Bachelorette chow: Mushrooms

In order to make my everyday life run more smoothly, I've recently designated a special activity to each day of the week. Living in a household of +0 means that I am completely responsible for every aspect of it and this has its upsides and downsides. When I first moved out on my own about six years ago, I did not know how to cook. When I did try to cook for survival purposes, the food was extremely bland. I relied heavily on pasta, potatoes and ingredients that only needed to be fried. Needless to say, not only did my health deteriorate but I also wasn't enjoying eating as much as I had always done. I thought being a foodie meant eating out 90% of the time and I did that for a long period of my life. But I wanted to delve deeper into this side of me. Now that I think about it, I realize that even while eating out, my eating palette was extremely limited. My taste buds were accustomed to only certain types of food and I wanted something new. So God gave me the perfect opportunity to put this to the test, living on my own meant I could finally explore my taste buds as I saw fit. At first I shunned this challenge, now I embrace it with every ounce of my being.

So as I was saying, I've designated a special activity to each day of the week. Well tuesdays are shopping days in my household. I either shop for clothes, food or household items. Today I wanted to focus on you've guessed it: food. I learned how to cook through prayer and good ol' trial & error. And a marvelous piece of advice given to me by a lady of a hairforum I frequent. Here is what she had to say on the subject after I opened a discussion on how to go from making edible food to finger licking delicious meals:

Next time you eat something you really enjoy, take your time and savor the flavors with your tastebuds. The aroma with your sense of smell. The colors and textures with your eyes. Close your eyes and let the ingredients and seasonings introduce themselves in your mind. In other words, surrender yourself, completely. Then next time you set out to make a dish, recall upon that moment and your food will be incredible. - MissMasala5

I never forgot that. In fact I even set out to accomplish just what she had instructed, one step at a time. I started thinking about the meals I enjoy the most and which flavors they have. What they awaken in me and so forth. I mentioned earlier that my eating palette was limited because all I knew was what TV commercials and magazines advertised. A delicious meal to me consisted of french fries, a burger and a soda on the side. I occasionally ate fantastic food in my household as a little girl or when I was invited places, but because it was few and far between, I relied heavily on street food. And as I've mentioned before, I paid a heavy price for it. 

Today I find myself in a transitional phase on so many aspects of my life, including in the area of culinary art. It is an art that I wish to master perfectly so I study it continuously. I try out all kinds of recipes that can only be inspired to me through Him and it's been a great adventure so far. Because we're living in less affluent times than before, I think it's also important to mention that I don't try to break the bank with my groceries. I opt for ingredients that I can use for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today's recipe I came up with is no different. The main ingredient I'm going to discuss are mushrooms, which I've read is very good for stronger bones. 

Breakfast: Chorizo and mushrooms hash

- use a skillet

- one teaspoon of coconut oil

- cut up cherry tomatoes in four- cut up mushrooms in four- slice chorizo in round pieces then in four - add a bit of BBQ sauce and one teaspoon of mineral water- cover with a see through kettle ( let cook for 20 to 30 minutes)
- serve with a salad or brown bread! Enjoy!

Lunch: Spinach with mushrooms and eggs

- use a wok

- one or two table spoons of ghee butter

- add diced onions to it until they've soften

- add fresh or frozen spinach

- add the cut up mushrooms (in four parts) simultaneously

- let simmer for a few minutes until the mushrooms have produced a sauce

- add some Himalaya or sea salt to it

- add the beaten egg to it (add some salt to this too)

- let simmer for 30 minutes at low heat

- make sure to always taste while it's cooking to make sure it tastes good and does not contain too much salt

- serve with brown rice! Enjoy!

Dinner: Rice with mushrooms and bell peppers (pictured above)

- use a wok

- one or two table spoons of olive oil or ghee butter

- add diced onions 

- add stripes of green, yellow and red bell peppers

- add brown or white mushrooms cut in four parts

- add stripes of bacon

- add BBQ sauce 

- you can substitute the fresh diced onions for fried onions at this point, if that is what you prefer

- cover with a see through kettle and let cook until everything has softened

- serve with white or brown rice! Enjoy!