A few days ago I was in the vegetable store, and saw mushrooms on sale for $1 a pound.  I don’t know if that’s cheap where you live, but around here, that’s a pretty good deal, so I got a bunch of them.

But you know how mushrooms are – they’re very perishable.  And if they’re on sale, it’s because they’re not at the top of the freshness line.  If you keep them in the bag you bought them in, they get slimy and you end up throwing away all of them, and if you take them out, they shrivel up and dry.  So you really need a plan to deal with them when you buy them.

Here’s what I did:  as much as I enjoy fresh mushrooms in salad, I wouldn’t need many for that, and what I would use them most would be in cooked dishes.  I chopped up several cloves of garlic, a couple of onions, and sauteed them together.  Then I added all of the mushrooms (I chopped them up first), and added it to the onions and garlic. When they were all nice and soft, I turned them off. 

This mixture is a perfect addition to soups, pilafs, and casseroles.  I put them into the small bags, sized according to what I think I’ll use it for.  Then they go into the freezer.  Anytime I want a nice addition to my meal, I can just pop them out of the freezer and into the pot.  And today, since some was still in the fridge, I got to use them to make a delicious vegetable dish for Thanksgiving. 

Avivah