Magic Mushrooms: Stuffed Baby Bellas

Assortment II by Cecelia Moseley, Oxford, MS

I know, that is not a picture of magic mushrooms..unless you have been eating them and then it might be. It is another of the sculptures in Lamar Park, where I did NOT walk yesterday, which is a story unto itself. But if I had posted the mushrooms in the beginning, you would not get the prequel credits! I love the postings from Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen: the recipes, the photos of her beautiful food plated in vintage dishes, and most important, that they are deliciously healthy options. Pineapple Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms were featured in April and I kept intending to try it….time passes….

This time, other than the issue of being unable since April to find portobello mushrooms in Oxford, there were no issues. I finally gave up thinking one day portobellos would magically arrive, and bought baby bellas. I selected 12 good-sized mushrooms, as 4 of them seemed like a rough equivalent to the size of a regular portobello, and thus, “a serving.” I assembled all the ingredients on the counter, all the equipment I needed, and got to work.

Grilled pineapple-topped stuffed baby bellas

For obvious reasons (though not to be considered an “issue”), I could not place the pineapple ring in or on the mushroom, since these babies are one quarter the size of a portobello. I utilized Dorothy’s instructions to grill the pineapple before hand, and instead of placing in the cap, set it aside during the first 20 minutes of cook time. You brush the inside of the cap with a mixture of dijon mustard, brown sugar, and olive oil before mounding the stuffing. See the full recipe ingredients and instructions from The New Vintage Kitchen HERE. The stuffing is a simple mixture made from whole wheat bread cubes, milk, egg, and some additional items and spices. Due to the picky eaters (R & J) in this household, the only thing I added to the stuffing besides the main ingredients, salt and pepper, was a shake of freeze dried minced garlic. I can add that to a recipe without it setting off the R/J alarm so please don’t spill the garlic.

The mushrooms with the stuffing first bake at 350 for 20 minutes. At that point, I removed them from the oven and topped with the previously grilled pineapple rings. The oven is turned up to 425 for an additional 20 minutes, or until the stuffing is brown and crispy–it took about 10 more minutes since I was using smaller mushrooms. The mushrooms were delicious, Dorothy–thank you for sharing this adaptable recipe you created from your mom’s grilled pineapples previously topping ham and the stuffing she used with her pork chops. Folks, you will not miss the ham nor the pork chops with this hybrid! High in taste and texture and unique flavors, and coming to the table with a calorie count (by my calculations of the ingredients I used) at a respectable 313 calories.

Turning your back on Assortment

Since I returned to plant-based eating accompanied by walking 6 days ago, these are the “issues” I have experienced:

• A loss of 2.5 pounds
• More restful sleep
• Not waking up tired
• More energy
• Not feeling “down”
• Improved mood
• Less aches and pains
• Better breathing
• Not having shortness of breath
• Flatter stomach
• Food tastes better

It is definitely not a magic bullet. I remind myself every day that I am worth it. What’s on your plate today?