Mushrooms with Rice and Peas

When I was a teen growing up, coming home from school meant being greeted by the aromas of delicious, Hungarian, home-cooked supper bubbling on the stove or in the oven. Supper was usually a bowl of yummy soup followed by a nice one-plate meal - protein, starch and vegetable. There usually wasn't an appetizer before the soup, although sometimes my mother whipped up something small for my father - letcho, carrot-and-tomato-salad, things I didn't care for and didn't need.

Suddenly, when I got married, she entered a whole new culinary stage. Now there was a scrumptious, simcha-worthy appetizer every night. I suddenly got used to eating vegetable cutlets with mashed beans, vegetable turnovers, baked apples with strawberry sauce, squash in tomato sauce, mushrooms with rice and peas, mushroom letcho, mock chopped liver, mini meatballs, mini franks with potatoes - it was crazy. I gained ten pounds in six months.

Having such elaborate suppers rendered my husband and myself spoiled. When I began cooking on Sundays shortly afterwards, I naturally also made some fancy appetizer as the first course. As time rolled on, an appetizer was a must-have and I never skipped it. Since I was working full time, I froze  a LOT of food; my freezer was always full of vegetable turnovers, vegetable cutlets, cooked mushrooms with peas, mini meatballs, and tons of soups. I had learned by then that you don't need an appetizer AND a soup in one meal; it was either or. Having soups frozen and ready to be microwaved or defrosted on the stove is extremely economical and easy. Unfortunately I don't enjoy cooking soups and find them time consuming, tedious, and boring fare taste-wise. Then again, whipping up an appetizer from scratch every night is far more time consuming and pressuring. So the past few years I've cut out the appetizer for the most part. Sometimes I'll buy a soup or a knish or blintz or cut up a fruit. But preparing an appetizer from scratch is a rare treat in this house, especially now when life is extremely hectic.

Today however, for some reason I was very rested. I had taken a midday nap, my cleaning lady had done a stunning job cleaning up the house, and I was in a good mood. I happened to have fresh mushrooms and celery in the fridge left over from the Chicken Chow Mein of two days ago, so I went for it, knowing that this is a dish my husband truly appreciates and it fills me up nicely if I'm not in the mood of the chicken dish that follows.

Even the kids like eating the rice with the peas; you can move the mushrooms over to the side if theyre not mushroom people. Personally I'm a major mushroom fiend - cook anything with mushrooms and I'll have it!

So here's the recipe!

1 small onion, diced
1-2 stalks celery
6-8 fresh mushrooms - or more, depending on your family size. You can also use canned mushrooms to save time but the taste is not comparable
Frozen peas
1 Tsbp flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup rice


Sautee the onion in oil. When soft, add the celery and let sautee for a while until it's transparent. Cut up the mushrooms into small pieces and add to the saute. If youre using canned mushrooms it will cook much faster, although the fresh tastes way better. When the veggies look truly soft and ready, add a tablespoon or so of flour, stir it, and add a little water - it doesn't have to be boiling. Stir it until the veggies and flour have thickened slightly. Add half a bag of frozen peas - or however much you like.  Add a drop of salt, cover, and let simmer until the peas are defrosted and cooked. Stir from time to time so it doesnt stick to the pot; add a drop of boiling water if/when necessary.

Cook a cup of rice in a separate pot according to package instructions. Serve it together. If the mushroom dish still has a sauce left, you can pour it in on top of the rice to make it extra delicious. Some people like to wash to bread and dip the bread in the sauce as well. Usually with flour there isnt much of a sauce left though; some people like to omit the flour and have the mushrooms more 'saucey'.

B'TEAVON!!!