This is one of our favorite ways to prepare chicken-of-the-woods.
Ingredients
It is that time of year again! It is time to start thinking about plugging logs. Here is a basic break down of inoculating mushroom logs.
1) What makes a good log:
Logs must be cut from healthy living trees.
No rot at all on tree.
Be prepared to plug logs anywhere from 1 week to 2 months after the tree was felled.
Best to cut while the tree is dormant.
Keep the bark undamaged and as intact as possible.
Keep the logs clean and off the ground by stacking them on a crate or scraps of wood.
3) The supplies you will need are:
A drill
Wax - soy, bees, or cheese are all acceptable- we use this cheese wax
A place to soak logs for 12/24 hours
If using sawdust spawn you will need:
7/16th drill bit
4) How to inoculate the log
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Want to inoculate logs for cultivating specific mushroom species but not sure which trees to choose? Here's our guide by mushroom species.
Shiitake: Best arranged vertically, or stacked log cabin style. When stacked log cabin style, it is best to put on blocks, pallets, or stones to deter slugs from hiding in places where the logs would be touching the ground. Shiitake logs benefit from a strike to initiate a good flush. Strike the ends with a baseball bat or wooden mallet after soaking, but avoid damaging the bark.
Best Tree species: Oak (red or white), wild cherry, Sweetgum, American beech, paper birch, black birch, alder.
Lion's Mane: Patience! Depending on the wood species it can take 1-3 years for it to start producing. To get the largest fruiting bodies, use logs at least 10" in diameter. The bigger the logs, the larger the fruiting bodies. Partially bury logs vertically for best results.
Best Tree Species: Short term - Tulip Poplar, Maple, Willow, Paulownia, Tree of Heaven Long term - Elm, Oak, Chestnut, Black Walnut
Oyster: Cultivate on logs from 4" to as large as you can safely handle. The largest logs can be inoculated totem style. You can also inoculate stumps with oyster mushroom spawn.
Best Tree Species: Soft woods are best for oyster mushrooms! Tulip Poplar, Maple, Willow, Paulownia, and Tree of Heaven are some of the most successful tree species to inoculate with oyster mushroom spawn.
Phoenix Oyster: Inoculate the same way that you inoculate all other oyster mushrooms.
Best Tree Species: The only oyster mushroom that we have that fruits on Pine, White Pine, and Fir.
Pioppini (Black Poplar): Needs to be cultivated raft style. They perform poorly on logs that are vertical. They can also be inoculated into stumps. Be sure to expose leader roots and inoculate them as much as possible.
Best Tree Species: Both hardwoods and softwoods work for Pioppini. Try it on oak, maple, and wild cherry.
Reishi: Best suited for logs that are partially buried, vertically or horizontally. You can bury short sections in planters with potting soil. Good candidate for stump cultivate.
Best Tree Species: Performs well on a variety of woods. Best on oak, red maple, hemlock, southern magnolia, sourwood, and gum trees.
Chicken of the Woods: Recommended for larger stump style or whole larger logs. Larger logs can be dropped and plugged as they lie to maximize efficiency and minimize labor. Larger logs are recommended because of the inconsistency in larger logs. Larger logs = larger fruitings.
Best Tree Species: Any hardwood (no locust) and most softwoods.
Maitake: Plug larger logs. Stump method or large 12"+ diameter logs partially buried. Bury logs horizontally, and stumps vertically.
Best Tree Species: Only plug oak logs.
Nameko: Needs to be cultivated raft style. They perform poorly on logs that are vertical. They can also be inoculated into stumps. Be sure to expose leader roots and inoculate them as much as possible.
Best Tree Species: Both hardwoods and softwoods work for Nameko. Try it on oak, maple, and wild cherry.
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Antitumor, immunomodulation, antimicrobial, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, cardiovascular, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, hemaglutinating, and antioxidant.
Want to add some extra vitamin D to your diet? When you harvest your shiitake mushrooms, set them in the sun for a few hours (gill side up) and increase their vitamin D content by more than 1100%!!!! Here is a great article on this, so check it out..."Place Mushrooms in Sunlight to Get Your Vitamin D"
A blog post about a blog post is a thing right? Well, if it's not it should be. We recently had the pleasure of meeting Denise Barratt, at one of our local holiday markets. She had a booth near ours and was there promoting her book "Farm Fresh Nutrition," and talking about her services as a Registered Dietitian. Well, she recently did a blog post on Asheville Fungi. She created two fantastic recipes with some of our wonderful mushrooms. Check out her delicious (and nutritious) website and blog here...
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All Photos and content from here on are from Denise Barratt of Vine Ripe Nutrition.
Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots to pan and cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until translucent. Add rice; cook, stirring, until rice begins to crackle, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add wine. Cook, stirring, until wine is absorbed by rice. Using a ladle, add 3/4 cup stock to rice. Using a wooden spoon, stir rice constantly, at a moderate speed. When rice has absorbed most but not all of liquid and mixture is just thick enough to leave a clear wake behind the spoon when stirring, add another 3/4 cup stock.
Continue adding stock in this manner, stirring constantly, until rice is mostly translucent but still opaque in center. Continue cooking until rice is al dente, but not crunchy. As rice nears doneness, watch carefully; add smaller amounts of liquid. Add kale when rice is close to done.
The mixture should be thick enough that grains are suspended in liquid the consistency of heavy cream. The risotto will thicken slightly when removed from heat.
Remove from heat. Stir in butter and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Divide among four bowls; grate Parmesan over risotto. Serve immediately.
-inspired by a Martha Stewart Recipe
Ingredients:
7 eggs (organic, free-range)
1/4 cup milk
16 oz refrigerated biscuits (I used the whole wheat ones)
5 green onions
1 cup cheese (your choice...cheddar, goat, Parmesan, mozzarella, etc.)
1/2 lb breakfast sausage (optional)
1 lb wild oyster mushrooms
Spray a 9"×13" pan with cooking spray
Directions:
1. Mix your eggs and milk in a large bowl. Cut each biscuit, with scissors, into fours and add it to the bowl. I like to do this before I cook the bacon or cut up the scallions – give the biscuits some time to really soak in the eggs.
2. Cut up your scallions, shred (or crumble) your cheese, cook and break up your sausage and mushrooms. Add everything to the bowl.
3. Mix it all up and pour into your pan. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes.
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Here's a recipe for your Thanksgiving table...
Find us at the West Asheville Tailgate market Tuesday (11/24) & the French Broad Food Coop Wednesday (11/25) to get your oyster mushrooms!
1 cup brat oyster mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup stock (veggie or chicken)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
4 cups dry bread, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons Poultry Seasoning (we LOVE the one from Well Seasoned Table)
1/2 cup butter
salt and pepper, to taste
Melt butter in large fry pan and saute oyster mushrooms, garlic, celery, & onion for 5 minutes or until moisture is gone.
Add poultry seasoning, salt & pepper. Stir well. In a large bowl, mix together bread, mushroom mixture and stock. Stir in parsley.
Either stuff in turkey, or bake in pan at 350 degrees for 30-40 mins.
Doesn't it look gooooood....
...just wait till you taste it!
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