Mushroom "Meat"

Last week the Asian market had King Oyster mushrooms on sale for 99 cents a pound. Although I had no idea exactly what I would do with them, for that price a large package jumped into my bag.

Britannica

However, it turned out that both Hubby Tony and I had a lot of evening commitments, which meant that I didn't do any cooking. A week later I was still looking at the package every time I opened the refrigerator. The internet told me that king oyster mushrooms had a lower moisture content than regular mushrooms and could be refrigerated for 7 to 14 days without any issues, but the internet also told me the mushrooms could be cooked and frozen for future use.

That's what I decided to do. After cutting off the hard bottoms I raked a fork down the sides of the mushrooms, which made it easy to break them into shreds. I baked those shreds at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, turning them a couple of times and pouring off the accumulated juices so all the pieces could brown. When I was done I had a large plateful of mushroom "meat" ready to use down the line and a small container of mushroom juice. Both went into the freezer.

Mushroom "meat"

Today, when it was time to cook dinner I thawed the pan juices and mushrooms. The juice went into polenta cooking liquid. The mushrooms, plus a can of black beans, went into an Italian-inspired tomato sauce. I decided I didn't want to put together a salad, so I added frozen corn to the entree. 

At dinner time Tony spooned half of the polenta into bowls, topped it with half of the mushroom mixture, and served it up. I added a dash of Frank's Red Hot sauce. Tony chose not to. Both of us agreed it was a healthy, filling meal. And even better, there was enough for a second night.

The finished result

Five years ago: Cream Of The Crop Coasters