Linda, are there any Asian grocery stores near you? There's one kinda near me that has a fantastic assortment of mushrooms, and is way cheaper than Whole Foods or Central Market. I made a mushroom risotto the other day, loosely following a recipe just to remind myself of the technique and proportions. The recipe called for onions, but I subbed shallots. It turned out very good. I'm going to clip and save that recipe you posted, Sands. Thanks! Can you tell me about that broth you used? I'm not familiar with it? Is it vegetarian by any chance? Is it widely distributed? Sally

When I need bacon flavor in a vegetarian dish, I just sprinkle a little of the "bacon bits" made out of TVP. Very little though, they are salty and have more flavor per "bit" than bacon would. I finished off the Cookalong last night by making Alexa's recipe for collards, albeit with a small amount of turkey kielbasa instead of the ham hock. I made it in the crockpot, as one burner is out on my stove and this was a stove-intensive meal. It was yum. I had never made fresh collards before. I liked them a lot, but they are kinda pricey (compared to spinach and kale) so I might not eat them very often. I served the collards with a blackeyed pea stew that BF made with red and green pepper, zuchinni, onion and fire roasted tomatoes. It was FAB, and so colorful! Wish I had taken a photo. That got served over cheesy polenta, to use up some asiago I had languishing in the fridge. Definately a keeper meal and will make again, although next time in may be with kale. Tonight is brussel sprouts. Then I just need to find a way to use up the bottoms of the beets and I will have finished using up all the produce I got for the Cookalong. I am so weird, I have LOVED this cookalong, with all the vegetables that most people turn their noses up at! I hardly ever eat them even though I like them, since they are usually outside my budget. So for me, these two weeks have been a luscious treat! Oh, and here's a freeby for the beets that go with beet greens. Syrian Beet salad (from "Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special" cookbook) 2 quarts water 3 large beets 1 TBLSP chopped chives (or 3 scallions) 2 TBLSP chopped cilantro (or parsley with some ground corriander seed) 2 garlic cloves, pressed 1/2 fresh chili, seeded if you want milder, minced (about 1 TBLSP). I often have to use a healthy dash of Aleppo pepper instead 1 tsp. ground cumin 2 TBLSP lemon juice (or cider vinegar) 3 TBLSP EVOO 1 tsp. salt or to taste In a large pot, bring water to boil. Wash and scrub beets well. Cut beets into quarters and ease into boiling water. Turn to simmer and cook until tender and easily pierced with a knife. Alternately, you can cut the beets into 1/8ths and coat with salt and EVOO and roast at 400 for about 1/2 hour. Put a little veg or chicken broth in the bottom of the pan to prevent the beets from drying out. Cool the beets. Peel the beets after they cool and dice into bite sized pieces. Combine other ingredients into dressing and pour over beets. Chill at least 30 min. before serving. Good cold or at room tem. I serve over a lettuce salad with goat's milk feta, chopped walnuts, and maybe some sliced cuke, pepper or celery. Can also top with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if your are into the anti-oxidant craze. Can sub blue cheese for feta, but not as authentic, IMHO.

I got ambitious and decided to make a stuffed pasta dish called Mushroom and Goat Cheese Fagottini. (Really, that's what it's called - I didn't make it up!) I found a recipe on line that used mushrooms, goat cheese and shallots, all of which I had on hand, plus I could use my pasta maker that DH gave me a year ago Christmas, but I haven't used much because the knob that holds it on was cracked and wouldn't hold. I got a replacement knob, so I decided to try my hand at making pasta. I definitely need more practice. It always looks so easy when they do it on TV. One problem was that the recipe didn't indicate how large to make the squares of dough. Then I realized that I didn't roll the dough thin enough, as I had way more stuffing than dough. Finally, when I got all the little, uh, fagottinis ready to go into the water, they were stuck to the plate I had put them on. I couldn't get them off without tearing them. Well, I was able to fix them up and get enough of them cooked to make a meal for DH and I. We had a nice salad of mixed greens, sliced pear and dried cranberries with a lemon-tangerine vinaigrette. The pasta was way too thick and tough, but it was passable and edible, and tasted pretty good, but certainly could have been better. I need to practice more. I'm determined to learn how to make home made pasta, and to make things like ravioli and other stuffed pastas. It was fun trying, in spite of the frustrations. I love playing with dough! Here's the recipe from a blog I found in my search. Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Fagottini by Joseph Erdos from blog July 2009 For the pasta dough: 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 large egg yolk For the filling: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 large shallot, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced 8 ounces shitake mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced 1 8-ounce log goat cheese 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese coarse sea salt freshly ground black pepper 1 large egg white To make the dough, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Create a well in the center and add the eggs and egg yolk. Using a fork, beat the eggs while mixing in the flour a little at a time. Once the dough has come together, if it is too dry and crumbly, a little water can be added. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Form into a ball and knead until the dough takes on a smooth surface, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest for about 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature. To make the filling, heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallot; cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, until all moisture is lost, about 5 to 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, add the mushrooms to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Turn out into a medium bowl. Add goat cheese and Pecorino; season with salt and pepper. Add egg white and stir to combine. To make the pasta, cut the disk into about 4 to 6 pieces. Work with only one piece at a time and keep the remaining pieces wrapped in plastic wrap. Form the piece into a flat disk, lightly flour, and feed it into the machine starting with the largest setting. Fold the dough in half and roll it through again. Now start moving onto the next setting and so on until the next-to-last setting is reached. The pasta should be silky smooth and less than 1/16-inch in thickness. Lay the long sheet of pasta on a lightly floured work surface. Cut off the rounded ends. Using a decorative pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the sheet into small squares of equal size. Using a teaspoon, drop balls of filling onto each square. Brush around the filling with a bit of water. Take the square in hand and bring all the corners together, firmly pressing the edges to seal the dough while removing as much air as possible. Place onto a lightly floured tray or towel. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Scraps of dough can also be reformed and rerolled on the machine. Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a rapid boil. Add the fagottini in small batches and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Stir now and then to prevent sticking. Serve drizzled with olive oil and grated Pecorino. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

As mentioned above, you have to cook them before you freeze them. I've had some freeze on me when my refrigerator was too cold, and they turned to mush instead of mushroom. Better to dry them, if you can, and this can be done in the oven, I think. I always have dried mushrooms on hand, and these are not like fresh either but are good in soups and stews. When storing fresh mushrooms in the fridge, I always transfer them to a small brown paper bag (never in plastic), and this helps them keep a bit longer. Sometimes they get dehydrated this way in the fridge, and if so I use them as I would dried mushrooms. I bought a pound of fresh Shiitake mushrooms last week-end at a Japanese market, and I find that these keep a bit better than the white button mushrooms, but I do use a lot of them. I made a mushroom noodle soup yesterday for lunch because the weather was cool and rainy. If I had a huge amount of mushrooms, I would make mushroom barley soup and freeze that - or else make a large amount of a mushroom velouté sauce and freeze that. The sauce can be used later for mushroom soup. I always buy whole mushrooms that have not been washed. I wipe them off with a mushroom brush and/or paper towel if they seem dirty but never wash them with water. I get a good selection of mushrooms at the Hollywood Farmers' Market, but some of them are a bit expensive and seasonal.