Valley Mushrooms

Mushrooms. I used to find them unappealing, gross actually. And now I adore them, crave them, dream about them. This has happened with plenty of foods since I've grown up-eggplant and cilantro among them.

Luckily for me, a mushroom fix is always close by. Julia and Leonard North of Valley Mushrooms grow gorgeous Button, Cremini and Portabello mushrooms just down the road, and we've incorporated them into all kinds of dishes at the Cafe: a fabulous burger topped with Garlic Portabellos and Swiss Cheese, Spinach Salad with Button Mushrooms, Wicked Fries (our version of potato skins, with portabellos, bacon and green onions) and our ever-popular Cream of Mushroom Soup. At Christmastime, I was taken by a sign advertising oyster and shitake mushrooms for sale, an experiment that I hope Leonard repeats regularly! I sauteed them along with portabellos and garlic as part of our Christmas feast..they were amazing.

Mushrooms are a rich source of tasty. Their mouthwatering deliciousness is partly due to the presence of glutamic acid. You've heard of the fifth taste, or umami? This refers to a savouriness, a meatiness, that is present in foods containing glutamic acid, the natural form of monosodium glutamate. Mushrooms have it, so do tomatoes and dulse.

If you live in the Valley, choose Valley Mushrooms. Otherwise, the closest growers are in Ontario, and by the time their mushrooms get here, they are usually old and leggy (mushrooms keep growing in the box, their stems lengthening). You can buy Valley mushrooms at grocery stores, at the Wolfville Farmer's Market at Elena Basevich's Bakery stand (have a Pecan Cinnamon Bun for me, too) or at their retail outlet across from the Michelin plant in Waterville. Go ahead and stock up-mushrooms freeze very well once cooked!

Simple Amazing Mushrooms with Garlic

Use these as a pizza topping, omelet filling, accompaniment for steak or straight out of the pan, with or without garlic bread! 

3 T. Butter

1 Onion, diced,

2 cloves Garlic, minced

3 lb. Mushrooms. sliced (any kind:Portabellos, Button, Shitake, Oyster, King)

½ t. each Salt and freshly ground Pepper

2 T. chopped Parsley (optional)

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook and stir as the mushrooms release their liquid. Continue to cook, stirring often, as the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms brown a little. Add the salt, pepper and parsley and remove from heat.

Cream of Valley Mushroom Soup

1/3 C. Butter

1 lb. Mushrooms, sliced (a mix of white, cremini and portabello mushrooms are nice)

1 Onions, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/3 C. Flour

5 C. Chicken Stock

3/4 C. Whipping Cream

1 t. Salt

1/4 t. freshly ground Pepper

1/8 t. freshly Grated Nutmeg

2 T. chopped Parsley

Heat the butter in a heavy pot over medium high heat and add the onions and mushrooms. Stir and cook until mushrooms have released their liquid, then add the garlic. Continue to cook, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are beginning to brown. Add the flour and cook another minute, then whisk in half the stock. When the mix is smooth, add the rest of the stock. Whisking fairly frequently to prevent lumps, bring the soup to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the cream, nutmeg, parsley and salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning.

Handmade Corn Tortillas

When I was a kid, we Osburns were obsessed with Mexican food. To be accurate, I should say we were obsessed with Tex-Mex food, which is what tacos, nachos, and quesadillas really are. My Dad had his first taste at Taco Bell as a young man and was hooked, then passed along his hankering to the rest of us. Our fridge was filled with hot sauces and spicy pickles, our cupboards with masa harina and cumin and coriander. My mom made giant layered dip platters for parties and special-ordered cases of exotic nacho chips from the health food store (yes, there was a time when they were unavailable). As a child, I bragged about having eaten seven tacos at one sitting! We even imported a tortilla press home from a visit to the States. With this we brought forth hundreds of fresh-cooked tortillas until the sad day when it cracked from overuse. We just could not pat out tortillas like the Mexican women did, so Mom and I figured out a new way. We put each ball of dough between two cutting boards lined with plastic bags on the floor, then stepped on it. This method produced beautiful, uniform rounds, even better than what our old press turned out.

Handmade tortillas are mostly made made from Masa Harina, a special type of corn flour that is treated with lime, or “nixtamalized”. Fresh masa used to be made in every community in Mexico daily, but apparently that has mostly fallen by the wayside and most folks are using Maseca brand, an instant masa that is milled in Texas. I was out shopping the other day and saw that our grocery store had recently stocked it. You just mix it with water, press out tortillas and cook them in a dry cast iron pan. Sean tried them for the first time and was shocked at how good they are, nothing like the dry stale tasting corn tortillas sold next to the wraps. Tucked into a napkin to stay warm, and filled with your favourite taco fixin's, they are heavenly. Serve these with beans and lots of veggies, and taco night is downright healthy. This is good, because Mexican food can really satisfy a junk food craving! They also make great quesadillas and can even be fried for nacho chips or tostadas.

You'll need a press or two decently sturdy cutting boards, ones that you don't think will break if you stand on them. You can use medium or large freezer bags to keep the tortillas from sticking to the board, or cut squares from grocery bags. This is way more fun with a kid or two on hand to squish the tortillas for you-if they don't weigh enough to flatten the tortilla out to 5 or 6 inches, jump up there with them!

Handmade Tortillas for Tacos

The recipe is right off the bag, but try our squishing method!

2 C. Masa Harina

1 ½ C. Water

¼ t. Salt

Have a cloth napkin lined basket or bowl ready. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir until a soft dough forms. Divide into 16 equal sized balls (I ball up the dough and cut it in two, then cut each in half and then in half again). Place a cutting board on the floor, then a piece of plastic. Center a dough ball on the plastic, cover with another piece of plastic, then the second cutting board. Stand on the board sandwich, then take the top board off and peel the tortilla off the plastic. Place in the dry pan and let cook for about a minute. Turn, then cook on the other side. When the tortilla is cooked, place it in the napkin and fold over to keep warm while you cook the remaining tortillas.

Serve the tortillas at the table with Refried Beans, Salsa and grated Cheese, and any or all of the following veggie options: shredded Lettuce, diced Onion, Tomatoes, Peppers and Avocado, sprigs of Cilantro, Corn, fried Mushrooms, Banana Peppers, Olives....

Refried Beans

1 T. Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

1 large clove Garlic, minced

1 T. Chili Powder

2 t. ground Cumin

1 540 ml can Kidney or Black Beans, pureed (not drained)

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and add the onions.  Saute for about five minutes, until softened but not browned, then add the garlic. Cook another minute, and add the chili powder and cumin. When the spices smell fragrant, add the beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture bubbles. Reduce heat to medium and let cook about ten minutes, until beans have thickened. Taste and add a little salt if necessary.

Back to School Pancakes

I love Christmas. The planning, the preparations, the parties, the shopping, the cooking. The eating, the drinking, the excitement. The last minute wrapping, the pleasant fuzzy haze that is the result of too many late nights. The promising pile of presents under the tree. Irish Cream in your coffee. Believing.

However, by the time New Year's Day rolls around, I am thankful that it's all over. It's January, season of relaxation for a restaurant. We'll have time for all the things that we missed over a busy December, including our own Christmas party. The kids will go back to school, we will slowly un-decorate, and life will go back to normal. Around here, the bus pulls up pretty early: about twenty after seven. Molly and Rowan love a hot breakfast, and that can be challenging. Our solution has been to make up a breakfast menu and mostly stick to it. On Tuesdays, I drive them to school so we have a little extra time, and that means pancakes! This pancake mix was my Christmas present this year to my friends and family, along with a basket of eggs, some peach-ginger syrup, and a good chunk of scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty that is a cross between polenta and sausage.  You can make up this mix, store it in a cool place, and have pancakes on the table in no time flat!

Four Grain Pancake Mix

Pancake Mix all ready for giving

4 C. Whole Wheat Flour

1 C. Ground Flax Seed

1 ½ C. Oatmeal

1 C. Cornmeal

½ C. Baking Powder

½ C. Sugar

4 t. Salt

Combine in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Scoop into a resealable bag or jar and refrigerate. When you're ready for pancakes, add to each cup of mix:

1 Egg, lightly beaten

3/4 C. Milk

1 t. Oil

1 t. Vanilla

Maple Syrup or Honey, for serving

Stir gently until combined. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes before adding a teaspoon of butter or oil and tilting the pan in all directions to coat. Spoon in pancake batter and let cook until the edges look dry and bubbles have formed on top. Flip, cook another minute or so, then turn onto a plate and eat with maple syrup or honey. Add more butter or oil to the pan for subsequent batches.

You can also add 1 C. fresh or defrosted berries to the batter, or 1 C. diced apple or banana. Or really any fruit.