New mushroom wall art and more now in the shop. :)🍄
Perfect for those foragers who wish to stay in during this cold season and appreciate fungi from the comfort of your home.
Variations include the full 15 mushroom set on a 12″ x 12″ black canvas.
A set of 4 mushrooms of your choice on a 6” x 6” black canvas.
Or a single mushroom of your choice on a 3″ x 3″ black canvas.
Comes with the mushrooms in default white with dark auburn accenting as shown, however can easily be painted should you wish to add your own person touch, or have a loved one who enjoys painting miniatures.
Lions mane (Hericium erinaceus) is a tooth fungus of the family Hericiaceae. A prime edible species, it is found in temperate climates across much of North America and Eurasia. They feed predominately on decaying wood and can be easily cultivated on sawdust, with kits available online from many sources.
I found this one on an oak tree where I hunt in the Southern United States, and since they’re as close to completely safe as a wild mushroom can be, I decided to treat my folks to one of my favorite wild edibles. This one was frankly enormous, so there was plenty to share.
We’re gunna need a bigger pan.
In seriousness, this one probably weighed something along the lines of 10 pounds, but that was largely because it had been raining all day and these things are like sponges. Unfortunately, despite looking pretty decent, it was on the edge of edibility, with the core having already softened and gone yellow.
Luckily, the toothed exterior (the best part for eating as far as texture goes) was still fine, and I was able to get a very respectable portion of the stuff.
This species is known for cooking down to a texture and flavor not dissimilar to seafood like crab or lobster, and is quite nutritious. I sauteed this one in butter, and seasoned it with some herbs, cayenne, and salt and pepper.
It was supremely delicious, with a side of roasted potatoes and salad and some shrimps. Dipped in cocktail sauce it really is remarkably similar to a bite of crab.
Foraging note: All members of the genus Hericium, in North America at least, are safe edible species. But once they begin yellowing and producing spores they can cause stomach upset, so be cautious. There are no dangerous look alikes of this species, which makes it one of the safest mushrooms to forage. That said, you should always be cautious when harvesting wild edibles, both ensuring that what you are taking is identified correctly, and that it is not contaminated by pesticides/herbicides/other environmental toxins. Also take care to not overharvest wild sources, and to not damage the habitat as you go.
Fungi February: The lion's mane is a tooth fungus that is claimed to have medicinal benefits, such as improving brain function, relieving anxiety, and immune system support. What's certain is its great culinary value, and that it makes tasty vegetarian crab cakes.
Disclaimer: Don’t rely on pictures of cute mushrooms with eyes to accurately identify edible mushrooms. At best the wrong one will taste bad, at worst it’ll be deadly!
The longest jellyfish in the world was a Lion's Mane Jellyfish that was a lengthy 120 feet from the top of its bell to the bottom of its tentacles. Lion's Mane jellys are actually the biggest species of jellyfish in the entire world :)
This meaty looking friend is pan fried lions mane mushroom. This is one of the most delicious mushrooms I've ever had, hands down! Picked it up for $6, one bundle made two flat patties. And lemme tell ya ladies...
This mufucker taste just like a steak. Like for reals, ladies. Taste and texture, it was a flat iron steak.
So of course being the garden witch she is, my girlfriend is now looking into lions mane growing kits. We've already grown oyster mushrooms, so hopefully these are about the same difficulty.
But to keep rambling because that's what I do... I can't wait to try and grow these. Mushrooms are one of those things we as a species really need to adopt in a wider scale if we're going to convert to a more environmental society. You can grow a lot of them in a small space, and from what I've seen they aren't really labor intensive either. And with how much you can do with them, the variety of textures and flavors, I would bet in a century or so that humanity will have a strongly fungal based diet.
That is of course if humankind gets its shit together and survived that much longer.
...anyways! Mushrooms rule, this sucker is deloycious, and I'm ready to to be a mushroom farmer.