So many questions about Mushrooms!

[caramba]

I love mushrooms and did a search under "mushrooms" - well I was so overwhelmed with responses...I'm afraid it's prompted as many questions as it's answered!...I also had a look through Alissa's book and came up with these...

- When doing the avo & tomato on top of the portabello mushrooms...do you marinate the mushrooms first or just pour some marinade on after? How long do they have to sit for before eating (ie to absorb the marinade)? And can you /should you dehydrate/warm them first? (I would have thought dehydrating them with the avo on would come out a bit yuk...???)

- I've read references to mushroom "steak" but haven't found any more details....Is this a kind of marinated/dehydrated mushroom "burger"?

-If you marinate then dehydrate, don't the mushrooms sort of shrivel up into almost nothing?

Any mushroom experts out there? Would love to hear all you know ;) THANKS! :)

[ksabe98]

Well I take mushroom buttons the white kind and take off the stem and then if the tops are really large I cut them in half. Then I make a marinade of Olive oil with either liquid aminos or nama shoyu depending on what I have on hand then add a large garlic clove and blend this up in my mini processor to make a thick sauce. I marinate the mushrooms for about 1/2 hour then dehydrate for about 4 hours. They turn out just like sauteed mushrooms. I time them so they are ready when I serve up dinner so that they are still warm from the dehydrator. I also make sure to test them every hour to see how they taste. This step isn't necessary it is my way of cheating a taste like I did when I was a kid when my mom cooked. :)
As far as the burger type of mushroom you can take a large portabello mushroom and marinate as well then dehydrate for a few hours and you will have a burger steak type of mushroom. These mushrooms are very meaty when dehydrated. One of my favorites as well. You can always change the marinade to satisfy different types of flavors that you want to incorporate into you meal plan. I make a marinade that has an asian flavor to marinate chopped up veggies to make a stir fry that has actually fooled some dinner guests in the past. You can also just marinate for a 1/2 hour or so and then add to a hearty salad. Hope this helps.

[Doe]

I like to marinate mine in the refrigerator over night. No dehydration. It's good.

Teri S

[rawpriestess]

Hi, I will answer what I can
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You asked:
- When doing the avo & tomato on top of the portabello mushrooms...do you marinate the mushrooms first or just pour some marinade on after? How long do they have to sit for before eating (ie to absorb the marinade)? And can you /should you dehydrate/warm them first? (I would have thought dehydrating them with the avo on would come out a bit yuk...???)
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My answer:
If you are talking about Alissa's Portabello mushrooms with guackamole on top, the way she does it in her DVD is she just puts the Guack on top, then pours some Nama Shoyu (raw soy sauces) of top, but if you are going to use marinate with a portabello, they are very pourous, so you could do it either way, I would try it with just putting about a tablespoon on top, then top with guack then eat. Alissa does not dehydrate this, I think it would make the Guack icky, warm and brown
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You asked:
- I've read references to mushroom "steak" but haven't found any more details....Is this a kind of marinated/dehydrated mushroom "burger"?
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My answer:

the only raw mushroom "steak" that I know of is a marinated portabello, and I know that Rawveganmom, makes those.
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You asked:
-If you marinate then dehydrate, don't the mushrooms sort of shrivel up into almost nothing?
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My answer:

It depends, if you marinate them in some oil first, they do not shrivel up, if you make pesto stuffed mushrooms, which have quite a bit of oil in it, they do not shrivel up.
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Hope this helps.

The easiest way to do any of this, is to try the recipes you like and try eating them without dehydration, and adding only a little at a time of anything.

Like take your mushrooms, and add the guack, and if you like it fine, if it needs something more, then add the Nama Shoyu, then try it.

Same with the dehydration, if you like things warm, then try dehydrating them, if you like things more crispy fresh, then try them that way.

Alissa's meatloaf is excellent after just being made, wrapped up in a pizza wrap, or in a green leaf with some fresh sliced white onion, or I sometimes just eat it with a fork, YUMMMMY,

But I also LOVE it dehydrated into burger patties, and so does everyone else that I know.

Her pizza wraps are to live for, I make them into about 4" round tortillas, and make them into hard shells, and also soft foldable shells, I also make them really big, as a pizza crust.

You can do so many things with raw food.

I heard a raw food chef once say, if you like it as a pate' you will like it dehydrated as a cracker too.

So, I have made many things like that, both ways.

have fun experimenting. I LOVE MUSHROOMS too.

[caramba]

Thanks for all the replies:) ... I guess i know that in Raw (as in Life) there's really no substitute for following your instinct & playing around until you get it "right". Never know what discoveries you'll make...

Still..I appreciate the voices of experience on this one...will let you know what mushroom delights I come up with :)

[caramba]

just had to share...

I marinated some portobellas (as suggested above), then dehydrated for about 4 hours. Topped with avocado, tomato & shallots.

YUMMMM!!! Delicious!!!

I was planning to make a more "fancy" topping but ran out of time. Simple like this was soooo good.

Thanks for the suggestions. Here's to more mushroom masterpieces ;) !

[RawTruth]

Just another person's experience --

I always marinated without dehydrating. I found the marinade softens the mushrooms and dehydrating them isn't necessary at all -- unless you wish them to be warmed. Also, they're easiest when put in a bowl with a lid and tossed a bunch to thoroughly coat the mushrooms; they marinate faster this way.

I'm glad you're discovering yummy mushrooms. Have tried fresh shitake or oyster mushrooms yet? I get them at my local farmers' market and they're incredible -- both have a "meaty" taste.

[caramba]

Rawtruth,
Thanks for the tips. I haven't tried those kinds of mushrooms (I'm a real mushroom novice...) but will do so now. And will also try marinating w/o dehydrating. I'm so excited a whole world of mushrooms has opened up to me...:) !