for the heirloom seeds. I won’t name them all right now, but I’ll probably post a few reviews during the growing season. The really unusual package is gourmet cat greens consisting of rye, oats, barley and wheat. Most cat grass is rye or wheat and nothing else. I’m sure Maitake will love them.
Renee’s Garden site is: http://www.reneesgarden.com/
Eatmore T.
http://eatmoretoadstools.com
Maitake helping me sort out some household items.
check out my seed advertisers first on http://eatmoretoadstools.com
I have a number of carefully selected seed company ads scattered throughout my blog and on various pages throughout the site. They are all reputable companies. I have been buying seeds from some of them for years. Click through and order and you help pay for this site.
Eatmore T.
http://eatmoretoadstools.com
Spring is coming and I’m ordering my seeds. Here’s what I am getting from Richter’s, my Canadian herb supplier (http://www.richters.com/source.cgi?source=9330935.5404 ):
1 pkt S1210-001 Ashwagandha SowNatural(tm)Seeds 2.50/pkt 2.50
2 pkt S2055 Cumin, Black Seeds 1.25/pkt 2.50
1 pkt S2828 Gentian, Tibetan Seeds 3.50/pkt 3.50
1 pkt S3518 Jujube, Chinese Seeds 2.50/pkt 2.50
1 pkt S3997 Mimosa Tree Seeds 2.50/pkt 2.50
1 pkt S4474-100 Perilla, Green Seeds 1.75/pkt 1.75
1 pkt S4810 Quinine, Wild Seeds 3.50/pkt 3.50
1 pkt S5040 Roseroot Seeds 7.00/pkt 7.00
1 pkt S5060 Rue, Syrian Seeds 2.50/pkt 2.50
1 pkt S5190 Sage, White Seeds 2.50/pkt 2.50
1 pkt S5361 Scullcap, Baikal Seeds 1.50/pkt 1.50
1 pkt S6531 Toothache Plant Seeds 2.50/pkt 2.50
1 pkt S6555 Tribulus Seeds 3.50/pkt 3.50
Eatmore T.
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From http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=915: “Fully 16% of Americans believe in the “evil eye” or that certain people can cast curses or spells that cause bad things to happen to someone. There is more to talk about regarding this survey, but Pew’s site seems to be having technical difficulties at present and I can’t get the numbers back up.
It’s a slow day/week/month for mushrooms.
Eatmore T.
http://eatmoretoadstools.com
I am so-named on the Telluride Mushroom Festival Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=76957567632#!/group.php?gid=76957567632&ref=mf. I once gave a talk on complexity theory as it relates to fungal matters at the festival. Go if you can. It’s great!
Eatmore T.
http://eatmoretoadstools.com
This stuff has now gone upscale: http://communications.wholefoodsmarket.com/servlet/website/PersonalizedForm?PohsLETV_UC_UT_f7_zHsLE.26f7beEthkLtHpmHrLFohmtHpsDJht. At some point there was concern about toxicity, and I suspect that if you do not apply good sanitary practices, that possibility remains.
Below is a reply I wrote in 1995 in response to a question about Kombucha (I have made no correction of anybody’s spelling errors):
CW wrote: : I am searching for info on Kamucha tea with the mushroom.I am currently a : brewer and consumer but not really knowing much about it.I have the regular : info on 100 year plus individual from remote clans and tribes of by-gone years : but what about modern day consumers? : Is there a limit to daily consumption ? Can too much be toxic?Is there any : scientific proof or has there been any breakdown of its componants ? etc : etc.Any info would be greatly apprieciated Eatmore Toadstools replied: Paul Stamets has some information on it at his website. You would probably do well to check it out. I've never made Kombucha. As a homebrewer and winemaker of many years, I can offer the following perspective: Stamets says you need to get the acid level up (plenty of sugar for sure, maybe more tea, I can't remember the details on this) or you have problems with toxicity. Once you get the ph high enough, you basically have a normal fermentation process and bad bugs don't live in this medium. I suspect the tea doesn't add anything, although if enough is used you may get some preservative effect and bittering much like what hops adds to beer. The process seems to take long enough that I suspect a secondary fermentation takes place and perhaps you eventually get vinegar. I would just take some wine grapes and do an open fermentation, getting my yeast from the grape skins and the air. Eventually you will get vinegar & you can drink it without filtering all the dead yeast and other glop (I believe there are some settled out proteins in the glop & this might be what you are getting with Kombucha). Have a glass of tea on the side. Or make a Belgian lambic beer, which goes through a secondary fermentation and turns the beer sour. Many lambics are flavored with fruit. You could also add tea to the wort. Call it Kombucha lambic. As Charlie Papazian of the American Homebrewers Association says, "relax, don't worry, and have a homebrew." I don't have my brewing books with me to quote the Latin names of all the little beasties that do their work, and brewing is second nature to me now, so I don't remember all the scientific details. Hence, my discussion may not be as scientific as you might like. Perhaps there are things in the Kombucha that you do not find in the normal beer & wine fermentation process, but I don't think I'd risk playing with a low ph level to find out. Note: I supplied a correction in my next post. The PH needs to be low enough, not high enough.
Eatmore T.
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Interesting discussion on making beet kvass on this Australian blog: http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/beet-kvass. I tried using whey from organic yogurt in the last batch I made. It’s not nearly as good as my raw whey efforts, but I can’t get unpasteurized milk here.
Speaking of rotted foods, doesn’t chocolate require a fermentation in the process of making it edible? To paraphrase an old song making fun of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU): “Can you imagine such a terrible sight, as a woman eating chocolate until she gets tight?”
Eatmore T.
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From Bill Russell’s website: http://www.brmushrooms.com/winter%20mushrooms.html. Bill’s entire site is worth exploring. You’ll find a few words on his book on my site also at http://eatmoretoadstools.com/Plant_and_Mushroom_Bibliography.php
Eatmore T.
http://eatmoretoadstools.com
It’s cold and snowy. Not a mushroom in sight. So I am again concocting in my kitchen. Making “rotted food,” as I call it. This time it is kimchee. I’ve found recipes on the internet and I alter them as I experiment. I am not quite ready to publish my own recipe yet. One thing I do is let the cabbage rot, I mean ferment, for 5 days. Like sauerkraut. Then I add the peppers, garlic, leeks, etc. I added spent beets from my kvass to one batch. Worked out pretty good, even though beets don’t taste very Korean to me.
Eatmore T.
http://eatmoretoadstools.com
I found these beauties on sale at an Asian market, where I was on a quest for ingredients for homemade kimchee. I will probably write about that soon, especially since the ground is covered with snow.