Trendy Vegan Spotlight: Mushrooms

I know they are an acquired taste, but how do you feel about mushrooms?
Portobello, shiitake, porcini, cremini, button, hen of woods…truffles…they are so many different varieties of mushrooms it’s hard not to find even one you might like.


Well, I have been a long time fan of these spongy, woody vegetables, and I think they play beautifully in so many different recipes that their versatility is one of their best features.
Last winter I found some gorgeous cremini and shiitake mushrooms, and it was such a cold and miserable day, I knew I could dress them up into something warm and hearty ~ so I did just that!  

• I took a yellow onion, and cooked it down in a large saute pan with olive oil and salt until it was rather wilted and becoming translucent. (For an extra pungent mushroom-y flavor, use truffle oil instead.)
• To that I added 2 cups of rinsed and destemmed creminis and shiitakes, cut into bite sized pieces, and continued to cook them with the onions until they simply melted together.
• As that was simmering, I took half of a bunch of red chard, first cutting large ribbons and then slicing those into slightly smaller pieces, and tossed it into the pan with the other ingredients, adding more salt and pepper to taste.

I had started making this dish once I was already pretty hungry, so I ate it, in a bowl, as soon as it was done, but it would be wonderful as a condiment to baked potatoes, as a warm bruschetta, or, my favorite, over linguini or angel hair pasta dish.  You could even add it to scrambled tofu or shredded potatoes in a hash for breakfast, or just keep them fresh and raw and chop them into a delicious salad.
What is your favorite mushroom, and how to do you like to prepare it?