mushrooms

As the cool weather is setting in for some of us, now’s the time for some hearty and grounding recipes.

Tis the season here in the Southern Rockies to go bolete hunting!  I’ve been foraging for nearly a decade what I thought were true King Boletes (Boletus edulis). Turns out that despite what the older guidebooks say, what I’ve been roasting, eating, and making medicinal extracts from is actually the newly named Boletus rubriceps, with “ceps” being another word for bolete and “rubri” meaning red. The mushroom cap ranges in color from a burgundy red to an orangish red if sun faded. The mushroom is, appropriately enough, now known as the Rocky Mountain Red. 

Now that the wet winter weather has blossomed into a decidedly fickle spring, how does cozying up with a warm bowl of porridge sound? Most of us equate porridge with breakfast, but what I’m talking about today will actually make a lovely dinner.

Mushrooms seem to do just about everything, medicinally-speaking, and I’ve written previously about mushrooms for the liver, heart and immune system.  This time, let’s take a look at what mushrooms can do for the 

For the uninitiated, the name chaga immediately pokes at one’s curiosity—as does its nickname, “black gold.” The chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) resembles a chunk of rough coal blooming from the side of a birch, stark in contrast to the tree’s white bark. Whether the name is just a bit of clever branding or finds its roots in its ancient medicinal context, it is, undoubtedly, correct.

I love eating seasonally, and when fall rolls around, that means eating more mushrooms. There are three adaptogenic mushrooms I particularly like to incorporate into my diet: chaga, reishi and shiitake. Find out what makes these mushrooms so special, along with fun ways to incorporate them into your day. 

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotis) and others are both a delicious edible mushroom and a great medicinal as well.  The wild ones are the tastiest, if you’re lucky enough to find them, though you can often find them at the grocery store or even grow your own with one of the many commercial growing kits available.  I found a small cluster this summer during what was an otherwise dismal mushroom season here in the Southern Rockies.  They smelled like aniseed…something

I always say that my favorite way to use medicinal mushrooms is to eat them.  Sometimes we need stronger mushroom medicine or are working with one that isn’t edible (ever tried biting into Reishi?).  In these instances, concentrated mushroom powders are a great way to go.

Button mushrooms don’t get the respect they deserve. They’re often thought to be good for nothing but slapping on top of a pizza. But read on for a different story…

Edible mushrooms are fantastic for our health. Eating mushrooms is my favorite way to reap their benefits, but at times a stronger dose may come in handy.  This is where mushroom extracts can be handy.  For those who’ve purchased commercial mushroom extracts, you may have noticed that they’re a bit expensive.  Why not learn to make your own?