Grow Your Own Mushrooms With Cascadia Mushrooms DIY Kits
The Skagit Valley Food Co-op relies on several local farmers to provide seasonal produce all year long. One of those producers is Cascadia Mushrooms, a local mushroom farm that keeps our produce department full of fantastic fungi. You might find some stellar shiitake or oyster mushrooms, or maybe you're a fan of a good ol' portabello.
Along with fresh mushrooms, the Co-op also sells Cascadia Farms mushroom kits so that you can grow your own fungi at home. Read on to learn more about Cascadia Farms, the different mushroom kits we sell here at the Co-op, and some tasty recipes to try with your homegrown mushrooms.
Certified Organic Mushrooms Grown In North Bellingham
Cascadia Mushrooms is a mushroom farm located just north of Skagit Valley in Bellingham, WA. Founder Alex Winstead has always been curious about wild mushrooms, and his childhood passion has now grown into a full-time business where he sells fresh, locally grown mushrooms to farmer's markets, restaurants, and grocery stores.
Cascadia Mushrooms grows a wide variety of different mushroom species year-round, and their vision has always remained the same: produce the best quality mushroom products possible and feed our community while raising awareness of our humble fungi friends.
Benefits Of Mushrooms
Not only do mushrooms add lots of texture and rich flavor to a variety of dishes, but they provide plenty of different health benefits to support your overall well-being. Mushrooms are high in vitamins B and D, and can help to lower cholesterol. Shiitake mushrooms, in particular, contain Lentinan, which is said to boost your immune system.
Cascadia Mushroom Kits Available at The Co-op
Here at the co-op, we're offering a few different varieties of Cascadia Mushroom's DIY grow kits including shiitake, oyster, and lion's mane mushrooms. These kits can be started indoors and eventually moved to the garden once the spores are more developed.
Shiitake mushrooms grown by Cascadia Mushrooms
Shiitake Mushroom Grow Kit
Maybe your a mushroom newbie and are just dipping your toes into the wonderful world of edible fungi, or perhaps shiitake mushrooms are one of your long-time favorites. Consider this grow kit!
This particular shiitake mushroom strain is fast-growing, with the first harvest happening just 10-14 days after activation. These mushrooms are easily grown indoors and prefer indirect light-- perfect for your apartment dwellers! Soon you'll have more shiitake mushrooms than you know what to do with, as this particular kit will provide you with up to 3 pounds of fresh mushrooms.
Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit
Commonly found in the wild, oyster mushrooms are fairly easy to grow and this kit, in particular, is grown on enriched hardwood sawdust.
Start the kit indoors and after 3 months your oyster mushrooms will be ready to transplant into the garden. Plant them on top of spent coffee grounds, hardwood logs, paper waste, straw, or other organic materials.
Lion's Mane Mushroom Grow Kit
Typically grown on decomposing wood, Lion's Mane mushrooms are found in hardwood forests in the Northern Hemisphere.
This particular grow kit from Cascadia is made up of a colony of Lion's Mane mushroom mycelium that is growing on sterilized sawdust. The substrate bag has to be misted regularly, but when the mushroom gets to be about the size of a fist, they're ready to pick, eat, and enjoy!
Photos provided by Cascadia Mushrooms
Mushroom Recipes For Your Home-Grown Fungi
Of course, you'll want to use up all that homegrown fungi goodness in the kitchen! Here are some of our favorite mushroom recipes to make the most of all your hard work.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Mixed Mushroom Ragout
Though this recipe calls for a mixed bag of different mushrooms, you could opt to use just one particular variety.
Serve your ragout on top of pasta or as a side dish to grilled meat!
Ingredients
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
2 large portobello mushroom caps, cut into 2-inch slices
3 ounces dried exotic mushrooms or 1 pound fresh exotic mushrooms (shiitake, morels, chanterelle, or porcini)
1 cup parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium shallots, minced
2 tablespoon walnut or olive oil
1/3 cup sherry
1 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
Directions
If using dried mushrooms, soak them in water overnight. Drain the soaked mushrooms and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Heat the oil in a large wok or saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and toss gently. Cook the mushrooms until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the sherry, parsley, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and sherry is absorbed.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Mushroom Chicken and Rice
A one-pot meal perfect for utilizing your homegrown mushrooms, this mushroom chicken and rice incorporates peas into the mix to provide the dish with Vitamin A, C, and fiber!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, diced
Additional salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to pan. Mix paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper together by shaking in a zip-lock plastic bag. Add chicken pieces and shake to coat evenly with dry spice mixture. Add chicken to pan and saute for 5 minutes or until chicken is browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining canola oil to pan. Add onion and mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper, saute 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Stir in chicken broth and rice and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 35 minutes. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, rosemary and garlic. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is done. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Mushroom Risotto
Enjoyed all on its own or as a side to a larger chicken dinner, this mushroom risotto is a wonderfully warm and cozy introduction to the autumn season.
Ingredients
1/2 ounce dried mushrooms, any type
1 cup boiling water
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, approximately
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup short-grain brown rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
Directions
Put the dried mushrooms in a small heat proof bowl or measuring cup. Pour boiling water over and let them soak at least 20 minutes. Reserving the mushroom soaking water, squeeze the excess water out of the rehydrated mushrooms, chop and reserve. To the mushroom water, add stock as needed to total 3 cups.
In a 4 quart pot with a lid, heat the butter over medium heat. Saute shallots and garlic just until soft, don't brown. Add the brown rice and stir to coat and heat through. Add wine, salt, reconstituted mushrooms and the stock mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 45 minutes. Uncover the pot and stir frequently, and continue cooking until any extra liquid has evaporated and the brown rice is soft and breaking.
In a heavy 4 quart saute pan, heat the olive oil on high, and sear the creminis quickly, stirring them until browned.
Remove the rice from heat, stir in seared creminis, Parmesan, parsley. Serve hot. Can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to four days.