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PAGE 8A - FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday. March 19, 2004 Mushrooms: An excellent source of vitamins and very tasty For years most people thought the only type of mushroom was the white kind. Nowadays, you can find three or four different varieties, alongside the still popular white mushroom. Though grouped with fruits and vegeta bles. mushrooms are actually fungi. You do not have to be a marketing expert to understand why grocers are hesitant to have a "Fungi" section. Mushrooms have a long and interesting history. According to Egyptian Hieroglyphics, some 4,6(X) years ago; mushrooms were hailed as the plant of immor tality. The Pharaohs decreed that only royalty could eat mushrooms, thus assuring themselves a never-ending supply. France led the earliest for mal cultivation of mushrooms. History suggests that Louis XIV led the way as the first official mushroom grower. England quickly got in on the act. Mushrooms finally made their way across the Atlantic to the United States in the late 19th century . In 1891. the first book on mushroom growing was pub lished. William Falconer, from Dosoris. Long Island, wrote the popular "Mushrooms: How to Grow Them; A Practical Treatise on Mushroom Culture for Profit and Pleasure." His book explained how easy it was to cultivate the fungi and he even encouraged house wives to grow mushrooms then King Crossword ACROSS 1 “CSI" concern 4 D-Day beach 8 Indulge in mockery 12 Aries 13 Iditarod termi nus 14 Orenburg’s river 15 Intention 16 Irreversible occurrence 18 Rodeo ride 20 Tavern 21 Pitcher Hershiser... 24 ... and part of his equipment 28 Flatter lavishly 32 Stretched (out) 33 Inseparable 34 AA candidates 36 Playwright Levin 37 Motherless one? 39 Fizzy treat 41 Pompey or Pliny 43 Aching 44 Morning mois ture 46 Ford flop 50 “Smile!" 55 Omega pre ceder 56 Carpet layer’s calculation 57 “Lolita” actress Sue Adlen < ’ 'WJL Robinson K jLr sell them for extra spending money. Southeastern Pennsylvania was and still is the largest cen ter of mushroom production in the country', but other areas with concentrated mushroom industry growth include Long Island, central Massachusetts. Chicago, Michigan and California. We eat a lot of fungi. In 2001-02, the United States produced more than 850 mil lion pounds of mushrooms. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is an institute represent ing fungi the American Mushroom Institute. It was developed to coordinate the actions of independent growers and act on behalf of the mush room industry' as a w hole. Besides being delicious, mushrooms are low in calories, have no cholesterol, and are virtually free of fat and sodi um. They are also a terrific source of B-complex vitamins. In addition, throughout Asia there has been numerous stud ies suggesting mushrooms may aid in the treatment of certain types of cancer, boost the immune system and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Enough said. Now let's get to the food. Here are some of ~ 2 3 [5 [6 F MP [9 110 In _ 1 g ZJIBBIZ ■ 28 29 30 33 HP* 37 |_ _______ 41 ■■ 50 51 52 53 54 ■■ss 56 Hr 58 Cable sta. 59 Bound 60 Monocle part 61 Reuben holder DOWN 1 Uninteresting 2 Neet rival 3 Bullets 4 Loosen a lightbulb 5 Pinnacle 6 Chartres chum 7 Succor 8 Hodgepodge 9 Onassis, familiarly 10 One of the © 2004 King Features Synd., Inc 3 A _N jTTWdIvTBTT N d nMN~ Q A hMV 3 H V I S_ djßjF s 3 _3.iL 0 A V s 1 3 cFmM MMp H O Sm|n V fl O H fl V 3IH 0 9 9 3MrW v a y v h JJE o_ jn_ j_ mJO IL 0 q 3 > 3M7 n h 3 iTT n a A0 1 3 ■eF n n[o h a 2L2_±J1 11 1 d s~Mfl~ i y 1 V H TTM 3 fl O NM fl V H 3 d v r M R v i nM v n a IN THE KITCHEN my all-time favorite mushroom recipes. If you have never experimented with other types of mushrooms, now is the time to. Mushroom roll-ups 1 loaf thinly sliced white broad (I use Pepperidge Fanns) 2 tablespoons butter 2 cups white mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed, chopped 1/2 cup wild mushrooms, cleaned, chopped « 1 clove garlic, minced 3 tablespoons chives, minced Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons dry sherry' 2 tablespoons Worcester shire sauce 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated 1/4 cup butter, melted Wooden toothpicks Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add white and wild mushrooms, cooking until softened, about five min utes. Add garlic, chives, and a little salt and pepper, cooking a few more minutes. Increase heat and carefully add sherry and Worcestershire sauce. To assemble; Using rolling pin, gently roll each piece of bread until flattened. Carefully cut off crusts, and set aside for another use (like making bread crumbs). Place one tablespixin mushroom mixture in the cen ter of each slice of bread, and carefully roll up diagonally. Secure with a wooden tooth pick. Continue until all mush room mixture is used. Place roll-ups on baking sheet. gang 11 Wapiti 17 Yank 19 Part of NIMBY 22 Pennsylvania port 23 They’re good for a breather 25 Tom Joad, typically 26 “Ship of Fools” ship 27 Dutch treat 28 Piglet’s pop 29 Destroy 30 Squad 31 Walt Kelly strip 35 Uses caller ID, maybe 38 Wild and crazy 40 Roulette bet 42 Bk. after Ezra 45 Jack Benny’s expletive 47 Boot attach ment 48 Get a glimpse of 49 Occupation 50 “My Gal 51 Exist 52 Verily 53 Storm center 54 Junior preferably lined with parch ment paper. Brush roll-ups with melted butter. May pre pare earlier in the day. cover, and refrigerate. When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, and bake 10-15 min utes, until golden brown. After assembling these, and blushing with butter, you can freeze them for up to three months. When ready to bake, do not thaw, and just add a few more minutes to the baking time. • • • Stuffed mushrooms are a lot like deviled eggs. They seem sort of ho hum, but everybody always gobbles them up. I love stuffed mush rooms-the round little cap is a perfect canvas for a myriad of stuffings. My favorite one of all is a simple stuffing with herbs and a little Parmesan. But feel free to use whatever you like. The real secret to per fect stuffed mushrooms is scraping out the gills (which can make the mushroom watery ) and roasting them at a high temperature on the lowest oven wrack. Roasted stuffed mush rooms with Parmesan and herbs 24 large white mushrooms, cleaned 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or garlic infused oil) Salt and pepper 2 tablespoon butter 1 cup onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced Stems from the mush rooms. finely chopped 1 teaspoon dried thyme 3 tablespoons dry' white wine (or Sherry' or chicken stock) 2 tablespoon parsley, minced 3/4 cup cracker crumbs (Saltines are fine) 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated JG $ 52 - M r2-gd The annual cost of buying just the SUNDAY edition of the Forsyth County P News from one of these 1b $52. 00 ' The annual cost of jPWBh having all 4 DAYS of the Forsyth County News delivered here | | | | (your home) 3 , Wednesday/Thursday XilffiJß-M Friday/Sunday Make the Smart Choice! SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO THE Forsyth County News J Your* Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J t To begin immediate delivery to your home/business, call us at 770-887-3126. We’ll send you a bill or we accept Visa or Mastercard right over the phone. You can also e-mail circ@forsythnews.com ASK ABOUT OUR SPECIAL 2 YEAR RATE! Prepare the mushrooms: Remove stems and set aside for the stuffing. Using a spoon or melon bailer, remove the gills from the mushroom cap. This also allows more room for stuffing. Place the mush room caps on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, coating them well. Sprinkle each cap with salt and pepper. Set aside. Make stuffing: Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add garlic, chopped mush room stems, and thyme, cook ing another five minutes. Add white wine and cook until the alcohol bums off, a few more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Stuff each mushroom cap with a mound of the stuffing. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roast mushrooms on the lowest oven wrack for 20- 25 minutes, until browned. Let cool five minutes or so before serving. • • • Mushroom risotto with fresh herbs 3 cups shitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, sliced thinly 1 cup white mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, sliced thinly 3 tablespoons butter, divid ed 4-5 cups chicken stock, heated to the boiling point 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons shallot, minced 1 garlic clove, minced 1 cup Arborio rice Salt and pepper 1/3 cup dry white wine 2 tablespoons fresh herbs, minced (such as parsley, thyme, rosemary) 1 /4 cup Parmesan cheese Heat chicken stock in saucepan, and keep it simmer ing on the stovetop. In a small skillet, melt one tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until they are slightly browned and have given up their liquid, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In a medium-sized pan, heat one tablespoon butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat. When butter is foaming, add shallot and garlic, cooking a few minutes. Stir in Arborio rice, making certain each rice kernel is coated with the butter and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to high, and then carefully add the wine. When wine has evap orated completely, stir in chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently, but not constantly. When liquid evaporates, add another half cup of hot stock. Continue adding the liq uid. a half-cup at a time, being careful to stir constantly. The heat should be medium and not too hot. Do not boil the risotto. After about 20 minutes, taste the risotto. Perfect risotto is creamy, with a little bit of a bite to the rice. You may need to continue adding stock and cooking another 5 to 10 minutes. If you run out of stock, use hot water. When risotto is done, stir in mushrooms, herbs, Parmesan cheese, and remaining one tablespoon butter. Sene imme diately. Adlen Robinson's Food col umn is published in every Friday .s newspaper. Her "Home Matters" column is published in every Sunday's newspaper. She welcomes reader tips, suggestions and comments. Please email her al a4kidz@bellsouth.net or write to her at the newspaper.