
Well a couple of months have passed since I’ve posted a blog or a recipe for you… but a lot of good life has been lived, and THAT’S most important isn’t it!
I truly believe in living life full, in real life first and foremost, and online living can come after that as time allows.
Not that I don’t love having a voice here on my blog….
As a matter of fact, I really love doing this food blog.
I am actually living out a dream each and every time I post. I’ve always wanted to add writing of my thoughts and foodie things to my life somewhere at some point, and just one year ago I finally took the necessary first steps to accomplish this important and rewarding endeavor.
Now we are nearing Christmas, and experiencing Hanukkah, and readying ourselves for many other beautiful holidays celebrated by so many all around the world.
I had the honor and privilege to recently present a nutritional lecture to a group of amazing breast cancer survivors in our large local general hospital in our town. I began working on this presentation 6 months ago; after I was given some very valuable advice from someone I greatly admire.
Dr. Donna Angotti, a dear friend, role model, and incredibly amazing general surgeon in the Philadelphia area, has forged her way to the very top of every highly respected published list of “Top Doctors”. She is quite a powerful force of inspiration to all who know her, and a true Godsend to her patients. In fact, I have been tremendously blessed by her brilliance, and I am eternally grateful for my own restored health and well being she aided me with. After a rough circumstance came upon my life, she swooped into action like the Superwoman she is, and saved the day with strength and courage. In other words, she helped me with a very serious health crisis and emergency one scary day, and has been a trusted watchful eye for me ever since.
Not too long ago, Dr. Angotti was recognized by the hospital with her beautiful picture and medical expertise information displayed on a billboard for all to see, on a busy highway nearby. I remember driving past that billboard many times, and feeling so happy for her. I had such an inside knowing of how Donna impacts so positively many women all around her. She has the amazing way of making women feel empowered, talented, intelligent, and capable… very capable… all from her extraordinary example and successes.
She impacts me especially strongly, as an outstanding role model, since our early beginnings working together at the same Level 1 Trauma Hospital in Pennsylvania.
I too like doing challenging careers. After being a registered nurse my whole life, I decided to enroll in culinary school, and make my big culinary dreams a reality. I always wanted to combine my nursing technical skills with some highly skillful professional Chef skills. I wanted to combine the two skill sets to create a philanthropic business, and name it Jill’s Gourmet Dreams.
I might add, as an aside, that Culinary Chefs in restaurants consist mostly of big and strong men cooks, and not little happy blonde women, that like to smell of perfume before they add a layer of onion and grease smell, haha. Traditionally, Culinary Chefs also aren’t generally dancing around a professional kitchen, spreading happiness and a supportive ear for the staff, all while she preps and cooks for the masses in a busy restaurant (my nurse skills showing through)….. loll.
Well, a lot of life has been lived for Dr. Donna Angotti and I since those awesome days working together in the late 1980’s and 90’s. Presently, she is Medical Director of the Breast Cancer Program in a fast growing local hospital, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She has earned the great respect of all the medical community for her incredible work with creating new and innovative approaches for treating breast cancer at Doylestown Hospital.
Did I mention that she is also beautifully humble, kind-hearted, and soft-spoken in her doing an extremely tough job as a surgeon, in an often male-dominated profession? Astonishing!! Girl Power I say!!
Months ago, Donna told me this extremely wise advice, which I took immediately to heart when she said it to me….
She advised, “Jill, research ‘Food is Medicine’”.
And when my life mentor says for me to do something, like a good student, I follow! Haha…
So, after months and months of intense research and studying everything I could get my hands on within the subject matter of food is medicine, I began right off the bat with keeping my focus on published medical studies and journals from some of the biggest and brightest minds and universal experts in this field.
I began studying published information from Harvard Medical School’s research papers, articles, and journals. I also began delving into the study of top cancer hospitals in the U.S., for their research findings and articles found online, on subjects of disease treatment and prevention using food. These very highly qualified sources were those of Duke Univ. Medical School, Sloan-Kettering, Dana-Farber, and Univ. of Chicago cancer research teams, Dr. Andrew Weil, amongst others.
Much of the detailed scientific findings of each of these resources showed that many foods that come from nature contain natural properties that can help protect from disease, remove disease, or even fight and destroy cancer cells like an army of little soldiers in our bodies.
The most prominent scientific lab studies from all of the most prestigious medical institutions in our country all were in agreement. They repeatedly documented findings of great improvements in health, by both lab animals and people alike, through using nutritional elements as medicine (in addition to the Western medicine that was given). The beneficial nutritional effects documented in the studies were used to treat participants in certain specific conditions and body processes (all were FDA approved studies and trials). The conclusions unanimously supported using both the Western medicine and nutritional components for an overall improved health (in most cases).
I was astonished at the plethora of information supporting this notion, that food is in fact a medicine to the body.
It wasn’t just a cutesy phrase, or sounds good feels good statement… but rather it REALLY has noteworthy merit in the medical field of the highest institutions and most widely regarded doctors internationally. I had no idea, and I have so much still to learn!!
I quickly was overwhelmed at the brevity of the universal conclusion they all seemed to support over and over again, as I read through their widely published medical journals….
And what was that universal conclusion?
That Food truly IS Medicine for the body… just as my amazing surgeon friend Dr. Donna Angotti precisely advised!!
I thought to myself… what good is all this great information, if I’m the only one who knows about it all?
That’s when I started putting together a lecture on the major nutritional elements that were proven to be most helpful as healers and natures medicine, by the medical experts referenced above.
Then in November, I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to present my Food is Medicine and a Healer lecture to a wonderful group of women survivors of breast cancer at our local hospital. The nutritional information I discussed with them is actually vitally important to the health and well being of all cancer survivors, those at risk of cancer, and those being treated for cancer. That was my focus of my lecture that evening.
I gave my presentation, and the attendees were all very engaged. They asked lots of great questions and wanted to get as much information as I could provide. I also gave out pink paper handouts I made up, full of nutritional information I gathered, so they wouldn’t have to rely on remembering all of the heavy nutritional information they had just heard.
After the lecture, I welcomed them all into the next room, for a beautiful buffet of my all-homemade medicinal and equally delicious food assortments. They all really loved everything I made, and were so appreciative. They happily ate with big smiles on their faces, and that just made me so happy. We all continued the discussions about food and its remarkable health benefits all throughout our feasting on all the yummy dishes I had prepared for them. What a fun and rewarding evening for all!
The attendees seemed to especially love my marinated mushrooms I made and served gourmet-style on a bed of fresh arugula, in small single sized fancy cups. So I decided to make this my December recipe for the blog, so they (and my blog followers) could have this super yummy (and super health-promoting) recipe for themselves.
So without further adieu, let’s get to the delicious (and medicinal, shhh) Marinated Mushroom recipe!
Music Inspiration: Rita Ora “Velvet Rope”
Prep: 15 minutes
Completion: 30 mins
Serves: 4-6 side dishes/appetizers
Ingredients:
- Mushrooms: 1 pound Shitake, baby bella, button, assorted fresh Japanese types
- Olive Oil ¼ cup plus 3 Tbsp
- Red Onion, finely diced, ½ cup
- Garlic minced, 2 Tbsp
- Lemon juice 2 Tbsp
- Thyme, dried, 2 Tbsp
- Bay leaves, 3 lg
- Red Wine, dry, ½ cup
- Grainy Dijon 1 ½ Tbsp
- Turmeric 1 tsp
- Red Pepper Flakes 2-3 pinches
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Let’s Get Cooking:
Begin by heating a medium sized pot with a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Saute half the diced red onion for 1-2 mins til just tender, then add all the mushrooms, garlic, lemon juice, thyme, and salt and pepper. Stir gently.
Saute delicately for 3-5 minutes, just til the mushrooms are lightly cooked through. Then add the red wine, the remaining olive oil, bay leaves, turmeric, red pepper flakes, and mustard. Stir well and continue cooking on medium heat. Taste and add salt and black pepper to your own taste preferences. Add additional red wine if desired, for a really rich flavored marinade. Simmer on low for 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Add the other half of the diced red onion to the pot and stir well. Allow mixture to rest in hot pan for 15 minutes off heat.
Then serve! Use as a side dish, or on top of your favorite steak or protein, or on a bed of fresh arugula with some julienne sundried tomatoes for a healthy vegetarian meal.
Enjoy the delicious gourmet flavors this recipe has, combined with the medicinal benefits of the powerful Superfood Mushrooms!!!
