i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
Daylily flower buds are currently in season and the hot weather made me crave something fragrant as to awaken the appetite. While it might seem counter-intuitive, a Thai green curry is a creative way to use up the buds I collected from the garden. These …
Disclaimer: When I’m stressed or nervous, a stream of very colorful language tends to come vomiting out of my upper orifice. I would categorize this post as NSFW (Not Safe For Work) because there are things in this post that are, at best, wildly inappropriate …
I’ve been having a lot of luck finding chicken of the woods around my neighborhood this year, and boy is it just as exciting the first time as it is all the times after. Laetiporus is a genus of edible mushrooms found on multiple continents, and with no reasonable toxic look-alikes, it’s an easily identified mushrooms for novice mushroom hunters (as long as you follow a few rules below). There are other types of mushrooms that also form rosettes and shelves, but they lack the striking orange, yellow, and beige colors of CotW.
The only ones that shouldn’t be eaten due to sometimes triggering an allergic reaction in about 10% of the population are chickens growing on conifers (most notably hemlock) and eucalyptus.
Oak is often a favorite host, and it comes out in the hot humid days right before or after a storm. (I found two flushes and heard reports from my husband of many more at his work the day before a big thunderstorm. I’ve also found them right after heavy rains.)
Now that I’ve collected a few of them in varying stages, I can say that anything past a couple hours from the first flush is not great as far as culinary use goes. It becomes dry and stringy, and while still edible, the texture leaves something to be desired–it reminds me very much of poorly cooked chicken. The next day guarantees it being woody, and at that point other than the very outer portions of each shelf, it’s best left to the wildlife.
I prefer to collect it when the shelves haven’t fully flushed, and has a slippery, wet velvet texture. In this way, CotW is delicious sauteed in some butter, garlic, and herbs, with an almost oyster mushroom flavor and texture although my family agreed it was like eating rare and tender roast beef (which we love). While it won’t be the big monsters that people find, it’s taste rating goes way up if you don’t allow it to fully form shelves. However I did, at one point, accidentally mimic lobster bisque with it when trying to figure out what to do with a CotW slightly past peak deliciousness–the stringiness resembled lobster meat so much I had to do a double-take.
In any case, if you find it, grab first, inspect later. Just be careful as this particular polypore is loved by all sorts of critters and could be hiding some stowaways. It also has the habit of swallowing up other things while flushing, so you’ll often find leaves and grass in the middle of its flesh.
My taste buds were all sorts of confused when I accidentally discovered that chicken of the woods (laetiporus sp.) bisque tastes an awfully lot like lobster bisque in flavor AND texture. So much so I had to do a double take because that’s… just… not …
Ever since I got quail, this has been the recipe that’s been on my mind. They finally started laying and they’re redeeming themselves. Everyone in my house LOVE jammy ramen eggs, even as a side snack or on top of rice. What better way to …
My local butcher usually has frozen cut beef bones in their freezer section. At about $3 for 5lbs of it, I couldn’t help but pick some up. The trick to making ultra decadent roasted bone marrow is to not allow the fat to be rendered out while cooking it through on a high enough heat that the roasted smoky flavor is still incorporated into it.
You’ll want some acidity to cut through the grease, something juicy and crunchy to make it refreshing, and something carbohydrate-y to spread the marrow on.
I grow a lot of herbs in the garden, so I threw the ones I felt would compliment it the most into this dressing. Word of advice–if you have the gene that makes you think cilantro tastes soapy, omit it and replace it with more parsley (or even dill or basil, if that’s your jam.)
You could also replace the lime with lemon, or with a nice champagne or red wine vinegar.
I had leftover oyster mushroom risotto from my foray into growing my own mushrooms (read my review of the Back To The Roots mushroom kit I got for Mother’s Day) and had been dreaming of arancini (Italian rice balls). Crispy, crunchy on the outside, creamy on …
The oyster mushrooms from the Back To The Roots kit I got for Mother’s Day (read my review here) had given me about half a pound of oyster mushrooms this first time. I was really glad it worked and wanted to make something that would …
For Mother’s Day this year, my brother-in-law and his wife got me an oyster mushroom kit by Back To The Roots. I had gotten one of these a years ago but the mushrooms dried and died, despite following the directions to a T, before they fully grew so I filed it away in the “Novel But Useless” area of my brain and didn’t think any more of it.
This time though, I decided since it was a gift, I’d give it another shot, if only to say I tried. I’m happy to report that it worked this time! (And I have the recipes to prove it.)
I did have to make some modifications though, the main one being laying it horizontal, poking deep holes (with chopsticks) and watering INTO the holes. It was kept on my kitchen counter next to the sink in indirect sunlight, although for about 20 minutes every day the sun passed through in a way where it does hit them.
If the picture I provided is any indication, I got about half a pound this first harvest which I made into a wonderful risotto (and eventually, arancini). Supposedly, you can get anywhere from 2 – 5 flushes from one kit, but I’m planning to use it with my duck straw compost to incorporate it into my edible landscape, especially since I’ve been getting more into fungi.
All in all, it was worth it, especially if you know a little bit about mycology and can tweak it so it works in your home’s micro-climate.
A culinary note: Oyster mushrooms smell a little sickly sweet when raw (maybe…fishy sweet?), but it’s absolutely delicious when cooked so don’t be put off by their uncooked scent.
Oyster Mushroom Risotto with Shaved Asparagus Salad
Mushroom Risotto Arancini
My grape vines have leafed out and now that the leaves are about the size of my hand, it’s time for dolmades! I love plants that can be grown for both fruit and vegetables, and grapes are one of the best. Fresh dolmades are really …