Magic Mushrooms

A walk to my local store for some dishwasher tablets yesterday resulting in few extra purchases, and these gorgeous open-capped portobello mushrooms caught my eye. Portobellos are allowed to grow as large as 4 or more inches in diameter. There are dozens of types of funghi, including those in the wild, provided you know your mushrooms! I play safe and stick to bought varieties. Literally, Portobello means 'beautiful door'. They have more flavour than young buttons with a nice meaty texture good for roasting, baking and stuffing. They can also be barbecued with dots of butter, crushed garlic, herbs and seasoning and cooked for a few minutes until the juices run, or sliced thickly and sautéd with onions and garlic.

Mushrooms are low in calories but loaded with nutrition. For example, they are rich in potassium which helps the body process sodium and lowers blood pressure, and are an excellent source of the antioxidant selenium helping to protect cells from free radical damage. Just one small serving of mushrooms contains more than 20% of our daily copper needs. Lots more information about health benefits and recipes at the World's Healthiest Foods website.

For the picture I used a bluish serving dish which complemented their colour, placed the dish in sunshine streaming in the kitchen window (as you may deduce from the shadows) and pointed the camera straight down. I applied a very gentle textured craquelure filter later to add definition to the amazing pattern on the mushrooms' underside.