.

To make the salad I sauteed sliced mushrooms in a little balsamic salad dressing, tossing in a few halved grape tomatoes partway through cooking. Before the mushrooms and tomatoes were completely cooked, I cleared a space among them in the middle of the pan and cracked an egg into it. I covered the pan with a lid and within a few minutes had a steam-basted sunny side up egg that resembled a poached egg. (I cooked the yolk so that it was still runny but it could also be cooked thoroughly if desired. And, instead of “frying”, the egg could have been soft- or hard-poached in simmering water.) The mushroom/tomato mixture and egg were then spooned over a plate of salad greens, and dinner was served!

Easy, fast and very good!

When life gives you…..mushrooms?

Who doesn’t love getting free stuff?

I recently scored some free mushrooms. It helps to have friends who are in the business of promoting mushrooms.

Sauteed Mushrooms

Sauteed mushrooms for filling an omelette

After Wednesday night’s WOW Seminar in Paris (no, not Paris, France – Paris, Ontario – also a lovely place but minus the language problems I’d encounter if I hopped across the pond!), Nikki from Mushrooms Canada had some leftovers from her cooking demonstration. She kindly packed up a nice assortment and sent them home with me.

So, last night it was a simple mushroom omelette and a salad for supper. This weekend I’m making mushroom crepes. Might also make mushroom soup. Or maybe mushroom risotto……or stuffed mushrooms……

Mushroom (and cheese) omelette - a simple, tasty supper!

Mushroom (and cheese) omelette - a simple, tasty supper!

If you want to know anything about mushrooms (nutritional value, varieties, or how to clean, store or cook them), check in with the mushroom experts. Mushrooms Canada’s web site – mushrooms.ca – has everything you need to know, as well as recipes. There are also cooking videos starring my friend and colleague, home economist Clare Jones.

If you’d like to enjoy mushrooms in an omelette and are looking for a few tips on omelette making, check out the recommended omelette technique from Egg Farmers of Ontario. To make the omelette filling, I prefer sauteing the mushrooms first in a little oil or butter, then using them to fill my omelette. But you don’t have to cook the mushrooms if you chop them finely, then sprinkle them over your omelette before folding it over.

There’s also a recipe for a Wild Mushroom Frittata on EFO’s web site.