Heather Arndt Anderson / OPB This hearty bowl of vitamin D will chase the chill
OPB’s “Superabundant” explores the stories behind the foods of the Pacific Northwest with videos, articles and this weekly newsletter. Every week, Heather Arndt Anderson, a Portland-based culinary historian, food writer and ecologist, highlights different aspects of the region’s food ecosystem. This week she offers a recipe for hearty mushroom paprikash.
Click here to subscribe . For previous stories, go here . Welp, we made it through the worst of it. The sun now sets after 5 p.m., and in a week beset by fire and ice, let’s take a win where we can find it. OK, yes, it’s still pretty cold and gloomy out, but hey! The daylight is here for happy hour. If you aren’t getting much sunshine these days (or you’re vegan), dieticians might recommend taking vitamin D supplements to maintain bone health, combat depression and even slow the growth of tumors. Of course, you can usually get enough vitamin D from your diet — even though most sources come from animal products, mushrooms can be a good source for vegans or folks who can’t have dairy. Maybe it’s because evolutionarily, fungi are closer to animals than plants — though fungi don’t need sunlight to grow, like us, mushrooms make more vitamin D when exposed to UV rays. (No word from science on how vitamin D deficiency affects a mushroom’s mood.)
Vitamin D isn’t the only reason why mushrooms can keep you healthy — clinical trials also suggest that some mushrooms contain bioactive chemicals that protect the heart, kidneys and immune system, have antibacterial and antiviral properties and can even prevent cancerous tumors through “radical scavenging” (which sounds pretty punk rock but is really just about donating protons to unpaired electrons). Most of the adaptogenic mushrooms you’ll find as nutritional supplements and teas; these can be bitter or have a muddy flavor that make them a little unpleasant to take in straight, but one gourmet mushroom (that happens to grow in the Northwest) has recently gained buzz for its potential beneficial properties, […]
Superabundant dispatch: Mushroom paprikash and this week’s news nibbles
