Eric's Mushroom Sauce

Make a white sauce with butter and flour and fat free half and half. Remember to roast the flour in the butter until it develops a nutty aroma. In another sauce pan, melt a pat of butter in olive oil, then saute finely chopped shallots or Vidalia onions until glazed, then deglaze with white wine, then add the sliced mushrooms. Combine with the white sauce. Nice over linguini perhaps.

this one is self-explanatory

Yvonne's Oatmeal

It's good for the heart, as it lowers cholesterol. Here's Mom's version:

Hi, The first easiest recipe that came to mind is what I eat almost every morning for breakfast. Oatmeal. Good for regularity and lowering cholesterol. The ratio of oatmeal to water is one part oatmeal to two parts water. I measure 1/3 cup quick oatmeal and 2/3 cup water into a bowl for microwave. Salt optional. Add about ten or twelve raisins. Microwave one minute. Stir. Mocrowave about additional thirty seconds watching it so it won't boil over. Eat with fat free milk and maple syrup on it. Yum and satisfying. More Later, Mom

Personally I have found that using unsweetened soy milk to cook the oats in is workable. I use a handful of raisins because I don't use any other sweetener. I add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of garam masala and a pinch of ground Jamaican allspice as well. Cinnamon lowers cholesterol as well.

Another Recipe for Live Mussels

Mussels seem to benefit from garlic, and when steaming mussels you need a liquid of some kind to offset and augment the "liquor" which comes out of the cooking shellfish. Roasted garlic salsa fresca is just about right. Bring the salsa to a low boil, and add the de-bearded, scrubbed, mussels, simmer on low for 5 minutes. Before cooking, mussels that are open and obviously dead can be discarded, after cooking discard mussels that don't open. Again, exercise caution when using this ingredient. Here, we only do mussels, clams, oysters on the "r" months: September through April, but if the weather is still warm in September wait a month or two. As soon as human activity on the coast slows down, the shellfish are safer to eat. Salsa fresca can be made with ripe tomatoes, diced, onions, garlic, and cilantro.

WIC/USDA Red Beans and Brown Rice

The brown rice is easy: 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water, cover, and set to cook. Timer set for 45 minutes including the time it takes to warm the water and rice to boiling, then reduce heat to low.

Start the bean mix with onions and chopped celery, and red bell pepper, about equal amounts. Use a whole medium onion. Chop to about 1/2 inch size. Saute in the bottom of a large stock pot. Once onions are clear, rinse 15 oz. two cans of "small red beans" (the kind from El Salvador) - the closest substitution is black beans or "pink beans" - all are available from Goya - add beans to pot, when it get warmed up, add the chopped tomatoes from a 28 oz can. A bit of ground chipotle, cayenne, etc. (or Sriracha sauce!!) can be added, but avoid the "Chili Powder" mixture, as it contains garlic and oregano, which muddy the flavor of the dish. Cook until hot, then add part of the rice to beans as much as you want. Optionally, start with a small bit of sausage cooked until done before you add the onion, pepper, celery, etc. I have seasoned this dish with parsley sometimes and also celery seed sometimes. Celery if you grow it yourself has more licorice, thai basil and anise notes to it so a bit of basil works as does anise seed for example italian sausage flavors

Green Fava Beans

If you can find fresh frozen baby green fava beans, just barely heat them then serve with olive oil topping and black pepper.

Eric's Sesame Salmon

Heat roasted sesame oil in frying pan (it will smoke) with matching lid. Lightly coat salmon with sesame seeds and a bit of tarragon and sear both sides of fish (with the frying pan lid on), then give it a shot of soy sauce and a shot of rice vinegar and let it deglaze and steam (with the lid on), then come back in again when almost done with Soy-Vay, Soy-yaki, or Gyoza sauce, cover again, and reduce the heat. Salmon is best if just barely done in the center. You can undercook it actually, then give it short 10 second bursts in the microwave until done if you want to. Serve the fish and pour excess sauce over the top. Good with very cheap grades of previously frozen salmon.