Mushrooms: from buttons to shiitakes, these umbrella-shaped fungi should sprout up in your grocery cart.

For centuries in Eastern Asia, mushrooms have been enjoyed for their flavor and revered for their medicinal properties. Neither fruit nor vegetable, mushrooms are fungi and come in more than 2,500 varieties. Available year-round, the natural glutamate in mushrooms heightens and enhances the flavors of foods cooked with them.

When shopping for mushrooms, choose those with smooth, dry, blemish-free surfaces. Closed "veils" under the cap indicate a delicate flavor; an open veil indicates a richer flavor. When you get them home, store them in a paper bag in the fridge. This way, mushrooms usually keep for a week.

Mushrooms can be marinated, sauteed, roasted and grilled; some varieties are good raw. Don't wash mushrooms until just prior to cooking since excess moisture can make them mushy. Gently wiping them with a damp cloth is often enough, but if they are especially gritty, briefly rinse and pat dry. To freeze mushrooms, saute them in butter or oil and store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Mushrooms are flavorful, versatile and good for you too. For starters, they're a great source of potassium: One cup of cooked fungi provides more potassium than one banana. Lyssie Lakatos, RD, CDN, adds, "White button, brown and portobello mushrooms are low in carbohydrates. Their low calorie count and fairly high fiber content make mushrooms good for diabetics. Button mushrooms have 12 times more of the antioxidant ergothioneine than wheat germ--ergothioneine has been shown to protect cells--and are thought to have anti-breast cancer effects." And the phytonutrients in mushrooms may inhibit prostate cancer as well.

So when shopping for dinner tonight, start with mushrooms. Your savory meal and your body will thank you.

  mushroom and swiss chard lasagna Serves 8 You can't beat lasagna  for crowd appeal and make-ahead convenience. For brands of oven-ready  lasagna noodles that contain 12 noodles per box, use 3 noodles per  layer. For those with 16 noodles, use 4 per layer. 1 lb. Swiss chard,  well rinsed,    or 16-oz. frozen spinach 2 tsp. olive oil 1 lb. cremini  or baby portobello    mushrooms, quartered 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/4  tsp. crushed red pepper 1 26-oz. jar marinara sauce Salt and freshly  ground black   pepper to taste 1 large egg 1 15-oz. container low-fat  ricotta cheese 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 8- to 9-oz. pkg.  oven-ready   lasagna noodles (12-16 noodles) 2 cups grated part-skim  mozzarella cheese 1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Remove stems  ...