Another Sunday, another trip to the fish and chip shop. Two weeks in and this blog has made it look like I go every Sunday but I swear its just coincidence. After last weeks disappointment of just chips I was determined to look past the mushy peas and find something else to eat. And whilst not a treasure trove I at least found a few gems.
Battered Mushrooms and Cheese and Onion Pie (Animal rennet-free; I asked!). The pie wasn’t great but at least it was something. Too stodgy but then I shouldn’t expect finery from a Chippy. The shrooms on the other hand were heavenly. Served with a garlic sauce I could have eaten them for hours. And with that let’s look at the Vegetarian Dish of the Day.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are the vegetarian’s steak. And whilst they go down exceedingly well with a real steak they are, to me, the Wundergemüse. Which is impressive considering they are not a vegetable but a fungus. I will even go so far as to describe them as ‘meaty’. They are the perfect natural replacement for real meat in many dishes. Be it the Foo Yeung at a Chinese, battered at a fish and chip shop or as a topping on a pizza; without the mushroom takeaway food would be even more depressing for a vegetarian. At home they can and should be added to every meal; vegetarian or not. When raw they have a dreadful dry texture and it is only during cooking that they come to life.
The mushroom usually used for all this is properly known as a Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus to give the Latin name) but like a host of z-list celebrities we don’t need the full name to know what is being talked about. The thought of eating mushrooms once disgusted me; it was like eating mould (oh hang on!). But then one day, many years ago, I ordered a chicken and mushroom pizza instead of chicken and sweetcorn by accident and it suddenly clicked. Since then mushrooms have been revered by me. Plus Super Mario practically lives off them so if they are ok for him then they are ok for me. I'm just upset they don't make me grow bigger. We will just have to leave that job to Jessica Alba.
Also the bet is for no drink or meat. Other illicit substances were not mentioned and as such not included. Maybe the humble mushroom can provide me with an alternate for the alcohol side of the bet as well… (Before the police break down my door, give me a brutal beating which leads to my death then deny that they were at my house until someone posts a video on YouTube only to eventually get away with it despite growing public resentment the above comment should be taken as a joke!)
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