Honey Ginger Mushrooms

After my gym workout, I wanted a dinner that was easy, but could keep up with my endorphin and adrenaline rush. I chose a sriracha salmon recipe I found on the Self magazine website (recipe here). You have seriously got to try this recipe. I've had it twice, and it's amazing how four ingredients can come together to form one spectacular dish. 

But, salmon has a lot of calories, albeit good ones. I had put in a pretty good workout, so I had some leeway, but since I wanted to enjoy a glass of wine, I had to have a little restraint. I had some baby portobello, or crimini, mushrooms that really needed to be cooked. I decided to follow the Asian flavor of the salmon and saute them in a honey ginger sauce.

I poured the sauce over the mushrooms and gave them a good toss to make sure they were coated, then cooked them in the oil until they were reduced about half. 

Crimini mushrooms have been shown in studies to be a baby boomers super food. They boost the immune system, help reduce inflammation and, because they have such a high amount of selenium, they have great antioxidant benefits, as well as B vitamins for heart health, while being very low in calories.

Add to all that goodness the anti-inflammatory and immune boosting benefits of ginger, not to mention the cancer-fighting benefits of honey, and it's not just a delicious side dish, it's a wellness bonanza.

Honey Ginger Mushrooms

1 cup mushrooms

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp dried ginger or 2 tsp fresh

1 tbsp lite soy sauce

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or butter/margarine

Clean and cut mushrooms as desired. Mix together honey, vinegar, ginger and soy sauce until well blended in a mixing bowl. Add mushrooms and toss to coat well. Heat oil in wok or skillet. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are reduced by almost half. Serve immediately.

Sirloin Strips with Savory Vegetables and Balsamic Drizzle

I got some inspiration from a food blog, that was inspired by another food blog, to create this dish. Rather than make rolls, I chose to leave the meat as strips and top with the vegetables, which also had to be adjusted to accommodate my own late-in-life digestion issues. You know what I'm talking about... you love the food, but it doesn't love you. That meant eliminating the bell pepper. Instead, I added portobella mushroom slices.

I cut lean sirloin into strips, generously seasoned them with fresh ground pepper and marinated them in a mixture of 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp A-1 Steak Sauce and 1 tsp Liquid Smoke. While the meat marinated, I heated 1 tbsp canola oil in a small frying pan and added 1 tbsp diced garlic, 1 tsp fresh rosemary and 1 tsp fresh thyme. When the herbs began to become aromatic, I added 1 tbsp each of Worcestershire sauce and Liquid Smoke, and then added my vegetables. I stir fried about 1/2 cup each of carrot matchsticks and julienned onion until tender crisp. I then added the portobella mushroom strips and gently stir fried to desired tenderness. I removed the vegetables and set aside. In the same skillet, I then seared the sirloin strips about two minutes on each side.

While the meat cooked, I mixed together 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar with 1/4 cup beef broth, 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp honey in a small saucepan to boiling and allowed it to cook to 1/2 reduction.

To serve, I mounded the stir fry vegetables on top of the sirloin strips and added the balsamic drizzle on top.