The Birch Polypore mushroom ( Fomitopsis betulina) is one of my favourite medicinals for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s common in this area as we have many damaged and dead birch trees, which are the poypore’s only habitat. As … Continue reading
A bit of work to make but great to have on hand for quick hearty mushroom broth. Improvising on a recipe concept in Joe Beef’s cool cookbook Surviving the Apocalypse: Powder up some dried shiitake, maitake, puffball, cocoa beans, garlic … Continue reading
The information in this introduction was gleaned from works by M(y)cCoy, Rogers, and Stamets, listed on the MycoResources page. I plan to write individual articles on particular species of interest, as I have already done with Turkey Tail. This article … Continue reading
Here is a use for those pre-fried and frozen puffball slices. After thawing and separating them, I baked them on a rack in the oven at 350F while I prepared a tomato sauce and toppings. Then I dressed them and … Continue reading
After using my Richard Simmons Steam Heat Pasteurizer a few times I could see some room for improvement. For one steam leaked out around the steam unit and heat was escaping all over. I found another bin at the Salvation … Continue reading
Thanks to friend and neighbor Silas for giving us these beautiful Giant Puffballs (Calvatia gigantea). Chef Dwayne put the idea of a French Toast style puffball in my head at the Cain Foray and as Silas brought these by in … Continue reading
This is the time of year you might find Ustilago maydisa, a biotrophic parasite fungus which takes over corn. Thanks to my friend and neighbor Justine for spotting some for me this year, which I will try to use on … Continue reading
Here’s an idea: create a bulk substrate pasteurizer with a discarded Richard Simmons Steam Heat Cooker (manual here) and a couple of used bins from the Sally Ann. This ended up working way better than my old wet pasteurization method: … Continue reading
