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Loading ...December 19, 2009
About Mushrooms
At the market look for mushrooms that appear fresh, feel firm and smell good. They should not look dry, shriveled, or darkened – these signs indicate the mushrooms are old.
They can be stored in the refrigerator for several days but they must have good air circulation. Store them in a paper bag with a few holes punched in it. Do not store them in plastic – they will sweat and rot quickly.
To prepare them for cooking, trim away any darkened or discoloured parts with a knife and remove the stems. Use as little water as possible to clean them. A soft-bristled dry brush is good for removing most dirt. A dampened paper towel can also be used to wipe them clean.
Large Portobello mushrooms should be peeled and the dark gills under the cap removed. (The gills will impart an unpleasant brown colour to anything they’re cooked with.) Cut the cap in half. Place the cut-side on the work surface. With a sharp paring knife slice off the dark gills as though you’re slicing a piece of bread from a loaf.
Spears of asparagus are the tender young shoots of a large Eurasian perennial plant, asparagus officinalis. It grows into a four-foot tall, fern-like plant, each plant requiring several square feet of space. For this reason it isn’t very practical to grow in a small kitchen garden.
The spears are harvested in the late spring when they are between 6 and 12 inches above the ground and quite green. The first spears to be harvested can be very thin; the stalks fatten and get juicier as they mature. For this reason always look for the fattest specimens.
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