Seeds

March 7th, 2010

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.

http://eatmoretoadstools.com

16% of Americans believe in the “evil eye”

March 5th, 2010

Llewellyn - New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit - www.llewellyn.com

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

Speaker Emeritus at Telluride Shroomfest

March 2nd, 2010

Teach kids to love nature and learning with Award-Winning Magazines from ShopNWF.org - just $19.95!

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

Kombucha: From Fear of Deadly Microbes to Upscale

February 18th, 2010

Shop at Gurneys.com for your vegetable and flower seeds!

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.

http://eatmoretoadstools.com

From the Rotted Foods Department

February 4th, 2010

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.

http://eatmoretoadstools.com

Cafe Britt Gourmet chocolate


Winter Mushrooms

February 3rd, 2010

120x60 Belgian Chocolates Logo A

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.

Kimchee

February 3rd, 2010

tabasco.com (McIlhenny Company)

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.

More Market Foraging

January 31st, 2010

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.

Eatmore T.
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King oyster and enoki
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San Pedro Cactus

January 31st, 2010

Find Quality Trichocereus Cactus and more
Find Quality Trichocereus Cactus and more

I have found San Pedro cactus to be very easy to grow and very forgiving.  The one in the small white pot, without good drainage, went through several heavy storms outside this past fall.  Some plants would have rotted.  I brought it inside early in December and I just watered it again recently.

These photos contain cacti that is 4-5 years old, but have not achieved maximum growth because they have been kept in small containers.  I must also keep them away from humans and a curious cat because, as you can see, they have rather long needles and are potentially dangerous.

Eatmore T.

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Winter Mushrooms

January 21st, 2010

LinkShare_234x60

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I found these at a farmers market.  I’ve never seen shitake in the wild anyhow.  The caps went into a tofu stir-fry, served over brown jasmine rice.   The stems, which are too woody to digest, were tossed into the pot with leek roots and celery leaves for a vegetable broth.  I’m gonna make parsnip soup… if I  can find any good parsnips.

Eatmore T.