Tag Archives: stir fry

Mushroom Growing – NYC Style

1 Dec

It took me a long time to like mushrooms, but once I found their virtues, I was hooked.  I would now classify them as one of my favorite foods.  I also grew up with a dad that took me to things like “Fungus Fest,” so I guess it is not a shocker that I got all excited when my “Back to the Roots” grow-your-own mushroom box came in the mail (thank you OpenSky).  I would love to grow things like herbs, however, I live in a NYC apartment with no outdoor space and little light… so… mushrooms it is.

It comes in a box with a fully seeded (spored?) bag of mushrooms.  You cut slits in the bag and then soak it for 24 hours.  Then you put it in a box, in a window with a little light (but not direct), and then spritz it with water (a spray bottle comes with the kit) in the morning and at night.

After about 5 days… we started seeing a glimpse of little mushrooms poking out.

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And then a day later, there were more.

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And within 10 days of starting the pack, we had a mushroom forest on our hands!

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We actually wound up leaving them a few days too long and they got a little dried out, but after harvesting them (you just pluck them right off), we soaked them in water and they were plump and delicious in about an hour.

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We used them in a veggie and chicken stirfry and they were delicious.

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Next time I hope to use them in a dish all their own to highlight them (their flavor got a little lost in the stir fry).

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So I turned the kit around to the other side and already we have a new little crop.  They expect 3-4 growths out of each package… which is super awesome.

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An Ode to Stir Fry

2 Apr

For many, many years I labeled myself as someone who really had no idea how to cook.  I have probably mentioned this before, but I once hermetically sealed a pot in college while trying to make a rice-a-roni.  I just didn’t know any better and found cooking incredibly intimidating.  I was quite adept at baking, but cooking just seemed like a world away. Plus, there was open fire to contend with!

At some point during college, someone showed me how to make a stir fry.  I remember tentatively sitting in my kitchen the next day, surrounded by (poory) cut veggies and some cut up strips of chicken wondering if I could possibly make anything edible out of these FRESH things… without a recipe and without ::gasp:: measuring!  I cooked up the rice (I was finally an expert at rice by then) and then put some oil in the pan, threw in the chicken until it browned, threw in some veggies, threw in some soy sauce and garlic powder and watched in fear.

It seemed to be right, but how did I know if the chicken was done enough?  I remember calling out to my roommate, Kim (who was a very good cook), and asking how to know if the chicken was done. She mentioned something about cutting it open and seeing if it was pink.  I had pieces of chicken that were maybe 1 inch cubes, so I wasn’t quite sure how to cut into this thing… but it looked white inside so I took a deep breath and decided it was time to see how badly I could poison myself.

I was so surprised when it wasn’t just cooked, it was GOOD!  I think I stir fried everything for the next few weeks.  I tried every veggie and every meat.  I experimented with sauces (note: teriyaki sauce, good… BBQ sauce, bad) and found out that you could do some pretty crazy things in one pan.  I think I would call this my turning point.  Or at least a step in the right direction. I could cook stir fry! It was a small, but remarkable accomplishment.  I hadn’t set anything on fire, I hadn’t poisoned myself, and I hadn’t necessitated the strength of two men to pull apart a pot (mind you… it was the only pot we owned in college).

I have a warm spot for stir fry in my heart since then, and when Mike suggested he cook it for me a few weeks ago, I was quite excited by the idea. 

He used some good Basmati Rice.

Then put together some chicken, broccoli, carrots, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and what I think was soy sauce and a bit of ginger. 

It was so good!

One of my favorite things about stir fry is that you can pretty much clean out your fridge with it. I’ve even made stir fry with pieces of deli meat that were nearing their expiration.

Delish!

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