Powdering (or dicing or chopping) mushrooms...

A Moment of A-ha! Not the band...the mushroom!

As we've discussed, I'm adding the Cabbage Soup Diet into my low-carb eating plan for the next week. It's all in an attempt to help a cocktail dress fit a little better. That and it's kind of fun to embrace a fad diet for a few days. 

While I was making my soup/stew I had the most amazing kitchen epiphany. Why wait until the dehydrated mushrooms have re-hydrated in hot water before dicing them?

Let's back up...

I decided to add some mushrooms to the soup and opted to use the dehydrated mushrooms from my pantry.

I had two kinds. The trumpets are kind of big.

I tossed those in a bowl so I could add boiling water to re-hydrate them.

I reached in and started breaking them up with my fingers since I knew I'd be dicing them later. It was something to do until the kettle heated. 

And then I giggled...it was maniacal laugh. If I had a mustache I would have twirled it. 

I took my bowl of dehydrated mushrooms and dumped them in my mini chopper and pulsed them until they looked like this...

The ones on the bottom (it's hard to see in this picture) are super tiny.

You can pulse them as finely as you want. 

Heck, you can completely powder them and add it by the tablespoon into just about anything. 

I still wanted mushrooms that were chopped looking. You can also go for a dice or a mince depending on how much you process it.

I am never dicing mushrooms again for soup.

I'm guessing this will finally be the way I can sneak mushrooms into sauces without my husband looking for fungi invaders before he takes the first bite. I'm going to keep an eye out for other dehydrated foods that I use often and especially those that get a good dice before going into soups or casseroles. I'm also going to suggest this to my brother-in-law as he's always working to have his girls eat healthier foods. This is a great way to incorporate (ok, sneak or hide) vegetables. The smaller you make it the harder it will be for picky eaters to identify in a dish.