I LOVE this dish. At the whole thing, with a fork, no chips, no nothin’ on the side, just this straight-up for my main meal of the day, and it just rocked. Didn’t share a morsel with anyone!

I’m famous for needing crunchy side things to feel satisfied when I’m eating very high-raw, but I have been recently dedicated to creating recipes that don’t require that. And this one delivered! I had a “pesto” theme in mind, to use some of the wee-leaved potted basil growing here on the lanai, but instead I gave basil a far more supporting — rather than dominant — role. Add some fresh lemon, garlic, green onion, and earthy almost-potato-i-ness of the mushrooms paired with the juicy & refreshing crunch of the cukes, and this dish really delivers on a bunch of levels.

You can use any kind of mushroom you want, but I used simple Utterly Pedestrian button mushrooms. And With one tablespoon of olive oil for a very large salad, this could be argued as low-fat… or you could just reduce it to 1 teaspoon for your weight-watching purposes.

On a hot day (95 & humid here in the Florida heat at the moment), this was great. But it would also be excellent on a cold day… just substitute some baby zucchini for the cucumber and expose your bowl to the lowest temp of your oven for a little bit, to raise the temp by a few still-comfortable-against-your-skin degrees. It will be true comfort food… without the deadening effect of real pasta.

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