Foodie Friday : Mushroom: Real Food of Fantasy and Fairy Tales

When one says the word “mushroom” it might provoke various thoughts. Psychedelic dreams.  Fantasy and fairy tales.  Tiny homes for whimsical creatures.  A meat substitute for vegans and vegetarians.

For me, it provokes a memory of a romantic dinner date.  My first experience tasting a mushroom was when my late husband (my fiancé at the time) prepared dinner for me.  Steak with mushroom gravy. 

Before meeting my husband, I avoided mushrooms for two reasons.

~Number 1:  My mother never used them in any of her recipes.  Mom didn’t cook them. (???)  Maybe they don’t taste good.  (O.o)

~Number 2:  The way people describe mushrooms.  Fungus.  Toadstool.  They don’t make the mushroom sound appetizing or visually appealing.

However, many cooks and chefs use the mushroom as the main ingredient in their recipes.  Foodies are happy to share photos of amazing dishes where mushrooms are the star of the show.  

As for being visually appealing, mushrooms are quite beautiful. 

Artists often use them to illustrate fantasies. 

Nature photographers go insane! They capture incredible pics just roaming through the woods or the fields.

My first time eating mushrooms was over 40 years.  But from that day forward, I didn’t need convincing to make mushrooms a part of my diet.  However, in case you do, perhaps this health article by Popular Science will persuade you.  “4 reasons you should eat more mushrooms”.


It's good to know these reasons why, but the most important thing everybody needs to know about mushrooms is that some of them are NOT edible.  No doubt you will find these information links useful.

10 of the World's Deadliest Mushrooms - WorldAtlas.com

14 Types of Mushrooms and their Uses – Epicurious

glitter-graphics.com

Did You Know There is Such a Thing as a BLUE MUSHROOM?

Content first appeared at Virily.com

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My Foodie Luv First Food Experiences: Veggie Burger

Veggie burgers look like burgers but they don't contain meat. Do you remember the first time you ate a veggie burger?

Can you remember your first veggie burger experience? I can remember mine. I ran away!  Me? Eat a meatless burger? I think not!

I was working at a state hospital and there was a small restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. Most of the employees and managers ate there. On a certain day of the week, the owner’s special was soy burgers. The burgers looked delicious! I would have eaten it too if she (the owner/manager) had not casually mentioned before I was about to order that it was a meatless burger.

I’m like: No beef! It’s a hamburger with no meat! Forget about it!

She laughed at my reaction and told me that so many people would order those soy burgers that she would run out of them. She never had enough to serve all the customers. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would have thought she was just kidding me. But she wasn’t kidding! Her customers really loved those veggie burgers. But I wasn’t convinced.

Fast forward about 10 to 15 years later and for personal reasons, major dietary changes had to be made for the sake of a certain family member. I found myself not having to choose whether I would eat a veggie burger, but what kind of veggie burger was I going to eat? Oh my! There are only thousands of recipes and several brands in the store that you can buy ready-made.

Me personally, I like veggie burgers made with mushrooms. They at least have a “meaty” taste. Several years have passed and now I’m perfectly OK with eating veggie burgers. Of course, they don’t taste like a hamburger. But they don’t taste nearly as awful as I imagined that they would. I don’t know what I was thinking when I worked at the state hospital. After all veggie burgers are made out of foods I usually eat anyway: beans, chickpeas, mushrooms, nuts, oats. The only difference is they shape those foods into a patty to make it look like a burger. Duh!

It’s so true. You eat with your mind. LOL.

Do you have a favorite veggie burger?

The 12 Best Veggie Burger Recipes | The Spruce Eats

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Like to know about some of my other “First Food Experiences”?

• Bagels

• Eggplant

• Baked Potato Topping

• Roasted Pig (Lechòn)

• Zucchini Muffins

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Content published elsewhere on the web.

Why is Changing Your Eating and Drinking Habits So Challenging?

Over the years you become so accustomed to certain food and drink, that a suggested change in your diet isn't a change ... it's a challenge!

Hope you’re in the mood for some delightful foodie humor. Here goes.

When you have developed certain eating and drinking habits over the years, you think that either you will absolutely never change your ways OR you reluctantly make the change while whining about how hard it is to change. But once you make that change … which is usually for the better … your body (and mind) adapt so easily that you wonder why you thought it would be difficult.

Has that happened to you? It has happened in my life so many times.

I talked about my first food experience with veggie burgers in another post.

Several years before that experience, I told a friend that I would never eat meatless spaghetti. I used my kids as an excuse and said they would never agree with that change in the menu. Truth is I had never even tried to get them to eat it. I just assumed they wouldn't. Several years later, my daughters took over some of my meal preparation duties and decided that they were perfectly OK with meatless spaghetti. Served it with garlic bread and a huge salad and they were happy! Well! There went my excuse. LOL. The meal is great! To my surprise, I don't mind meatless spaghetti at all! And of course, my objection to a plate of meatless spaghetti was totally ridiculous. After all, I'll eat a large plate of vegetable lo mein without batting an eye. And what is lo mein? DUH!

Image Credit:  Amazon.com

My latest dietary change pertains to drinking less coffee and consuming more tea. I think back again to that same friend, who was my office mate. She drank tea religiously while I consumed gallons of coffee. Once again, my daughters decided that they would become tea drinkers instead of coffee lovers. Hey, wait a minute! Is this a conspiracy? LOL.

I am not a total convert. I still have to have my daily dose of java. But I am enjoying experimenting with the various flavors of teas that my kids purchase from the local grocery store and also making my own teas with herbs and spices in the kitchen cabinet. Teas have numerous medicinal purposes and lots of health benefits. On top of that, tea tastes good and some teapots are really pretty!

Have you been challenged to make any dietary changes?

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If You Like This You Might Also Like:

Food and Drink History: The Evolution of Tea

How to Pimp Up A Glass of Water

Source: My Foodie Luv newsletter

First Food and Drink Experiences: Chai Tea

I was binge-watching a Turkish television series, set in 19th century Istanbul, and in one of the scenes, the man offered a drink to the two ladies at the table with him. Neither lady trusted him but they didn't want to be rude, so they accepted the cup that he poured. He said that people should be willing to experiment and try new things and that he wanted to introduce them both to a new drink he discovered from India. Chai tea!

As I'm watching the program, I'm going: “Oh! Oh! Chai tea! I know what that is!!”

Photo by René Pollock on Unsplash

My husband is from The Bahamas, but he needed to stop drinking coffee for health reasons and started trying different types of teas. In the course of his experimentation, he discovered chai tea and introduced it to me.

I must say it does have an exotic flavor. I like it!

~ Any chai tea drinkers out there?

~ Are there different ways you choose to enjoy this delicious combination of herbs and spices in drink form?

I found a turmeric-chai-latte recipe.

Do you have you own chai tea recipe?  Recipe Sharing.

• 'Chai tea is delicious. Why not chai cake?'  

Turmeric Chai Latte https://t.co/S0i1MV3EMO via @savorysimple #tea #teadrinkers #tealovers #chaitea #exotic #foodanddrink @EverydaySpices

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) September 3, 2019

Do you like CHAI TEA? I only learned about this wonderful drink a few years ago. Come to find out ... it's only been around for an eternity! Do you have your own special #chai #tea #recipe? It turns out ... many people do! https://t.co/bFCo31akKe #teadrinkers #tealovers pic.twitter.com/wf6HP4pCKo

— EverydayExoticSpices (@EverydaySpices) August 29, 2019

* More "First Food Experiences" *

First Food Experiences: Zucchini Muffins ~ https://t.co/Jfnd7fARW3 ~ Do you have an experience or memory of the first time you ate something? #Food #recipe #recipes #FoodAndDrink #Foodies #HealthyEating #eatyourveggies pic.twitter.com/VP64cId9sG

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) September 3, 2019

First Food Experiences: Baked Potato Topping ~ https://t.co/BUAjubXhCy ~ What's your favorite baked potato topping? #food #foodandrink #foodies #toppings @EverydaySpices pic.twitter.com/jx7wl9KJqY

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) September 3, 2019

First Food Experiences: Roasted Pig (Lechòn) ~ https://t.co/3K4fUx6owf ~ #Christmas #Christmasfood #HolidayFirsts #Food #foodanddrink #Cuba #Florida #memories #traditions #holidaytraditions @Medium @EverydaySpices pic.twitter.com/bUYZ0pMOdw

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) September 3, 2019

My Foodie Shares Around the Web

Ever heard of myLot? It's one of those social networking sites that pay you for just having discussions and being friendly. It's a neat way to earn some extra income. You can start discussions or chime on discussions already going on. It's lots of fun. The discussions I initiate are varied but of course, several of them are about food and drink or something food-related. 

Here are a few examples.   But there are lots more!  Enjoy! 😊

Sushi vs. Sashimi - There's a Difference?

Life's Guilty Pleasures: French Fries

Life's Guilty Pleasures: French Fries

We probably all have our guilty pleasures don't we? Never prepared a list, but if I did, french fries would be on it! French fries, smothered with melted cheddar cheese, sprinkled with crispy bacon pieces. If I'm going to indulge myself, might as well go all the way! Right?

Store-Bought or Homemade. Which is Better?

Store-Bought or Homemade. Which is Better?

In high school we had to study Greek philosophers. One of the philosophers that stuck in my mind was Epicurus. He believed in the "pleasure principle"....

First Food Experiences – Zucchini Muffins

First Food Experiences - Zucchini Muffins

Years ago when I was a poor university student, a treat would be to catch a public bus and go to a mall, look in the stores and maybe grab a bite to eat somewhere. Somewhere ... cheap! One day at the mall there was this restaurant that had a wonderful aroma coming from it.

Root Veggies From Jupiter Taste Better!

Root Veggies From Jupiter Taste Better!

Sharing a tidbit from stuff that gets thrown into my "I would have never thunk it!" files. Have you ever thought that: "Plants grown on other planets...

World Cuisine: Spotlight on Jordan

World Cuisine: Spotlight on Jordan

Yielding to temptation again. Have to share something foodie oriented. A famous athlete was a guest on a TV cooking show and he was being interviewed by the host who asked him, since he had traveled so many places around the world, what type of food did he like the most.