How exciting is one mushroom that's been parasitized by another mushroom, which makes it turn orange and lumpy and smell mildly of seafood?! Pretty special, I'd say. Welcome to the wonderful world of lobster mushrooms. (Hypomyces lactifluorum).

Lobster mushrooms grow by completely covering their host fungus, which include a variety of species, most commonly the short-stemmed Russula (a white, gilled mushroom that has little to offer in terms of flavour until the Hypomyces has its way with it). While some have wondered whether the lobster can be poisonous if it has a poisonous host (which it usually does not), they have been eaten for centuries and commercialized more recently, without known ill effects.

Lobster mushrooms grow on the ground in coniferous forests (and are particularly abundant at Royal Roads these days!); hemlock is a tree with which it is often associated. Even for a fungus this species is rather odd-looking. It is medium-sized, bright orange like a cooked lobster (making it nice and visible when you're wandering through the woods), and takes on a distorted version of the shape of its host. It tends to develop into an inverted pyramid with a concave cap and indistinct gills on the underside, though it can continue growing into a shape that is knobby, deformed, bizarre, yet quite unique. The lobster's texture has been described as "smoothly pimpled", and it has inner flesh which is white and firm until it starts to decay, which seems to happen relatively quickly with this species once water and dirt get trapped in the cracks of the flesh. Not to worry though, if it has lost its culinary appeal, it can always be used as a dye!

Lobsters will keep for about a week in the refrigerator. They should be washed (a toothbrush works well to get the dirt off), be trimmed of any brown bits, and are nice sauteed or cooked into a frittata:

Lobster Mushroom Frittata
1 oz. dried Lobster mushrooms or a handful of fresh ones
3 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 eggs
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

In bowl, pour heated milk over coarsely chopped Lobster mushrooms and let sit for one hour. In saucepan, lightly saute onion in 2 Tbs. butter. Beat eggs into milk and mushrooms. Add onions and the remaining ingredients. Heat the remaining butter in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. When quite hot add the egg mixture and cook until bottom is set. Place under preheated broiler to finish cooking and brown the top.

Caution: While lobster mushrooms have been enjoyed for hundreds of years, it is always best to try just a small amount of any new mushroom at first. This species it quite distinct-looking, making it a good one for people less familiar with edible mushrooms to try harvesting, never eat or serve a wild musrhoom if you aren't sure of it's edibility!

Oysters

"If one mushroom can steer the world on the path to greater sustainability, fighting hunger, increasing nutrient return pathways in ecosystems, destroying toxic wastes, forestalling disease, and helping communities . . . rebalance waste streams that currently overload our ecosystems, oysters stand out" (Paul Stamets, Mycelium Running).

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are heralded for both their tastiness and for their ability to remediate degraded landscapes. They grow on dead hardwood trees (rarely on live trees or on conifers) such as poplars, alders, or willows; are white, grey, tan, or brown; and grow to 25 cm broad. There is often no stalk, but if present it will be short, thick, and off-centre. The gills are white (sometimes grayish with age), fairly deep, and run down the stalk, should one be present to run down. Their name relates to the shape of the cap, which has an oysterish resemblance to it, and some claim the flavour is reminiscent of this seafood as well.

Spore-colour is a characteristic feature of mushrooms which, unlike so many other characteristics, remains constant over time and space. Spores (which are like seeds) can be observed by laying the mushroom cap, gills-down, on a piece of paper (half dark-half white paper is good to ensure a contrasting spore colour), and leaving it covered for a few hours to allow the spores to fall out, leaving a lovely "spore print". Those of oyster mushrooms are white, a characteristic which recently saved me from feasting on a similar looking brown-spored mushroom growing nearby, likely a Crepidotus.

Oyster mushrooms are well known for their ability to break-down contaminants including petroleum, mill wastewater , PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), industrial dyes, and certain pesticides; they are used as "mycoremediators" to clean up areas polluted with these toxins. They also contain medicinal properties which show promise for reducing blood cholesterol, tumour inhibition, and improving liver function in AIDS patients.

While it's hard to beat the fun of wild-foraging, oysters are also one of the easiest mushrooms in the world to cultivate. Wood, straw, coffee grounds, moist cardboard and many other substrates can be inoculated with mushroom spores or mycelium, and sometimes harvested for years. They are said to be tastiest when young, and best picked before the caps flatten. Oysters are a good source of many nutrients, notably protein, B & C vitamins, and have a mild nutty flavour. Non-humans that enjoy oysters include gnats, beetles, deer, squirrels, and even some turtles; if you'd prefer avoiding some extra protein with your oysters though, soaking them in water briefly should get rid of the little critters.

To prepare oyster mushrooms for food, it is recommended not to wash them until you are ready to cook with them, to never peel them, and to always use lemon juice or another acid in their preparation (along with butter, salt, and perhaps a little white wine). As with all wild foods there is no limit to the creative recipe ideas out there; this week's offering is for Marinated, grilled oyster mushrooms, courtesy of 'Sustainable Table'.

1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 lb fresh oyster mushrooms
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tsp chopped garlic
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp Mongolian fire oil
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Mix all ingredients together and marinate mushrooms for a half-hour. Shake off excess marinade from the mushrooms and grill with coarse salt and fresh pepper for 4-5 minutes on each side on a medium-hot grill with the lid down. This technique should leave grill marks and lightly brown the mushrooms. These mushrooms may also be used as a topping for pizza, crostini, or chop up and mix with grilled onions and sour cream for a dip. Almost any marinade will be good with oyster mushrooms- you can also use beer, red wine and garlic in a pinch!

Caution: About 10% of people are allergic to oyster mushroom spores, and experience reactions such as fever, headache, congestion, coughing, or malaise. As with all mushrooms, *never** harvest, eat or serve any unless you are confident that about the species and its edibility.

Essential Oils

You don’t have to be a patchouli-wearing hippy to gain the many benefits of essential oils.

Pure essential oils not only have a wide range of therapeutic and healths benefits, but are easier on the environment and save you money when it comes to household cleaning, laundry, and filtering your tap water.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that 80% of chemical exposure occurs in your home. They also state that cleaning and personal care products are three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air pollution (www.epa.gov).

Since you only have to use a small amount, creating your own cleaning and personal care products is easy and relatively inexpensive, especially when compared to the cost of the chemical based, store bought products.

Here are a variety of ways to use the benefits of pure essential oils in and around the house:

Water Filters
Essential oils can be added to the post-filter side of water purifiers to help purify the water. Use peppermint, lemon, clove, or cinnamon.

Cleaning
Essential oils can be used to create many effective non-toxic (and wonderfully fragrant) cleansers and disinfectants. The oils that are excellent for cleaning include:

• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Eucalyptus
• Thyme
• Spruce
• Lemon
• Lemongrass
• Grapefruit

Here's a recipe for a good, basic household disinfectant:

• Fill a spray bottle with water and a squirt of dishwashing soap.
• Add 3-5 drops each of lavender, lemon and pine essential oils.
• Shake well.

Floor cleaner:

• Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water.
• Add 5-10 drops lemon, pine, spruce, melaleuca or Purification.

Hard Floor
To clean hard floors, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to a bucket of water. Then add 5-10 drops of lemon, pine, spruce, melaleuca, Purification, or any other suitable oil. If the floor is especially dirty, add several drops of dishwashing soap. This will clean even the dirtiest floor.
1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water
5-10 drops lemon, pine, spruce, melaleuca, Purification, or other oil
Dishwashing soap if needed

To freshen a vacuum cleaner:
Sprinkle several drops of lemon or Purification onto half a tissue. Let the vacuum cleaner suck it up or place it into the collecting bag. If your vacuum cleaner has a water reservoir, add a few drops of oil into it before cleaning.

Fighting dust mites
Recent research has shown that eucalyptus oil kills dust mites that live in bedding. 25 drops of eucalyptus essential oil added to each load of laundry or 1/2 ounce to a jug of laundry detergent is all you need.

Hot tubs and saunas:
Use 3 drops per person of lavender, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, or grapefruit to disinfect and fragrance the water.
For saunas, add several drops rosemary, thyme, pine, or lavender to a spray bottle with water and spray surfaces. This water can also be used to splash onto hot sauna stones.

Kitchens and bathrooms:
The kitchen and bathroom are often a source of odors and bacteria. Use the following mixtures to freshen, deodorize, and disinfect the air, work areas, cupboards, bathroom fixtures, sinks, tiles, woodwork, carpets, etc. These blends are safe for the family and for the environment.

Since the oils separate easily from water, always shake well and keep on shaking the bottle as you use these mixtures. They will deodorize and clean the air instead of covering the odors.

Single oils: Rosemary with lemon, Eucalyptus globulus, and lavender.
Blends: Lavender with Purification

• 2 drops rosemary
• 4 drops lemon
• 3 drops Eucalyptus globulus
• 4 drops lavender with 1 quart water
• Shake well and put in a spray bottle.
• 3-4 drops lavender
• 5-6 drops Purification with 1 quart of water
• Shake well and put in a spray bottle.
• Pine with chamomile, melaleuca alternifolia, lemongrass, or clove

The following recipes are excellent cleansers for work areas, cupboards, bathroom fixtures, sinks, tiles, woodwork, carpets and more. They clean bacteria and odors; freshen, deodorize and disinfect the air.

Mix into 1 quart water:

• 2 drops rosemary
• 4 drops lemon
• 3 drops eucalyptus
• 4 drops lavender

Shake well and put into a spray bottle. Shake again before using.

Another recipe for cleaning:

Mix into 1 quart water:

• 3 - 4 drops lavender
• 5 - 6 drops Purification

Shake well and put into a spray bottle. Shake again before using.

Another all-purpose cleaner:

• Water
• 2 Tablespoons Borax
• 1 Teaspoon Castile Soap
• 15-20 drops Essential Oils such as Pine, Lemon, Melaleuca, Citronella, or Lemongrass (or any combination of the above)

Add Borax to a 1 quart spray bottle.
Fill with warm water.
Add Castile soap and Essential Oils.
Shake and use.
Can also be made with Purification

Window cleaner

Mix in 1 quart spray bottle:

• 1 cup White Vinegar
• 10-15 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
• Water

Mix vinegar and water in spray bottle.
Add essential oil.
Shake and use.

Laundry

Stain Remover
Use a drop or two of Lemon oil on a stain. Let it sit a few minutes and rub off with a clean cloth or throw into laundry cycle.

In the Dryer
Instead of using toxic and irritating softening sheets in the dryer, toss in a dampened washcloth with 10 drops of lavender, lemon, melaleuca, bergamot, or other oils added. While the oils will not reduce static cling, they will impart a lovely fragrance to the clothes.

Painting
Adding essential oil to paint will counteract the unpleasant smell. And because essential oils are not fatty oils, they will leave no oil spots on the walls. Add a 5 ml. bottle of your favorite essential oil, such as White Angelica, Abundance, or Sacred Mountain, to 1 gallon of paint. Mix well.

Eternal Haunted Summer

this may bear watching...

http://www.eternalhauntedsummer.com/

Chanterelles: Gold is growing in our forests once again!

I know that I'm not the only one that's been foraging these prize 'shrooms from Royal Road's grounds lately- chanterelles are back, and are well-sought after! With a feature article in this month's Vogue magazine . . . the allure of this favoured edible mushroom has clearly gone beyond the typical wild forager cohort (whatever that may be) to the more glamorous mainstream. The most common species, the golden or yellow chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), is yellow-orange to bright orange, with a concave cap (some say 'trumpet shaped') when mature and with well-spaced, thick gills running down the stalk (which itself is solid rather than hollow). The flesh is white, the mushroom is medium-sized (up to about 15 cm tall and wide), and it does not have a veil, ring, or volva. If this all comes together with a nice apricot or pumpkin odour, then you've got the right mushroom! (But, of-course, *always* check with an expert and/or multiple field guides before eating or serving them if you're just learning!!).

Chanterelles grow on the ground, often under conifers and oak trees in young to mature (30-80 year old) coniferous forests (look for Douglas fir, spruce, or hemlock stands with mossy floors). A couple look-alikes that are probably best avoided include the western jack-o'-lantern (which have thinner and more crowded gills and do not have white flesh) and the false chanterelle (which have thinner, more orange gills, a less solid stalk, and often a browner cap).

To harvest chanterelles cut the base with a sharp knife rather than pulling it to avoid damaging the mycelium, and collect them in shallow baskets rather than buckets or plastic bags to avoid having them rot. It's best to harvest in dry weather for the same reason. They can be stored for a week or so in the refrigerator, or for longer periods by drying, freezing, or pickling. Most harvesters recommend not washing them (which causes them to absorb water) but rather brushing off dirt and plant material while still out in the woods.

Before freezing, pickling, or preparing chanterelles it is recommended to dry-sautee them. This involves slicing them and cooking at maximum heat in a skillet without butter (but a bit of salt is okay to draw out moisture). They will start to give off water in which they can be cooked for a few minutes, and save some liquid for later use as stock. After this feel free to add all the butter and garlic that you like, or use the chanterelles in soups, omelettes, dips, bread (really!), salads, meat dishes, or perhaps some golden chanterelle puffs.

It was hard to choose a recipe for this week's non-timber forest product, but the CNTR's Tim Brigham is awfully proud of his mom's recipe for "Delicious Chanterelles" that go well with pasta, meat, or on toast as an appetizer, so we thought that it deserved a wider audience:

1 onion or 2-3 shallots, finely chopped
1 lb fresh chanterelles, sliced
butter
½ cup (or more) of port or Madeira wine
1 cup (or more) whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste

(all amounts approximate)

Slice the Chanterelles. Sauté onions or shallots in butter until slightly brown; remove from pan. Dry sautee mushrooms in the pan until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add onions and port. Turn temperature down, add the cream and heat gently (do not boil after adding the cream). Add salt and pepper to taste.

And, just in case you're not a regular Vogue reader but are interested in their scrumptious-sounding recipe for chanterelle salad with frisee, poached eggs, and black truffle vinaigrette, you can access it here: http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/2009/07/the-mushroom-forager/

a pagan rant

from Dark Lady Jade (I finds I likes it :)

"I get really aggravated too when people tell me I can't practice my religion the way I do.

"You can't be a pagan and support the war, or any kind of violence.

I don't support the war, but I could if I choose to. I support my troops, and refuse to demonize them. And they can take their pascifism and shove it up their asses. I wont' be a bully, but if I'm attacked, I will fight back."

"Paganism is all about the light."

Paganism is honoring both the dark and the light. There are those that lean towards light, and then there are those like me who leans towards dark. but we both recognize the other. Nature is light and dark, loving and cruel. Neither side should be denied.

"You can't blend Heathenry with Wicca."

Oh, hell yes I can. I've done it for years and the universe is still intact, lol.

"If you have Freya as your patron, you must honor her with animal sacrifice."

I was actually told this by someone on a Yahoo list. She said the Freya told her personally that she wants blood. Well, if that's the case, then she hasn't let me know this, so I assume she's not complaining with the wine, beer, wienies and cookies I've been offering. I cannot and will not kill an animal unless it's attacking me.

"You can't be Wiccan and eat meat."
Watch me.

"you can't call yourself Wiccan unless you have several degrees and belong to a coven that can trace it's origins back to Gardner's original Black Forest Coven."

Good luck on the origins hunt. If you practice Wicca, you're Wiccan, it's as simple as that."

'ware the retrograde....

Mercury retrograde in Libra & Virgo [Sep. 7 – Sep. 29, 2009]

From Astrology on the Web www.astologycom.com

At 04:46 UT (Universal Time), on Monday, September 7th, 2009, Mercury the cosmic trickster turns retrograde at 6°13' Libra, in the sign of the Scales, sending communications

, travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarlup! The retro period begins some days before the actual turning point (as Mercury slows) and lasts for three weeks or so, until Sep. 29, when the Winged Messenger

reaches his direct station. At this time he halts and begins his return to direct motion through the zodiac.

Everything finally straightens out on October 18, as he passes the point where he first turned retrograde. Mercury normally turns retrograde three times a year, but this year he turns tail four times, which is unusual. The effects of each period differ, according to the sign in which it happens (see box for Retrograde Periods in 2009).

Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is one of the most abundant shrubs that we're blessed with in coastal B.C., and you may have noticed that they're becoming chock-full of tasty purple berries these days. It grows from low to medium elevations in wet or dry forests, rocky bluffs, or near wetlands or other openings; but seems to do best in moist, well-drained areas. The branches are recognizable by their interesting pattern of angling slightly between successive leaves, which are themselves thick, evergreen, and 5-10 cm long. Flowers are white (sometimes pinkish) little urns, and fruits are bluish-purple and, while tasty, feel hairy or sticky to the touch. Both grow in a line of 5-15 along the branch tips.

Historically and currently the berries have been eaten fresh, dried, or in preserves. In most parts of the Pacific Northwest coast salal was the most plentiful and important fruit. The Kwakwaka'wakw ate them dipped in eulechon grease, the Haida used them to thicken salmon eggs, and the Ditidaht chewed young leaves to suppress hunger. Branches have been used in pit-cooking and added as flavouring in fish soup.

Traditionally the leaves were used as a stomach tonic for diarrhea and to treat coughs and tuberculosis; modern medicine points to their antioxidant properties; and a poultice made from the leaves can be used to ease insect stings, cuts or burns.

Salal is a now a major commercial species: it comprises about 90% of the province's floral green exports and brings in millions of dollars annually, making it the second most important non-timber forest product (after mushrooms) in B.C. Salal harvested for floral arrangements is most highly prized when it consists of dark green leaves free of blemishes, usually from plants growing deeper in the forest.

This article only scratches the surface of this phenomenal plant; if you're interested in delving deeper, first make up a batch of wild salal-cranberry relish (recipe below), and then pick up a copy of the book "Salal- Listening for the Northwest Understory" by Laurie Ricou (NeWest Press).

Recipe: wild salal-cranberry relish (courtesy Seattle Times)

Rind of 1 orange (coarsely grated)
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups salal berries (tiny berry stems are okay)
3 cups cranberries (raw, whole)

Cook all ingredients on low heat until the berries are tender, and feel free to add a pinch of cinnamon or ginger. Tastes great served with salmon!