This week has been nuts!

 

I worked all last weekend at the hospital and this is now my last week to get the oldest three kids ready for a week away at camp. The five year old is staying with a friend next week while the other kids are at camp so I will be child-free for the week. With all the allergies the youngest has, I am packing both clothes AND food for her while she’s away. I hurt my back and have been working on my yoga and stretching to feel better.  Plus, I’m trying to wrap up loose ends at the office, Father’s Day is Sunday, and my mom and brother have birthdays next week and everyone’s cards need to get in the mail. Like, right now.

 

 

But there is a method to the madness. My birthday is next week! So, I’m planning a restful week and in order to get that rest, I have to double time it to get everyone else set up to function without me. So this week even more than usual, I need some quick food options that don’t require a take-out menu.

 

Enter the Instant Pot again! Have I said I love this machine? I pulled it out yesterday when I flew in the door at 6 pm, threw two cups of quinoa and two cups of water in it, hit the “rice” button, and ran off to take a shower. The quinoa was perfectly done when I came back and I ate it with some sauteed veggies and grilled fish I made the night before.

 

One of my favorite timesaving kitchen toys…

 

Today I spent a wonderful morning with one of my best friends to celebrate by birthday in advance. We went into the forest park near her house and foraged chanterelle mushrooms. I love all kinds of mushrooms, but chanterelles are incredible and very, very expensive. We went back to her house with our bounty and she made me a birthday frittata with the chanterelles. She also made me some vegan, gluten free chocolate truffles, because she knows how much I love chocolate and she loves me.

 

Fresh from the woods…

 

Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods. Ok, that sounds strange, but they go so well with everything! I love them in salads, on pizza, and in scrambled eggs with onions, spinach and tomatoes. I’m getting hungry…

Mushrooms are also incredibly good for you. You’ve probably seen something in the media about medicinal mushrooms like chaga, reishi and cordyceps being good for all kinds of good things like memory, immunity and regeneration, but even the ones you see in the grocery store all the time like portabello and white button have some wonderful health benefits. Mushrooms are low in calories and carbohydrates, but high in B vitamins, antioxidants and antiviral and sometimes tumor-fighting compounds. Mushrooms can help boost your natural immunity by protecting from DNA damage, increasing your disease fighting cells, and helping your natural detoxification process.  Did you know that some antibiotics are derived from mushroom fungal compounds? Now to be accurate, mushrooms are neither fruit nor vegetable. They are a fungus, which sounds bad, but it’s really not. I like to think of them as delicious medicine!

 

So, I brought some chanterelles home and made a quick veggie dinner. You can use any mushrooms you have, but if you can get chanterelles, they’re delicious! You also could substitute rice for the quinoa, but the quinoa has more protein and it’s really pretty too.

 

My chanterelle harvest!

 

Chanterelle Quinoa (One Skillet Meal)

One onion, chopped

One tbsp garlic minced (I used black garlic because it’s sweet and mild – regular fresh garlic works great too, and you can use the kind in a jar too if you want!)

Two handfuls greens (spinach, kale, chard – whatever you have. Make sure they’re baby leaves or cut them into smaller bite sized pieces)

1/2-1 cup sliced mushrooms

1-2 cups cooked quinoa

1-2 tbsp of your favorite fresh herb (cilantro, basil, etc) to top off your plate

 

(I didn’t use the sun dried tomatoes, but they would have been good!)

 

Cut all your veggies up and have them ready to go in the pan. This is gonna be quick!

 

 

Saute your onions first, approximately three minutes in some olive oil or ghee. Add the garlic for one minute, then add your mushrooms and stir until they are slightly cooked through. They’re gonna keep cooking with the other veggies, so don’t cook them completely.  Last, add the greens and cook until slightly wilted. Season your veggies with salt and any other spices you like.

 

 

Add the quinoa and stir until warmed through. Sprinkle your shredded herb of choice over top. Add fresh ground black pepper on top and serve!

 

I topped mine with avocado and basil. It was delicious!

See you in a couple of weeks!