Food as Medicine. The title alone intrigued me and drew me to the Ferry Building on a weeknight. On April 19, 2011, the Asian Culinary Council brought together a dynamite panel of perspectives to address this interesting idea.

This included guest moderator and UC, Santa Cruz professor anthropology, Nancy Chen, who penned the book “Food, Medicine, and the Quest for Good Health” in 2008.  Ayurvedic practitioner, Michelle Warner informed the audience that Ayurveda started as a sister discipline of yoga. While one restored the soul and body, the other worked symbiotically to restore the body through food and nutrition.

Jane Lin shared how trying to bounce back after her first pregnancy brought her into the kitchen to make soups from her childhood and that she now prepares through her business, Mama Tong, as foods for “confinement”, the first 30 days of a baby’s life for post-partum women.  California Culinary Academy instructor and friend, Vinita Jacinto, talked about the importance of seeing the universe on your plate with such rapt enthusiasm for cooking and variety of ingredients that was infectious.

Each of the panelists introduced me to new ideas that gave me food for thought. The final panelist, John Garrone, was a bit of a local celebrity to me and I looked forward to learning more about the healing properties of mushrooms. This founder of Far West Fungi gave a short tutorial on several types of specialty mushrooms, indicating that they make a good alternative to meat, and are high in protein. He started describing how shiitake can help boost your immune system. Oyster mushrooms can help lower cholesterol. The bulky “Lion’s Head” mushrooms assist with digestive problems and brain problems. He touched on the “King Trumpet” with its thick, dense texture and anti-tumoral properties.

Then he got to the mushroom of all mushrooms, the one that makes my mind up for me when in a restaurant, he began extolling the virtues of the Maitake. Also known as “Hen of the Woods,” this mushroom is anti-tumoral, anti-diabetic and anti-viral. It also just happens to taste ridiculously good when sautéed simply with a bit of olive oil, garlic and thyme, as I suggest below.

I left the evening awash with information and glad to be reminded that we can learn from each other and continue broadening our palates and as we do, the food we eat can nurture and nourish us.

A few Saturdays ago, I bumped into John Garrone at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. I gushed like a giddy schoolgirl about my growing fascination with mushrooms. They are an ingredient I enjoy eating regularly. That day I picked up some King Trumpets and a large Maitake, which he said would work well steeped in hot water to make a tea. I had other ideas for that Maitake…

Maitake Mushrooms & Swiss Chard with Garlic Chips

CLEANING & CUTTING: When working with Maitake mushrooms for the first time, as a reminder, you don’t want to wash them. If you see any dirty bits, simply dampen a paper cloth and dab. Also you want to take a knife and cut the gangly Maitake arms into smaller pieces from the base.

STORAGE: Store Maitakes in a paper bag in your refrigerator and they should keep for about a week.

FIND THEM: You can buy Maitake mushrooms from Far West Fungi, inside at the Ferry Building or on Saturday’s outside in the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. You can also pick some up at Safeway or local grocery stores as I noticed the brand Mycopia is starting to pick up good distribution in mainstream and many neighborhood stores.

FINAL NOTE: The entire mushroom is edible and I have a hunch you might find that this combination of textures- the wilted Swiss chard leaves, the slightly chewy Maitake and the crisp bite of garlic chips will easily integrate this seemingly mysterious ingredient into your regular repertoire.

YIELDS: 2 servings

1 lb. swiss chard

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (plus ½ tablespoon grapeseed oil)

dash of chili flakes

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 cup Maitake mushroom pieces

½ cup low sodium vegetable stock

1. Chop up one garlic clove.

2. Cut a notch into the bottom of your Swiss chard leaves to cut off the bottom bulkier stem and then chop up the green parts of the leaves.

3. Place garlic and 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium sized pan and sauté over medium low heat until the garlic starts browning. Add in chard pieces at this point and stir in until covered with oil. Saute for a few minutes.

4. Then add in the vegetable stock and set to simmer until the stock has cooked down into the chard. Add in the chili flakes and stir.

5. In a small pan, add remaining oil and the other chopped garlic clove and sauté over low heat. Once browning, add in maitake, thyme and a pinch of salt. Saute for a few minutes until garlic is brown and the mushrooms look cooked through.

6. Serve greens on plate and then spoon mushrooms and garlic chips onto the greens.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }