Kitchen Attempts

I love running. I love how at peace it makes me feel; how it eases my restlessness and how empowered I feel after each run. But what I also love about running is the fact that I can now eat carbs guilt-free! I used to stay away from carbohydrates as much as possible but ever since I started running, this was changed. I read in the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running and Jogging that a lack of glycogen (which, I believe comes from carbohydrates) can cause one to hit “the wall.” Hitting the wall will drastically decrease one’s pace while running. So when I know I’m running a relatively long distance, I treat myself to a bowl of my favorite carbs – pasta!

My new pasta dish was inspired by an appetizer that I had at Commons in Salcedo.  All I remembered was that they were fried mushrooms but wasn’t quite sure what variety they were. So relying on my memory alone, I headed to the supermarket and bought a pack of oyster mushrooms.

some of the ingredients: oyster mushrooms, herbs and a lemon

Oyster mushrooms are not as flavorful as shitake or Portobello mushrooms so for this dish, I dredged them in flour seasoned with garlic powder and pepper.  I then fried the mushrooms in very little oil until golden brown. The result was a very thin and crispy mushroom that could have fooled any vegetarian into thinking that this was bacon.

The sauce was quite simple. I used the same pan where I fried my mushrooms and sautéed some garlic in butter and olive oil. When the garlic was lightly browned, I deglazed my pan with a cup of white wine. Imagine all the flavors from the mushrooms, garlic and wine infusing… thinking of this dish is making me hungry. Once the alcohol from the wine had dissolved, I tossed my pasta in and let it absorb the white wine sauce. I turned off the heat and squeezed a fresh lemon onto the pasta and sprinkled some lemon zest over it as well. To give the dish an even fresher taste, I plucked some flat leaf parsley and basil from my mom’s herb garden and tossed it in with my salad along with the chopped mushrooms. It was summer on a plate!

Oyster Mushrooms with Herbed and White Wine Pasta

So thank you, Running, for allowing me to rekindle my “regulated” love affair with carbs. I heart you.