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While I still receive a box of local foods each week, I have to admit that I haven’t selected many items that required actual cooking. For example, one of the vendors is a bakery that offers delicious scones. In the great debate of kale vs. scones, the scones won.
So what possessed me to order the oyster mushrooms? I don’t know. I guess it was one of the few times I had seen mushrooms of any kind on the list and I like to try out food from new farmers. I was unfamiliar with oyster mushrooms and rather surprised by the enormous size of the item in the plastic clam shell box lurking in my refrigerator.
I was about to forgive my ordering mistake and throw it out, but then thought, no, I’ll try to cook something with it…to my delight, I found a recipe that used not only the giant mushroom but also the guilt-inducing bag of spinach (also from the co-op).
The recipe was actually very good – who knew? Three out of four family members liked it (and the fourth didn’t want to eat it at all as it contained mushrooms). I would make a few changes in the future (like substituting a more conservative mushroom) and increasing the amount of sauce, but the flavor was nice. And, I didn’t even notice the oyster mushrooms once they were cooked.
The original recipe, from Martha Stewart, makes a large 9″ x 13″ pan of lasagna. I was at the mercy of the quantities of spinach and mushroom that came from the co-op, so I halved everything. I also made a few substitutions to match the existing items in my pantry: sherry for the Madeira, Parmesan for the Romano, boring lasagna noodles for the fresh spinach ones, and button mushrooms for the topping (a marketing move on my part). Click here for the real recipe. I’m sure the published recipe is good too!
