Recipe File: Sweet Potato Salad

Breakfast in Baghdad

Breakfast in Baghdad is often preceded by tea or coffee served in bed. The morning meal itself usually consists of tea or coffee, khubz or bread, cream, date sirup, and honey. The Western menu of fruit, eggs, cereal, meat, jam, and coffee is gaining popularity with Iraqis who have traveled or who live where Westerners mingle with them in business or social life.

from Good Food from the Near East: Five Hundred Favorite Recipes From Twelve Countries
by Joan Rowland

Flame-Roasting Eggplants

Coffee Brewing Tips

Making Cents With Turkey

Identifying Mushrooms

With names like puffball, fairy ring and bird’s nest, it’s hard to take some fungi seriously. But, as mushroom experts know, even the most innocent-looking toadstool sprouting from your lawn can be a life or death matter.

This is an especially important reminder in the fall months, when mushroom hunters across the country are trolling damp grass and groves in search of savory, golden chanterelles, meaty maitake mushrooms and other edible fungi.

Many look just like the ones in grocery stores, but they may not be safe to eat.

In fact, Chlorophyllum, a mushroom commonly seen in yards and on golf courses, looks very similar to some edible mushrooms. Unlike the edible mushrooms, Chlorophyllum is highly toxic and causes severe upset stomach.

David Farr, who studies fungi and works at ARS’ Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., knows firsthand the dangers of munching on a mystery mushroom.

For 20 years, Farr has been a point person for several Washington, D.C.-area hospitals treating patients who’ve eaten a suspicious, potentially poisonous mushroom. Treatment depends, in part, on how deadly the ingested mushroom is - which is why a quick and accurate identification by a fungus expert is critical.

In some instances, Farr has been able to rule out that the mushroom in question is lethal, allowing a patient to avoid the uncomfortable procedure of having his or her stomach pumped.

Technological advances, like cell phones and digital cameras, are making Farr’s job easier. He used to rely on descriptions given over the phone, but hospital staff can now send him a digital picture of the fungal specimen in seconds.

Most of the cases Farr has encountered involve one of two groups: curious adults who can’t resist nibbling on pretty-looking mushrooms growing in their yards, or young children who don’t know better than to pluck a toadstool and take a bite.

Fungi

Mushrooms belong to the group of organisms known as fungi, which includes the molds and mildews found on foods and in homes. Pathogenic forms of fungi cause diseases in plants, animals and humans. Yeasts used for baking bread and producing alcohol are also fungi.

Domestic mushrooms sold in grocery stores and served in restaurant dishes were once wild mushrooms. Agaricus, the mushroom commonly found on pizzas, was being collected from the wild in France during the 1760s.. Shiitake mushrooms were first domesticated in China in 500 A.D.”

Call of the Wild

While some cultures in Europe and Southeast Asia collect and eat wild mushrooms, it is not something amateurs should emulate, says Charles Mims, a plant pathologist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Collecting mushrooms is a big part of these cultures, and it’s a skill that is taught from one generation to the next.”.

Get a Guide

To learn which mushrooms are edible, buy a good mushroom identification book or join a mushroom club. Some clubs organize mushroom walks and then meet to identify the samples they collect.

If you harvest wild mushrooms on your own, have a mushroom expert identify them for you. Then, only consume a very small portion the first time you eat a new edible find.

Many wild mushrooms are good to eat, but there are some that can kill you. The most poisonous mushrooms in the world belong to the genus amanita. Their poison can destroy your liver and there is no good treatment available.

Buy Direct

The safest way to get wild mushrooms is to go to a restaurant that serves them or buy direct from a commercial provider.

Sources:
USDA Agricultural Research Service
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Spicy Cooking Saved Our Smeller

In terms of sensory receptor genes, the human nose is relatively weak and our sense of smell has been degrading over time. But thanks to spicy cooking, this may be changing, according to “smell scientist” Avery Gilbert. In his intriguing book on the science of scent, What the Nose Knows, he writes:

“In the last 5,000 to 10,000 years, genes for smell receptors, along with genes related to diet and metabolism, have been evolving faster than those in any other physiological system.

“In the recent evolutionary past we have evolved entire subfamilies of odor receptors not shared by the chimpanzee - our closest living relative. An intriguing possibility is that these new receptors are tuned to new smells - ones that only recently became important to human survival. It’s speculation on my part, but I’d bet these receptors pick up the nuances of grilled meat - salmon filets and mastodon steaks - along with the volatiles of fermentation: not only milk products, but alcoholic drinks from beer to wine. On a daily basis we season food to please our palate, but over the long run our palate is evolving to match our menu.”

Recipe: Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue Sauce
from Creole Flavors by Kevin Graham, Artisan 1996, $25

1/4 cup vegetable shortening or bacon grease
2 small yellow onions, peeled and minced
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups tomato puree
1/2 cup Steen’s pure cane syrup or blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Ground Mustard Seeds
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and
garlic to the pan and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato
puree and cook until the pureee begins to turn brown, about 5 minutes,
stirring constantly.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the
heat to a simmer and cook gently for 1 hour, stirring from time to time.

Meanwhile, sterilize three 1-pint jars and their lids and leave in the hot
water.

When ready, remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool slightly before
using. Or bottle in the sterilized jars and adjust the caps. Refrigerate for
later use.

Recipe: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Leeks and Brie

adapted from Cheese by Lou Seibert Pappas (Chronicle Books, 1996)

1 dried red chili pepper, crushed
6 oz. dried whole-wheat spaghetti
2 leeks (white part only), chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 oz. Brie, fresh milk white goat cheese, mascarpone, or shredded mozzarella cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus extra for the table
1/4 cup minced fresh flatleaf (Italian) parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Add the crushed pepper to a large pot of salted boiling water.
Add the spaghetti and cook just until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, saute the leeks in oil over medium low heat until soft, about 8 minutes.
In a shallow serving bowl, beat the egg yolks and mix in the cream, two cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, and leeks.
Add about 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water to the leek sauce.
Drain the spaghetti and toss with the sauce. Serve with extra grated cheese at the table.
Makes 2 to 3 entree servings.

Some Cooking Substitutions

If you don’t have:     ~~~    Use:

Allspice (1 teaspoon)  ~~~~ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Baking powder (1 teaspoon) ~~~~ 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Bread crumbs, dry (1/4 cup)  ~~~~ 1/4 cup crushed cereal crumbs or crackers
Brown sugar (1 cup)  ~~~~ 1 cup white sugar plus 2 tablespoons molasses
Cornstarch (1 tablespoon)  ~~~~ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Sugar (1 cup)  ~~~~ 3/4 cup honey (reduce liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup)

Tomato juice (1 cup)  ~~~~ 1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water
Tomato sauce (15-oz. can)  ~~~~ 6-oz. can tomato paste plus 1 cup water

Source: University of Minnesota Cooperative Extension

• More Cooking Substitutions