Propagating Shitakes

 

Following are some pictures from the shitake propagation class I recently attended.   Although growing this delicious fungi seems easy with just a few basic steps, it is apparently much more difficult to grow shitakes in the Bay Area then in other regions due to our drier climate.  A great resource for learning more about the subject is Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms By Paul Stamets. 

Our class began with oak logs that had been aged for 1-3 months.  We drilled holes up and down the logs in a triangular pattern. 

spawn plugs

Each hole was then plugged or inoculated with spawn plugs (ordered from fungi perfecti) that had been removed from the refrigerator the day before to warm up. 

Once the plugs were all firmly inserted into the logs, we brushed melted food grade wax over the holes and the ends to seal them. 

 

At home we soaked our logs in rain water (you can also use spring water) for 8-12 hours.  The logs need to live in full shade and get soaked weekly.  We can  hope to see some fruiting action on our logs after six months (we will be watching for white mycelium growing in the holes and on the ends of the logs). 

My three logs are tucked away in a cool, shaded place.  I just hope I don't forget about them.  It sure will be wonderful to have shitakes growing outside our doorstep. 

Also a video by the Urban Farming Guys, who live in a much wetter climate so their methods are slightly different. 

Flint Corn

Every year, in October, we go to Ardenwood Farm's harvest festival to pick a lot of corn.  There is an unofficial u-pick there for organic flint corn.  You can pretty much pick and take home as much as you like for free (although there is an entrance fee).  In the past we would go with the kids to pick several bags of popping corn, which after dried and removed from the cob would last us for the year.  This past October we decided to pick a whole bunch of flint corn as well (aka Indian or ornamental corn).  This variety of flint corn which is extremely hardy is called Zea mays indurata.  I had always thought of flint corn as solely ornamental but then learned that it is very good when ground into cornmeal (can also be popped!).

We have been making our way through our pantry of saved/preserved produce and it just happens that as we move into our homeschooling unit on Native American studies, I am discovering the large stash of flint corn, nicely dried and ready for grinding.  Perfect timing for these little hands to get busy. 

removing the kernels from the cobs

Once the corn was off the cob we had several bowls like this that we put into the grinder.

If you have never used freshly ground cornmeal it definitely is a treat.  The cornbread we made was the best I'd ever had.  It really surprised me how well it came out.  (So well it got polished off too fast to get any pics). 

If you would like to try some too here's our recipe...

Basic Cornbread

2 tbls. butter

1 cup freshly ground cornmeal

1 cup flour (wheat, spelt, or gluten free)

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking pwd.

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

2-4 tbls. honey to taste (we add more)

1 cup milk (cow, goat, coconut, almond, etc.)

Preheat oven to 425.  Melt the 2 tbls. of butter in the baking dish or muffin tin in the oven, remove once melted.  Stir dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another.  Combine dry and wet ingredients quickly and pour the batter into the pan.  Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown on top and beginning to pull away from the edges, about 25 minutes. 

Corn kernels have different colors because of genes that control color.  Each kernel is an individual with its own set of genes, like an embryo.  Kernels are siblings housed on the same ear and so naturally have many different colors…
One-color ears are unnatural products of human selection.  Livestock feeders prefer vitamin-rich yellow kernels, Southerners like white kernels, and Native Americans favor blue.  Years of deliberate selection, careful pollination, and storing of seeds produced these single-color corn ears…Some studies suggest corn pigments promote resistance to insects or fungi that invade an ear of corn…

(wonderquest.com)

Around the Farm

Busy and whimsical, these not-so wintry days have been full of projects as usual.  Saving seeds from the autumn harvest, shelling limas and screening quinoa.  Spreading mulch before the rains come.  Like most gardeners and farmers, we are planning out what crops to grow, where to plant what.  Thinking about how to refine things to be more efficient while applying knowledge from lessons learned last growing season. 

The bunnies are at the cutest stage with their round bellies and naughty curiosity.  We have been finding them irresistible.  I often discover our boys walking around with their favorite bunny in a sleeve or riding on a shoulder. 

This black one is named Cashew.  They crack me up with their expressions.  

Not to mention the attempts to escape.  

Seed flats are all planted with kale, spinach, lettuce, chard, collards, peas, beets, turnips, and onions.  Sprouting quietly in the greenhouse. 

The favas are up and maturing.  We still need to plant many more, as well as some other cover crops, crimson clover and purple vetch.

Working on a larger chicken coop made from salvaged pallets.  It's still in the beginning stages but coming along nicely.  We will insulate with straw after the walls and roof are finished. 

More sheet mulched beds were made in the backyard.  The heirloom collards are growing nicely considering they are in part shade. 

We are continuing the swale onto the western part of our property.  This time last year the grass was up to our thighs.  As you can see, since we have had no rain there is no grass.  The hillside is so dry we are extending the swale to replenish the soil. 

Our grey water flows down a hose into the swale and absorbs deep into the hillside. 

Compost piles are being built in different locations around the farm for easy access to materials while gardening.  This hot pile was compiled in layers from the soiled bedding in the goat stalls, grass clippings and other green waste, aged horse manure, and some animal material in the middle (feathers, bones, etc.), then watered and turned every few days. 

There are many chores that need to be done before the rain arrives as we eagerly await planting time. 

Bone Broth

A poet is someone
Who can pour Light into a cup
and raise it to nourish your
beautiful parched holy mouth

--Hafiz

Tis the season folks to be preparing and using your bone broth.  Winter is a good time to give yourself some extra nutrition, building up your immunity while you're at it.  Found in many traditional cultures throughout the world as a mainstay of the diet and as a base for traditional dishes, bone broth or stock, is not only extremely healthy but also greatly enhances the flavor of your food.  Sally Fallon, the author of Nourishing Traditions writes in detail about the constituents and properties of bone broth which can be prepared from fish, poultry, beef, goat, venison, or any left over bones you have on hand.  The key is the gelatin that acts as an aid to digestion and can sooth and treat many disorders of the digestive tract.  So here are the basics of how it's done...


Bone Broth (see Nourishing Traditions specific recipes)
1)  Start out with the bones and any other leftover meat, or parts from the animal, several sorts of bones are best.  The feet, hooves, knuckles, gizzards, or shells (if using shrimp) all make a good hardy stock.  Remember you want the gelatin to be released into the stock so using those knuckles, marrow bones, and feet yields the richest broth.
2)  Place the bones in a very large pot with 1/2 cup of vinegar, cover with water and let stand for 1 hour.  Meanwhile if you have any meaty bones you can roast them in the oven until browned then add them to the pot. 
3)  Bring to a boil, remove all scum that comes to the top.  After skimming reduce heat and add any herbs you like, peppercorns, thyme, sage, etc. 
4)  Simmer stock for at least 12 hours or as long as 72 hours.  I have heard of some people making stock in their crock pots.  As the stock simmers all week long they dip in, here and there, for a mug full or to cook in their rice, then adding water again so the stock liquid does not diminish. 
5)  When you are ready to use your broth remove from heat, strain, cool, and store in glass jars.  Take a moment to notice the bones in the pot.  They should crumble easily showing the marrow.  (This is a great moment to share with children to show them what is inside their skeletal system!)  It is really convenient to freeze the stock for future use. 


As for you vegetarians out there, I know how very foreign this may all sound to you.  I was once in your shoes, but making bone broth gives me a sense of satisfaction that I am providing my family (mostly my growing children) with some essential components of nutrition they can not get elsewhere in their diet.  But if the idea of bone broth is just way too nauseating for you, here are my suggestions...


1)  Either have someone make it for you and use it in your cooking instead of water or,
2)  Make a vegi version which will not have the same constituents as the bone broth but is still full of healing properties ...


Nutrient Dense Vegi Broth
In a large pot of water add the following,
-lots of fresh ginger root
-one or two chopped onions
-fresh chopped garlic
-fresh sliced burdock root
-2-4 large strips of kombu seaweed

Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of hours making sure the water level doesn't drop too much, you can always add more water.  The stock will become a dark brownish-green color.  Strain and store in glass jars in the fridge or pour some in a mug and add a spoonful of miso to enjoy immediately.  This broth is very good with lots of vegis, mushrooms and udon added then cooked as a soup! 

Window Farming

I stumbled across this inspirational video and link about window farming that I had to share with you.   There is no end to what the creative mind can produce.  So no more excuses, even if you have little or no soil to plant in where you live you can still grow your own food (for almost free).  Watch and find out how!

Goat Cheese and Whey Bread

Cheese making is a whole world of it's own as I am beginning to discover.  I've been making cheese weekly with our goats milk.  Two out of the four of us in our home are enjoying it.  I suppose there are many ways you can use fresh goat cheese but the only way it has been consumed at our house thus far is spread on freshly baked bread, lightly toasted with olive oil.  It almost makes your taste buds explode.  I have mainly been making chevre and fromage blanc, although I did try mozzarella, which did not turn out aesthetically pleasing but tasted good and melted successfully on our pizza.  We are very interested in trying the harder, aged cheeses in the near future.   A great resource for supplies, recipes, etc. is New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.
If you want to try a soft, fresh cheese yourself, it is pretty easy.  There are basically only four steps involved. 

Start with at least a gallon of unhomoginized milk of any kind (cow, goat, sheep, yak, whatever you have)...
1)  In a large non-aluminum pot, heat your milk to between 86-92 degrees.  You don't even really have to use a thermometer, if you don't have one just heat the milk until warm but not so hot it burns your finger (in the old days this was called blood warm).

 
2)  Either add your packet of culture for the cheese you want to make (fromage blanc, chevre, etc.) or add 1/2 cup of white vinegar per gallon of milk.  Stir for about a minute or two, cover and set in a warm place overnight or for half of the day.

3)  Uncover the pot and you should see that the curds and whey have separated.  Strain the curds into a cheese cloth (I always use a cloth napkin or a piece of clean cotton fabric).  Catch and save the whey to use later.  Hang your cheese to drain in a clean place for another day or so depending on how hard/dry you want your cheese to be. 
 

4)  Unwrap the cheese and turn it into a large bowl.  Add cheese salt or sea salt to taste and whatever herbs you prefer, our favorite is with lots of dill.  Mix well with a fork and refrigerate, eat right away, or label and give to friends as a homemade holiday treat.

As for the by product, I have been very satisfied using the whey we have left over after hanging the cheese.  I usually get quite a lot from each batch and have been either mixing it into the chicken feed or using it to make bread.  The chicken's egg production goes up significantly when they are fed whey and the bread comes out moist, as well as with a higher protein content. 



Both of these are jars of whey are from the same batch of cheese. 
The milkier jar is from the first 12 hours of straining, the clearish jar is the second 12 hours.



I finally found a great bread recipe using 100% whole wheat flour.  I know lots of you out there are going gluten free so this is obviously not for you, but for those of us that like to grind our own wheat berries into flour or are just averse to using white flour, this bread comes out surprisingly moist and light. 

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison)

The sponge                                                                      The bread
2 1/4 c whey, warmed                                                    1/3 c olive oil
1 tbls. active dry yeast                                                    2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c unsulfured molasses                                              3 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c gluten flour
2 c whole wheat flour


Stir warm whey, yeast, molasses, gluten flour, and 2 c whole wheat flour until smooth.  Scrape down sides of the bowl, cover, set aside in warm place for an hour until foamy and double in volume.

you can buy yeast in bulk and store in the refrigerator

Gently stir down sponge, add oil, salt, and one cup of the flour and beat until smooth.  Add the remaining flour in one cup increments until you have a shaggy, heavy dough.  Turn out onto floured counter and knead in flour, a few tbls at a time, until dough is smooth but still a little tacky. 

Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn it to coat the top, cover and set in warm place until doubled, about 1.5 hours.  Punch dough down, divide into two loaves, shape and place into greased bread pans, cover again and set aside until dough has rises to edge of pan, about 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 and bake in center of oven until browned, 45-50 minutes.  Cool completely before slicing. 
Enjoy!

Winter Babies

 "There is a privacy about winter which no other season gives you…

Only in winter … can you have longer, quiet stretches when

you can savor belonging to yourself."

 –Ruth Stout

Our first litter of bunnies was born Friday.  Only one of the two does we bred ended up pregnant, delivering eight little bunnies.  They are now 4 days old and it is clear by their markings they are not pure American Blues like we thought.  Not to much of a disappointment since we are so excited to welcome them to our farm and watch them grow.  They couldn't be more adorable and Mama seems to be doing a great job.