wild about oyster mushrooms.......at kitchen! kitchen!

Oyster Mushroom Chili
Here's a mushroom that lives up to its name - it looks, smells, and
tastes like oysters. I found these goodies in the asian market. They are robust,
sweet tasting and quite versatile too. Blends well in a variety of dishes.
These are normally wild that grow on tree trunks after the first rains
of the season. No need to forage around your backyard or in the woods for these.
(God forbids you might end up with poisonous ones)
They are now cultivated and readily available in
supermarkets and specialty stores.
When I made the oyster mushroom chili, my son said, " a good dish to add to
the rotation". I have come up with a few rotation of dishes for dinner each week.
One would be a dinner of fish (or any seafood), another chicken or turkey dish.
I have cut down on red meat, so most of my dishes are either, chicken, turkey,
duck, and fish. Don't get me wrong, I still love read meat, so every now and
then I would just throw in a steak to sear for dinner. Vegetables or salads
are a "must have" of course. Because we are kind of watching our carbs intake,
pasta is only served if I am being lazy and needs to do a quick dish.
Weekend dishes are different - I make something special, since I have more time
to spend in the kitchen in a more relaxed mood.



Oyster mushroom chili perking away in a deep pan.
A more reduction of the sauce will make this a wonderful filling for tacos.
Another dish to consider!

My main ingredients are:
1 pk. of ground Jennie-O turkey (any ground meat will do)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 medium diced onions
Salt/black pepper
1 tblsp. of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of olive oil or vegetable oil
Diced green chili pepper (optional) * instead use sweet green peppers diced)*
1 pk. of oyster mushrooms (cleaned)
1 can (15 oz.) of diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) of gandules verdes (green pigeon peas) - rinsed and drained*
Sofrito (google for recipe) or a jar of Goya's sofrito *

In a large deep pan heat the oil and add the ground meat until the water from the meat evaporates; make a small well in the middle and add the diced garlic, onions, chili pepper until translucent. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes before adding the mushrooms, mixing well; incorporate the tomato paste, sofrito; add the diced tomatoes, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes before adding the gandules verdes. Simmer for another 10 minutes. * you may simmer this longer to reduced the sauce for TACOS.
Serve with diced white onions on top and shredded cheese. (picorino romano)