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  • Czar Foon-Gee…

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    I happen to be a big fan of Father Guido Sarducci.  One of my favorite stories of his involves Carr-dih-naal-uh Foon-gee… The story is funny, but the name is downright hilarious.

    Well, that’s not what this is about. I know, never is…

    You see, when you have a really demanding redhead in your life – yes, E K – and you have to cook for her, you tend to start getting creative. ESPECIALLY when she decides that she, her personal doormat (that being moi), and everyone else entering the hallowed halls of La Casa de la Pelirrojas will be going 80% vegetarian.

    I say 80% because in order to keep up the strength in her whip arm, she does like to have some fish or fowl now and then. And, on special occasions she likes a piece of dead cow. But as I said, those would be the special occasions

    And so, this is where I get Czar Foon-Gee. You see, Her Supreme Evilness is a fan of Beef Stroganoff. However, if you are trying to be mostly, sorta, 80% vegetarian, heaping a mess of dead, floured, fried, and braised Moo on your plate really isn’t the way to go.

    So, as I was taking my daily beating from the evil redhead, for whatever infraction I had, or had not, perpetrated that day, I got to thinking – how can I whomp up some non-beef beef stroganoff?

    Well, there are several ways to go about it, but since a good hunk of the recipe already revolves around fungus – that being mushrooms, of course – I thought, why not build upon that.

    And so, I did…

    CZAR FOON-GEE

    (Mushroom Stroganhoff To Feed The Evil Redhead – Serves 6-8)

    Not the best pic... This was a trial run and was missing the oyster mushrooms, plus I only had regular egg noodles on hand that day...

     

    Ingredients

    • 2 Large Portobello Mushrooms
    • 8 ounces Crimini Mushrooms
    • 8 ounces Oyster Mushrooms
    • 1 Large Zucchini Squash
    • 1 Small Vidalia Onion
    • 4 ounces butter
    • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1 Cup Vegetable Stock (Preferably Homemade)
    • 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
    • 1/2 cup sour cream
    • 1/3 cup white wine
    • salt to taste
    • ground black pepper to taste
    • Olive oil

    Directions

    1. Clean mushrooms. Remember to remove gills from Portobellos. De-stem if necessary. Slice Portobellos into 1/4 thick strips. Slice Crimini mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. Set aside.
    2. Peel and chop vidalia onion.
    3. Slice Zucchini into 1/4 thick rounds.
    4. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown Zucchini and Portobello strips in olive oil, working in small batches. Set aside. Melt butter in pan, add the onions and cook slowly for 5 – 7 minutes, until they begin to caramelize. Set aside. Add Crimini and Oyster mushrooms, cook for another 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
    5. Add flour to pan and create a quick roux, then deglaze pan with white wine and vegetable stock. The juices should now thicken. Add tomato paste and stir until fully incorporated. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and onions back to pan.
    6. Stir in Sour Cream, then salt and pepper to taste.
    7. Serve over Kasha or Whole Wheat Egg Noodles.

     

    More to come…

    Murv

  • Stacking The Dex…

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    One of the questions I get asked on a regular basis is –

    Murv… Sellars… How is it… That you… Are able to keep… Things straight… When you are… Writing?

    As a rule, the odd hesitations between words and phrases sort of freaks me out, but I just figure the person asking was doing way too much Uncle Cidney in their teens while listening to Steve Martin comedy albums. All of us old farts will get that reference, trust me.

    But anyway… (No, not a Blues Traveler ref, although it could be)… I usually explain that I am what’s called a “Seat of the Pants” writer. That means I have an idea, I know how it starts and kind of know how I want it to end. I might even know a couple of things I’d like to have happen in between, but the journey to get there isn’t really plotted until I sit down and start taking dictation from my characters.

    Now, to keep things straight for them, I have books. As in binders that contain biographical data, etc. Mostly because since I write a series I have to be able to stay in touch with the arc and maintain canon (one n, not two, meaning it doesn’t go boom unless I screw up.)

    However, I have to stay on track for a given story arc within a novel as well. That’s where rectangles come in.

    “Rectangles?” you ask.

    “Yes, rectangles,” I answer.

    Behold – the incredible, versatile, and really especially cool, Index Card…

    Don't bother trying to enlarge it. I blurred all the info, mwuhahaha...

    So there’s your answer… I have a corkboard, a pencil, some pushpins, and a whole lot of index cards…

    Bet ya’ thought I was talking about dextroamphetamine when you saw that title, didn’t you? Awww, c’mon Eileen. You know better than that…

    More to come…

    Murv