Week 5 - Anti-oxidant packed Creamed Asparagus & Mushrooms on Sprouted Whole grain toast

While perusing the grocery store trying to find what to make for dinner, I found a beautiful vibrant green bunch of asparagus. My mind went through the normal things that could be done with it like grilling and roasting. Then I remembered a recipe my mom used to make. Her version of Creamed Asparagus on Toast was made with light and fluffy white bread. I tried to "healthy" this recipe up a bit to have more protein and whole grains. The perfect additions were mushrooms and sprouted grain bread. It made a huge difference. The mushrooms added so much flavor to the sauce and the bread added a chewy texture. Both additions added many health benefits to this dish as well.

Mushrooms are a fungus that is worth eating! The are high in selenium which is an anti-oxidant. They also are high in protein, vitamin B and D to name a few. But the big punch is that they carry Ergothioneine or ET. This powerful Amino acid is also an anti-oxidant. It is the only one that can penetrate our mitochondria. The mitochondria is a power plant in each of our cells. This means it can clean out toxins that no other anti-oxidant can! This is amazing!!! Other foods have this amino acid in much smaller amounts. Oyster mushrooms have the highest count. They have over 9 times more ET than black beans and Chicken liver. And 100 times more than chicken, beef and pork.

Creamed Asparagus and Mushrooms on Sprouted Grain toast

4 T flour

3 T butter

3-4 cups milk

1 lb asparagus cut in 1 inch pieces

8 oz sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)

1 loaf sprouted whole grain bread

salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in pan, add flour and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure temperature is at medium. We do not want the butter to brown for this dish. The reason for stirring is because flour is raw and has a raw flavor. You need to cook the flour a bit before adding the milk because it will have a raw taste once mixed.

Add 3 cups of milk to the flour mixture and stir continuously until the 3 ingredients have blended. Always watch milk carefully when cooking. It burns easily. Once your milk is hot add asparagus and mushrooms. Keep stirring regularly. Once it gets to a boil turn it to low. Sauce should have thickened.

At this point you need to assess if you like the thickness of your sauce. A thin sauce will soak into the bread quickly. This isn't bad if you like soggy bread. If your sauce is too thick it will just sit on top. I prefer an in between consistency for this sauce. I like a little soggy bread.

Ways to thicken a white sauce

- you can thicken a sauce easily if you have ultra fine flour. It is sold in the flour aisle and comes in a cylinder canister. Just sprinkle over sauce and stir with a whisk.

- If all you have is regular flour add 1 T flour to 1/2 cup of your slightly cooled cream sauce. Stir with whisk vigorously, then add back to your sauce. (make sure there are not any lumps) Turn sauce up to medium and wait for it to thicken

Ways to thin a white sauce

- Add a couple tablespoons of milk at a time until desired thickness. Remember when adding more liquid you may have to adjust your salt.

Once sauce is to desired thickness - toast bread and serve

Makes 4 servings

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