It all started with some mushrooms. My friend Chad from Hazel Dell suggested I try these tree oyster mushrooms last week at the Boulder Farmers Market, so I had to figure out what to do with them.

Also, I had a beautiful head of radicchio from Ollin Farms, which was an ingredient in my CSA Challenge. I knew I wanted to grill it, which is easy. Just slice it, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, and grill for a few minutes. Turns out great.

Then we decided to buy some halibut. Now I knew what to do with my meal. Halibut with caramelized onions, grilled radicchio, zucchini, and yellow pepper, and sauteed tree oyster mushrooms. A perfect combination.

It is easy to caramelize onions. It just takes a little while, so that usually needs to be done first. I had a beautiful little walla-walla onion from the market, so I sliced it and added it to a hot saute pan with a little olive oil and let that start to turn golden brown. You need to watch your onions and turn down the heat if they start to burn. The idea is to let them slowly release their sugars and caramelize into sweet, delicious, heavenly-brown goodness.

As I said before, the radicchio and veggies were grilled. I baked the halibut with a little olive oil at 350 until is was just cooked through. All ovens are a little different, so watch your fish. Mine took 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, a mushroom saute with a little butter, olive oil, shallots, sea salt and pepper was under way. Nothing too fancy because all of my produce came from local farms, so it was all super fresh and delicious.

I definitely enjoyed this one!

There is, in my and many locals’ opinion, nothing better than a Hazel Dell mushroom. They are quite simply the best mushrooms you can buy around here. They really make a meal.

Now, I don’t eat red meat, so the entire meal was actually a grilled steak topped with a mushroom saute, hon tsai tai, and freshly baked bread with Camembert cheese. I just ate the side dishes…

I sautéed some shiitake and cremini mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I added a little white wine and let them cook a little before adding a tablespoon or so of dehydrated chopped shallots from Savory Spice Shop. Everything is better when Savory Spice Shop is involved!

And my dinner was: bread and cheese, mushrooms, and greens… but it was perfect for me.

Spring garlic smells absolutely amazing. Especially when you cut into it.

I had some spring garlic from Jay Hill Farm, and fresh shiitake and cinnamon cap mushrooms from Hazel Dell, so I wanted to put them together in a dish.

I decided to make a stir-fry with some carrots and firm tofu that had been frozen, thawed, and pressed.

First, I sliced 4 bulbs of the spring garlic, 1 carrot, 1/2 pound of mushrooms, and cubed the tofu.

Next, I heated 1 TB of olive oil and 1 TB of butter in a wok. When that was hot, I added 1 TB of freshly grated ginger and let that get hot before adding the mushrooms and tofu. I moved this around in the wok a bit to distribute to buttery goodness as evenly as possible before adding the spring garlic and a couple tablespoons of soy sauce.

I let this cook on medium high for 10 minutes or so before adding a little more olive oil and the carrots.

Next, I squeezed 1/2 lemon, mixed it up, and added a big handful of coarsely chopped turnip greens. I mixed those in, sprinkled the top with a tablespoon or so of Cambodian Lemongrass Curry Powder from Savory Spice Shop, mixed again, and let it cook a few minutes until the greens turned a vibrant green.

I served it over brown rice and drizzled a little the following dressing, which made enough to drizzle on two plates plus extra to put in my Spring Garlic Broth:

• 2 TB soy sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Asian Chili Paste)
• 1 TB Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)

Enjoy.