Building up "Mussels"

Finally Friday! Woo-hoo I made it! One whole week of blogging;-)

Yesterday, while musing over what to blog about today, my youngest, Anthony, recommended I blog about mussels. He says not enough people know about them or eat them nearly as much as they should. Anthony is 12 yrs old and his favorite recipe is the one listed below. With all the fresh tomatoes from my garden, I really think he may have made a good call on this. I listed the tomatoes in ounces in the recipe, in case, you wanted to use fresh, instead of canned tomatoes. Either fresh tomatoes or canned are delicious in this dish (take a swig;-). In addition, I listed another great, simple, inexpensive recipe with mussels (without tomatoes) that I thought you all might enjoy.

Dollar for dollar, mussels are the best bivalve you can buy. The downside of mussels is that sometimes they need to be cleaned. Most grocery stores and fish markets now sell them cleaned and they are still an excellent buy. Uncleaned mussels will have a weedy growth called a "beard". Just pull or scrape this off from each one. They may also be muddy and require a soaking under slowly running water for a couple of hours. I spend the small amount of extra money for cleaned ones. If they are debearded and/or in mesh bags, they have already been cleaned. Like all bivalve mollusks, mussels must be sold alive. So when packaged they should have air holes or someway for air to get into the package. Store mussels, packaged properly, on the lowest level of your refrigerator for no more than 48 hours after purchase to prevent spoilage and cross-contamination. Then just rinse them off before adding to your recipe.
By looking at the nutritional facts listed below, you can see that mussels are an inexpensive and delicious (drink;-) way to add seafood to your diet. Mussels are great way to learn that eating well does not have to fattening or unhealthy. It's a great way to get protein and fiber without adding a lot of fat.

I've been eating mussels all my life and they are truly a comfort food for me. I love sitting down to a big bowl of steaming Mussels in Crazy Water with Anthony, my Mom and my Dad. It's so heart-warming to sit down with them after making this easy, nutritious and delicious dish (take a swig;-) , having the three generations relishing it together. Knowing that my ancestors in Italy and America also enjoyed it is an added bonus. It is what I call a "touchstone" dish. It's a dish that connects me to my heritage and it's one of the dishes I hope to share with my grandchildren when I'm lucky enough (and old enough;-) to have them. Mangia!

Mussels in Crazy Water ( Cozze alla Acqua Pazza)

16 fl oz sweet, white wine (154g)
1/4 cup leaves, whole Basil, fresh(6g)
1/4 cup fresh, Italian,flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 loaf of Italian bread, cut into 8 pieces(30g)
1 ounce (28g) Fennel, bulb, raw and chopped, or fronds chopped (optional)
1 small onion (optional)
6 large cloves of Garlic (9g), raw and pressed
4 Lbs of raw mussels in shells
1 tbsp (14g) olive oil
1 tsp (6g) Salt
1 tsp (2g) crushed red pepper or cayenne
28 oz can of crushed, canned Tomatoes,

Rinse mussels, discarding any broken or open shelled mussels. Set aside in refrigerator. Combine the tomatoes, crushed red pepper, basil,garlic, salt, wine and fennel and/or onion, if you're adding them. in a large dutch oven. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil. Place cleaned mussels in the dutch oven, cover and bring back up to a simmer for additional 15 minutes. Remove cover, add parsley and simmer for 10 minutes, being sure all the mussels open. Serve in bowls with the Acqua Pazza and 2 slices of Italian bread for mopping up the sauce. Or you can serve with 1 lbs of angel hair (or any thin strand-like pasta).

Nutritional Facts:
Calories per serving: 407 Calories from Fat: 62
Total fat: 7g
Sat fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 24mg
Sodium: 1267mg
total carbohydrates: 55g
Dietary fiber: 6g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 17g
Vitamin A: 42%
Vitamin C: 60%
Calcium: 14%
Iron: 41%

Spaghettini with Mussels, Garlic and Wine
1 lb of spaghettini, cooked al dente according to package (if you use Ronzoni Smart Pasta, it will give you a more filling dish with added fiber @ 4-5 grams)
1 C of dry white wine
4 teaspoons of extra virgin, olive oil
1/4 cup of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (or 1/8 C dried parsley flakes)
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves ( 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
8 cloves or garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or cayenne
48 mussels
Combine wine, oil, parsley, thyme,garlic and red pepper to a large dutch oven. Cook, until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the mussels, cover and cook until mussels open, about 10 minutes. Discard any cracked or unopened mussels. Add cooked pasta to the mussels and toss to combine. Serves 8 (or 4, just double the nutritional facts and recognize you're eating 2 serving;-)

Nutritional Facts:
Calories: 243
Total fat: 4g
Sat fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 12mg
Sodium: 130 mg
Carbohydrates: 35g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 11g
Calcium: 43mg