Mushrooms?  Really?  What am I thinking to write a post about mushrooms today?  Well, let me explain.

One of the best things I have done recently is become involved in AAUW (American Association of University Women)  here in Brevard.  While I am not the most consistent member in attendance I do love the mission of the group and their efforts in raising money for scholarships for young women.   I have raved about their annual book sale and was happy to be a part of it this past year in a variety of ways.   What they manage to do with this sale is the most organized and efficient effort of fundraising that I have ever seen.

Did I mention books?  Books of all sizes and shapes, colors and genres are available to the public to pick over and choose just the right ones to take home.  I might have written a blog post about the sale. 

This time I kind of got stuck in the cookbook section for awhile.  There were a plethora of types of cookbooks but some of the most prevalent ones were those spiral bound church fundraiser type cookbooks with Grandma recipes.  I absolutely love those cookbooks.  I have about a dozen in my own collection and even if I don’t cook from them I still love to have them in my possession.

This little cookbook caught my eye.  Mushroom cooking.  I never thought there would be an entire cookbook devoted to mushrooms.  But here it is.  Mushroom Cookery by Rosetta Reitz.

To be honest a lot of the recipes did not really appeal to me in this cookbook but I stuck it in my $5 a box haul with the idea that it would be a great blog post.  Well, I am not sure it is a great post but it is definitely a different one.

I tried one recipe out of this book.  A mushroom meatloaf.   Now it isn’t totally mushrooms as it has a mixture of half mushrooms and half ground beef in the recipe and it ended up being okay.  Probably not something I would make again without tweaking it.  I do like mushrooms and I couldn’t really taste them in this dish but the consistency of the meatloaf was not as firm as I would have liked it to be so maybe if I made it again I would tweak some of the other ingredients a bit.

I especially love the mushroom illustrations that grace the beginnings of each section of the cookbook.

Mushrooms are one of those things that I think you either love or hate.  There is almost always no middle ground about them.  I think the haters hate the consistency more than the taste most likely.  So let’s take a poll today.

Are you a mushroom hater or a mushroom lover?

Let me know in the comments and remember that each comment made this month means a 50 cent donation to our Comments for a Cause – Books for Africa.

If anyone wants this lovely mushroom cookbook I am happy to send it your way.  Just let me know and it is yours.