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Do you remember your first mushroom? You should.

Eating your first mushroom is like receiving your first kiss. It is an experience you will never forget, especially if you have been taught that all mushrooms are poisonous.

I ate my first mushroom in 1975 at the ripe old age of 25. My parents, my new husband and I joined my brother and two of his Air Force buddies at a restaurant in a neighboring town.

My brother encouraged us to order the steak with mushroom gravy. I hesitated, remembering our long history of sibling rivalry. My brother assured me that the mushrooms were not poisonous.

"I eat them all the time," he said.
"Of course he's built up an immunity now," one of his buddies quipped.
I went along with the group and ordered steak with mushroom gravy.

I speared a slice of fibrous tissue, eyed it critically then popped it in my mouth.

It tasted like brown gravy and steak.

"Add some salt and pepper," someone suggested.
"I salted another brown slice and ate it. Delicious.

That began an impromptu lesson on mushrooms.
"Mushrooms take on the flavor of the food it is cooked with," Harvey said.

"Mushrooms are nothing but fiber and water," he continued. "Both excellent for your health. Plus mushrooms go with anything. They're the perfect complement to any entree," my brother said, although he didn't phrase his opinion so elequently.

My new husband joined in, declaring that he loved mushrooms, but didn't eat them, because I never cooked them.
That was news to me. I didn't know he loved mushrooms. I thought he loved me!

I have been cooking with mushrooms since. We eat them in meat loaf, spaghetti,and pizza. We love them steamed with broccoli and cauliflower. Sliced,steamed mushrooms are amazing as a topping on a freshly baked potato.

When I steam mushrooms I drizzle olive oil over the mushrooms then steam until the broccoli is tender. If steaming mushrooms alone, I steam them for 5-8 minutes.
In fact, we're having a melange of steamed vegetables for sinner tonight: broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and new potatoes, topped with cheese sauce.

Learn more about this author, Nita Frazier.
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