birthdays are fun, getting older? hmm...

About this time every year, I really start thinking about my age and about my mortality. Not so much in gruesome terms, more like a startling afterthought, as in oh! forgot that for a moment. As much as I think, talk, and write about health and diet issues, I often forget that we are all transients on earth.

Obviously from my morose verbiage, I'm guessing one can tell my birthday is coming up, February 20th to be precise. I love birthdays---I think. It could be more like how I love giving parties and celebrating holidays. It's mostly the idea I like. The actuality, not so much. I love looking forward to birthdays, for sure. I love giving myself permission for little indulgences that I might forgo other times of the year. Yesterday for instance, I spent half the day at a spa after having breakfast with my daughter, Kristen, and followed all that with pampering from my hairdresser, Michelle. This whole day thing was a first for me.

Yes, the little indulgences part of birthdays is not the rub. The getting older part? It can't be all bad. It has it's good points. Compared to the alternatives, older is better. As I mulled this post over in my mind, I thought of talking about my age, my specific age in years, as part of a whole picture, full disclosure sort of thing. A this is who I am kind of thing. Then I remembered something my sister, Beverly, shared with us recently. She said a spiritual leader and teacher who we both respect said one should never tell her (or his) age. Not to be secretive or deceptive, not to pretend to be younger or older, but because we limit ourselves and others enough as it is. We label and define even without meaning to do so much of the time. He said not to add yet another meaningless bit of data to that limiting mess. So I am not talking specific numbers.  I may stop that entirely. For much of my life I have felt the need to reveal more than was needed, probably more than was wanted. For now I'll refrain and rethink those habits.

I will say, for me this is a significant birthday in many ways, my age being only one of them. In recognition of this, my daughter is planning a small celebration with my family. We met yesterday to talk about what we might do and what we would serve. As she started with a list of favorite party foods that we've loved and served over the years, I realized I could no longer eat any of those dishes. Wow! Times have changed. I now control everything that comes into my kitchen and as a result, everything that comes out of it. I focus on good foods I can eat and enjoy and all but forget about the rest. I tend to forget that not everyone cooks or shops the way I do. Not even those very close to me. Of course, if this were a party for someone else, I'd just eat first and no one would notice. Since the birthday celebration is for me, it feels a little different. We have worked it out, I think. Works well for me, anyway.

I love grilling or broiling shrimp even for cocktails. These are from US Wellness Meats.

So far we're planning lemon chicken sate with Sunshine Sauce via Well Fed, lots of beautiful fresh veggies like asparagus, cucumber, sugar snap peas, red peppers, grape tomatoes with a dairy-less dip as yet to be determined. We'll also have rare, grilled steak strips or chunks, shrimp in some form, baba ghanoush, mixed olives, our marinated mushrooms, fresh fruit, and a couple of versions of almond flour crackers. Did I mention this is a very small party? Well, my family is not all that small, but if we didn't overdo the food, we wouldn't recognize ourselves.

On what I find an interesting note, Kristen often says she's afraid to cook for me, even before I knew I had major dietary issues. She is especially hesitant to cook in my kitchen. I don't think I'm that picky, but we never know those things about ourselves, do we?

if only I could take all the credit for my marinated mushrooms

It's funny how individual food history develops. Sometimes recipes are passed down through generations, sometimes it's a silly playful interpretation like peanut butter poop, sometimes a dish just kind of attaches itself to us and becomes our signature.

I am a self-confessed Martha Stewart nut. I could read her books, listen to her talk, watch her for hours. That said, I haven't seen much of Martha Stewart in awhile, though I know she is still very much around and a voice I would follow anywhere. When my daughter was married some time ago, we poured over Martha's cookbooks, especially Entertaining. I think I may have memorized half the recipes and all the stories in the book. I loved it. Kristen's reception had lots of fun foods, many from Entertaining. One I don't remember using that day was for a mushroom salad, possibly because Kristen seriously hates all things mushroom. Still for me, that mushroom salad recipe has evolved, as most good recipes do, into something reminiscent of but not identical to its origin.

The first time I remember making what have gradually become my marinated mushrooms was for Felicity's first birthday party. Felicity will soon begin her sophomore year in college, so it's been a year or two. Now we serve them again and again and again. Most of my friends and family, except Kristen, have tried these in one of their many forms. They are a must-have at our parties and find their way into many potlucks and family dinners.

Marinated Mushrooms

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Marinated Mushrooms with Red Peppers)

• 2 to 3 pounds mushrooms, quartered if large, stems cut off

• 8 ounces olive oil
• 6 ounces red wine vinegar
• 4 ounces finely diced red onions
• 3 to 4 ounces finely chopped flat-leaved parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 packet stevia or 1/8 tsp pure stevia
• sea salt and pepper to taste

 Clean mushrooms and place in large bowl. Combine all other ingredients and pour over mushrooms. Allow marinade two to three hours or more to penetrate mushrooms. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve at room temperature. I like to serve this with fancy picks and lots of napkins. Your favorite gluten-free bread will be really handy for the wonderful marinade.

This dish is deceptively simple. If you like mushrooms, praise, and easy dishes as much as we do, it will become a mainstay. If you've tried these, please add your comments here. If you haven't, you absolutely must make these mushrooms. Oh, and if you're a great fan of red pepper strips, check out Martha's original recipe.