Guest Post: Cooking with Katerina

I am thrilled that Gina has given me the privilege of writing a post for you guys today. My name is Katerina and I started a food and recipe blog called Daily Unadventures in Cooking several years ago.  I love cooking and eating so much in fact I had to take up running. Luckily, I found a second passion and they seem to compliment each other terribly well. The more I run, the more I need to eat to fuel myself!   My foodie philosophy is to truly eat everything, but I believe that moderation is the key. Plus I also take great pride in making healthy things taste fantastic and eating as many seasonal and local things as I can. 

For today’s post I thought I would try and add a recipe to the Fitnessista’s arsenal of great entertaining and healthy recipes. Gina is always throwing dinner parties that I want to be invited to, and I think one of the things she demonstrates best is how important preparation is.  This recipe for baked portobello mushrooms is great to entertain with since you can prep it all ahead and just slam it in the oven 30 minutes before you are ready to devour.

Mushrooms have such a wonderful deep flavour and meaty texture, any carnivores at your table won’t mind these.  (My boyfriend wanted more mushrooms rather then lamb chops the other night!)  The lemon juice and chilies help deliver a real fresh flavour and the parsley punches up the color of the mocha mushrooms.  Lots of pepper is key here, and if you are feeling it, a little dot of butter goes a long way — though olive oil is a great substitution. If you are interested in other similar recipes check out my spaghetti squash gratin, spinach hummus, or whole wheat zucchini and cherry bread.

Baked Mushrooms with Lemon and Parsley
(serves 2 as a side)

2 portobello mushrooms
a garlic clove
1/2 lemon juiced
1 dried thai chili, crushed
1 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced. Reserve a pinch for garnish.
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter (or substitute 1 teaspoon drizzled olive oil)
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400F. Wash the mushrooms.  Cut away the stems and remove the gills from the portobello mushrooms.  (The easiest way to do this is to scrape with a spoon.)  Spray the bottom of a cookie sheet or small casserole and place the mushrooms upside down.  Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut side across the mushrooms then discard.  Using your fingers, evenly sprinkle mushrooms with chilies and parsley.   Drizzle with lemon juice then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Break the butter into pieces with your hands and dot over the mushrooms.
Bake for 25 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley and more freshly ground pepper.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you so much for the guest post, Katerina! I can’t wait to try those baked mushrooms…. 😉

We’re off at a BBQ but I’ll see you guys later tonight with Memorial Day Mushies and a re-cap of the day.

xoxo,

Gina