The Fungus Among Us

My mushroom class was really neat yesterday. I belong to a nice little co-op that puts on these great classes all the time. They are inexpensive and I really enjoy them. Yesterday was no different. Yesterday was MUSHROOM DAY!!! haha.

I only started to eat mushrooms in the past few years, I like them but know virtually nothing about them except for they are very tasty and can be deadly if you do not know hot to properly identify them when foraging. I learned so much yesterday, I barely know where to begin!

Let's start with the basics, the study of mushrooms is called mycology which would make the person who studies them (an expert in the field) a mycologist. A very well known mycologist is Paul Stamets, he has written many books and has a line of mushroom supplements on the market. I am sure there are many well known mycologists, our class was just not long enough to go over all of them!

The part of the mushroom that we see, the part that is above ground is the fruit while the part that is below ground is called the mycelium. I found the mycelium fascinating, it was even mentioned in class that there are studies which indicate that the mycelium is the network in which plants can communicate over long distances (some myceliums grow to be very, very large). How cool is that? it's like the tin can and string theory for nature. I plan to learn more about this mycelium.

Other fun facts about mushrooms are:

• mushrooms are great filters and good for the environment
• because they can soak up toxins and clean the earth you must be conscious about where your mushrooms are being cultivated and harvested, they toxins that they soak up will be super concentrated within the mushroom (bad for eating)
• mushrooms work to stimulate our immune system to strengthen itself so that your own immune system can heal you (how cool is that!)
• to get the health benefits of medicinal mushrooms they must be cooked, the nutrients are stored in the cell walls, heat will release this so that our bodies can use it
• mushrooms are higher in protein than most other vegetables
• certain types of mushrooms can inhibit histamines, lower cholesterol and even help diabetics regulate their glucose
• there are studies going on which are indicating that certain mushrooms may be able to facilitate in cancer treatments.
• if mushrooms are dried in the sun they have the ability to soak up additional vitamin D just like our bodies can!
• mushrooms are beautiful, i saw pictures in some of the reference books that just blew my mind!

I learned about two mushrooms that i have never heard of. The reishi and the turkeytail mushrooms. I am more of a shitake girl myself but i definitely want to try different types now! These are just two out of probably hundreds or thousands that i do not know about, it looks like a whole new world is opening up to me here and I can't wait to explore it!

Below are some books that I learned about yesterday, i wanted to pass it along for anyone with an interest in learning more:

Myco Medicinals by: Paul Stamets
Mycelium Running by: Paul Stamets
Mushrooms for Medicine by: Greg Marley

fungi.com sells mushroom products and even growing kits

As I come up with recipes that incorporate these wonderful fungi's i will add them here for all to enjoy! If you have a great recipe that you want to share please let me know :)

Toodles
~CM

The lazurus blog - resurected once more

I love this little blog of mine, it's a snapshot of the journey I have been on over the past few years. It reminds me of the varying and different food lifestyles I have experimented with as well as other random non-food stuffs (though it's mostly about food because it's a minor obsession of mine).

2012 has been an interesting year for me. I have enjoyed it very much and feel that i have grown a lot in the different things i have experienced. I still manage property as my day job, no matter how many times I try to or think about walking away from this I have come to realize that I am what I am and I'm damn good at it too, so, I've decided to use my powers for good and continue to manage property while pursuing my other interests on the side. We still live in Burlington, VT and what a roller coaster THAT has been. There's a saying, don't judge a book by it's cover.....well in order to judge this book we would have had to known to pull the dust jacket off and look deeper. This place is not what it seems and I mean that in both good and bad ways, but that's a whole other blog post, haha!

SOOOOOOO....what HAVE I been doing lately, what little adventures have I gone on? Dan and I both discovered that we enjoy hiking very much and want to do more of it.....just not in the summer heat (yuck-o). I have also discovered the coupon lifestyle of Living Social and Groupon. it's super cool because it gives a chance to try new restaurants and other places that we may not have known about otherwise. I made a couple of new friends through work which is fun. I am such an introvert though that sometimes it's just overwhelming. It's a process, I will get used to it, I need to be more social so this will be all good stuff for me.

What am I learning these days? A couple of things actually. I recently signed up for an herbal home study course which is taught by the godmother of herbalism herself, Rosemary Gladstar. I am only on lesson two but I love her light and happy writing style, it feels more like i am reading a letter from a good friend than a school textbook. As I learn more I aim to write about what i have read as well as discuss my class "experiments" which I am very much looking forward to beginning.

I have also been taking little classes through my local food co-op. The series i have been most active with is called "preserving the harvest" it's exactly what it sounds like, preserving food the old fashioned way, through canning or fermenting etc. It's been really fun, i have met some nice people and it's a nice little social outing for me (again, which we know that I NEED!) haha. Today I will be learning about the medicinal properties of mushrooms, YAY!

Speaking of mushrooms, i have to go, i need to get ready for me class.

Tata for now
~CM

RAW mexican night (day 2)

Dan has gone completely off the reservation which is GREAT!

Last night he made Mexican and it was MMMM MMMM Good!

Now bear with me because his measurement system is more loosey goosey that I am used to so I have done my best to put measurements in but adjust as you see fit.

1/2 C walnuts
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1/4 C flax seeds
1tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp sesame sees
3/4 C sundried tomatoes (these had been pre-soaked overnight)
Use the tomato juice  to hydrate all the seeds, it adds a ton of flavor.
herbs/spices to taste:
garlic powder
onion powder
cumin (be generous)
coriander
salt/pepper
tumeric
2 tbsp olive oil

hand chop all but tomatoes lightly, then mix in tomatoes and add in juice to cover. Add olive oil, let sit and re-fill liquid as necessary. Dan noted that it would be better to add in the seasoning at the end as they were all soaked up by the seeds expanding.

Cheeeeeeze
1/2 C finely chopped cashews
1/4 C +/- yogurt (more for creamier yogurt, also opt to use kefir instead)
squirt of lemon

get cashews to a small almost buttery consistency. Add yogurt to desired consistency and squirt lemon @ end.

Opt. add preferred herbs.

Mango Salsa
1 mango
1/2 shallot
fresh cilantro
5 grapes
1 carrot
cinnamon
salt/pepper
lime juice

chop/mix/eat- really that's it!

We spread all three over the flax seed crackers and completely enjoyed the meal.

Crunch on my friends
~CM

RAW day 1 after dinner

After dinner on day 1 we both went a little nuts and made a ton of extra food to be used for other meals. One item that was very successfully made was flax crackers! YAY! We finally made crackers!!!

Here is the super simple cracker recipe:
1/2 C flax seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds

mix and cover with water for 1.5 hours refilling water as necessary. You are looking for a sort of gooey consistency to occur. season to taste (the seasonings will get sucked up by the flax and chia). Spread out thinly on to one or 2 jellyrolls and dehydrate @ 135 F for 8 +/- hours.

Rumakis!
I have no idea what that means but they are yummy.
12 prunes
1/4 C unpasturized soy sauce
1/4 C raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger
12 fresh water chestnuts

(opt) throw in a handful of raisins

soak all except chestnuts overnight. stuff prunes with chestnuts and eat.

Goji berry bars

1 C dried coconut
1/2 C almonds, soak, de-skin
1/2 C cashews, soak
1 Lg apple, chopped
1/4 C agave
1/2 C rasins
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C dried goji berries (soak)
1/2 C pepitas
dash cinnamon

Prep:
coarsely chop nuts, berries and seeds, set aside.
blend apple, agave, raisins and vanilla until smooth. Combine all together ad spread thickly onto mesh sheet, do not exceed 1/2", probably 1/4" is better for shorter dehydration time. Dehydrate @ 135F for +/- 24 hours (if closer to 1/4" thick can probably do more like 12 hours.
Cut into chunks and enjoy (which we totally did!)

RAW day 1

Dan has joined me on this raw journey making it more fun and interesting since I have someone to share it with. On Sunday we did some shopping for fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, spices, grains and nuts. While shopping was super fun (yes, I love the grocery store) "cooking" up new recipes was even more fun!

For dinner I just did a bunch of small plates so we could sample different recipes. Here is what I made, I will add the recipes at the end.
almond spread (it was supposed to seem like cheese, but really i didn't get it to the right consistency so let's just be real and call it what it is, DELICIOUS almond spread. This went quite well inside a fresh tomato.
We also had pizza rolls which were absolutely divine! And I discovered that I like zucchini, YAY new veggie to eat!!!
I made some "soup" for us, it was called avocado island consomme. Dan was a big fan of it but I thought the flavors were a little too strong. My beautiful avocados just kind of got lost in the mix, literally.

This meal was actually very filling, I did not finish everything and did not find myself snacking later that evening either. The things we are both enjoying about this diet is that we don't feel like we are giving up anything in order to eat this way. Unlike a vegan diet where it seemed like everything we did was wrong and we were constantly hungry and unsatisfied with our meals. This diet does not take foods out of our lives that we enjoy it just changes the method of preparation and perspective of what is really necessary.

Here are our recipes:
1 C almonds (soak for a few hours, remove skins)
2 tbsp lemon
1/2 C water
pinch salt
pinch garlic powder
pinch herbs de provence

Blend in food processor until tiny. I am sure that if you blend until smooth it will be more "cheezy"

Pizza Rolls
Spread:
1/2 C sundried tomatoes soaked (save water for later)
1 tbsp pesto
splash olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato water
splash lemon juice

Pizza Roll:
thinly sliced zucchini

Mix all ingredients together for spread and chop in food processor. Spread on zucchini slices ad put in food dehydrator at 135 degrees F for minimum 1 hour. for crispier leave in longer.

Avocado Island Consomme
1 bunch celery
1-2 lemons or limes juiced
1/4 C EVOO
pinch celery salt
pinch garlic powder
1/2-1 shallot depending on potency
 
1 ripe avocado

Combine all but avocado in food processor until smooth. dice avocado and place into soup bowl. Pour consomme over the avocado and enjoy.

I adapted these recipes from the book "The raw food gourmet" by: Gabrielle Chavez.

RAW diet re-do

I am having a re-commitment ceremony with myself. I am re-committing to trying a raw diet. It's summer, Vermont has phenomenal fresh food resources and if I start slow and plan some of my meals in advance I feel like this will not be an exciting challenge as opposed to a stressful one.

This morning I was awake early so of course I started to cruise around the internet in search of local raw foodies. I found a bunch of really nice resources and I even found a meet-up group that gets together here in Burlington. As you know from previous posts I have two raw cookbooks and more kitchen appliances than are really necessary. I feel prepared to that end but am I really prepared? This is a huge lifestyle change, it's more than just giving up meat, cheese and other foods I have had an intense relationship with all my life. It's giving up the social aspect of dining out and not over thinking the menu, it's me becoming one of "those people" who have special dietary needs.

I am not making this choice because I am ill and need to make a change in order to save my own life, I am making this choice because I honestly believe that I will completely enjoy it. I want to be healthy and not feel tired, I want to look 30 when I am 60. I want to head off any potential illnesses before they can even present them selves to my body. I WANT TO BE HEALTHY DAMNIT!

I found a really nice grocery list online which I think will help guide me in getting the core foods I need in order to get started. I recognize almost all of them and am looking forward to the new items that I will be eating.

http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/vegan-shopping-list.html

The above link is a nice resource, it is where I found the grocery list.

http://www.rawfoodrecipes.com/

As you can guess a simple search will pull up a million raw diet web sites. Be sure to do proper research.

Below is a local link, she has classes that might be fun to check out too:

http://www.vt-fiddle.com/

Sunday's Smoothie

Today I started simple with a smoothie of my own creation.

1 C baby spinach
1/2 C plain greek yogurt (I prefer chobani)
1/2 C water (this smoothie very thick, i felt water was the best choice for me)
1/4 C blueberries
1 Bosc pear
1 Lemon

 I had extra so I put it into jelly jars so that i have smoothies for the next 2 mornings (no fuss, just smoothie).

Also did you know that lemons and limes promote balanced alkaline levels in the body? I learned that today ;)

Yours in good health
~CM

"Put 'em up!"

by: Sherri Brooks Vinton

Yeah....I said it, what are you gonna do about it??? J/K, I am referring to the canning term for when you put your canned food "up" into the pantry. Yes! I am learning the wonderful world of canning, it's amazing, fun and completely interesting too. I traded a soap making lesson for a canning lesson last summer with a woman who has been growing her veggies and canning them for many, many years. It was super fun and a skill that I have long wanted to possess.

So I have not graduated to very complicated canning, I am still floating about in the land of fruit jams but I have made some very tasty ones I must say. So far I have accomplished both cherry and blueberry jams and my most recent conquest was something called "monkey butter" which has bananas, pineapple and coconut in it.

By: Ball (the jar people)

If you have never canned but would like to learn, buy the Ball Blue book, it seems to be THE guide to have. I am not going to write about how to can, I am just a beginner myself and don't know all the answers but I have found great resources, some of them being real live people and not just the internet. The books are great, try to find a class or something so you can really see first hand how to sanitize everything properly and really learn the proper way to handle this. The book will possibly scare the be-jesus out of you which is why I recommend pairing it with a class.

Right now I am following recipes exactly as they are written to ensure that they are balanced and will seal properly. Thankfully there are a million great recipes out there so it's not too difficult!

One ingredient I decided to invest in was low or no sugar needed pectin. There are nice recipes inside the label which I found easy to follow and use. In fact my cherry and my blueberry recipes both came from this bottle.

This year I hope to dive into canning tomato sauces and salsas, I will report back with my experiences and thoughts on the process. As an aside, if you don't actually want to go through the whole preserving process you can always follow any of the recipes then refrigerate your item and eat it in a reasonable amount of time. I have done that too (because sometimes I just can't wait to try my creation!) Another fun thing to do is pickling I have pickled both green beans and carrots and really enjoyed them, they are bright and a great compliment to many dishes, or on their own.

The biggest problem i have at this moment is space, i just have no space for all my little experiments which is terrible! haha. I dream of having a big sexy bright and sunny kitchen and a pantry that will make others just drool!

Dreaming of a new kitchen....
~CM

Vinegar

As I have recently learned this is a very valuable household stable both for eating and using in other applications. I have long known that vinegar can neutralize powerful bases such as sodium hydroxide (aka Lye). And I have enjoyed it in various forms in recipes too. But it is apparently an amazing household cleaner (who knew?) I was cruising around on "Pintrest" and was looking for different vinegar infusion ideas (for my salad) and came across someone who was infusing orange peels into regular white vinegar and using it to clean the house. Lovely, it's a great idea, I have often worried about using commercial cleansers in the kitchen where we prepare our food but did not know what my alternatives were. It seems that I have found some.

First, I kind of created my own vinegar infusion for my salad tonight and am very pleased with it, i based it on a dressing i bought at the store which i really liked but thought it was ridiculously overpriced (seriously it was vinegar, oil, cherries and rosemary.....and it costs over $10). Here is how I made my infusion.

black cherry vinegar

Cherry and rosemary infused vinaigrette:

1/2 lb dark cherries, de-stemed, pitted and cut in half
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1tbsp dried rosemary

Put all in pot and let it simmer slow and low. The flavors will start to pop after about 1 hour. Remove form heat and puree with hand blender or in food processor. Put back on stove for about 30 minutes then pour into pretty bottle and refrigerate, I suspect that this will keep for a couple of months but it will probably be gobbled up before then. Eat and enjoy!


As for using vinegar as a home cleaning product, there are many different ways to mix it up. Do you want your windows to shine? Spray them down with vinegar and wipe them with black and white mews paper. Room odor got you down? Just set a bowl of vinegar in the room overnight. Did your kid "decorate" something of yours (like grandma's antique breakfront) with stickers? moisten with vinegar, let sit and gently peel away, repeat the process as necessary if the glue if being stubborn. SEE?!? Vinegar IS magical!!! And that's just what I found from a very brief google. If I asked my Gram she would probably have an extensive list of it's uses. 

Here's a great link to the wonderful world of distilled white vinegar, I just learned how to keep my egg shells from cracking while boiling them!
http://www.vinegartips.com/Scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=5

Here's some information on balsamic vinegar.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/balsamic.htm

This site is also great, it has information on all kinds of vinegars.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Vinegars.html

I intend to get to know this ingredient better, it seems to be so versatile I would just be cheating myself if I did not. 

Until next time....
~CM

Gosh I have been BUSY!

Where has the time gone? Yes I have been busy and up to a ton as far as recipes and such go. I just reviewed my last post (from WAY back in September) and while I did not end up going raw for a month as I planned I did get that food dehydrator and those books. I think I will revisit the idea and try to integrate some new dishes into my life.

Aside from that I have been studying many, many new things and working them into my lifestyle which has been great. I took an online course in both essential oils and herbs, both I found fascinating and would love to learn more. I have my little eye on a couple of other classes in the same theme and am just saving my pennies so that I can sign up for them.

One of the great outcome of my herbs study is that I have learned to make some delicious and health beneficial herbal teas. There are many other methods of ingesting herbs for health benefits but I have not ventured into them yet. My herb shelf is so pretty, it's full of beautiful bright mason jars with some awesome dried flowers, roots and leaves in all different shades and textures. It brings me a sense of peace and a connection to the earth whenever I look at it.

I have learned a bit more about essential oils and their awesome powers. An essential oil is basically the heart of a plant, the plants essence. Many EO's have wonderful healing properties as well as being naturally anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and beyond. I have started to phase out my commercial cleaning products based on what I have learned, it seems like a much healthier choice and besides they have a much better scent!

Many of the soaps I make have essential oils in them I am now working to integrate EO's into other areas of my life.


And then, there's "Pintrest." Have you been there? Good lord that site is amazing and will completely suck any free time I thought I had right up! Click here to follow my awesome pins. I have found some amazing recipes and great gardening and home decor ideas too!

So this in addition to my full time job and making my soaps has kept me fairly busy, oh- and I will be taking a photography class starting next month, I am totally stoked about that! I even have a film SLR camera for it. I now right, FILM!?!

Stay tuned, I have about a million recipes and other such things to share with y'all.

'Til then
~CM