What's a Mushroom Farm?
Plus a Coconut Lentil Curry Recipe
Since my trip to Malaysia with Fable Food I’ve had a lot to reflect on, but one of the experiences that stood out the most was our visit to the mushroom farm.
Prior to visiting a mushroom farm, I had a vague idea of how mushrooms grow. Now that I’ve seen one in person, I would like to visit many more mushroom farms! Before I go down the mushroom rabbit hole, I wanted to share some of the basic things I’ve learned about mushrooms and how they grow:
Mushrooms are their own FUNGI KINGDOM so they are separate from plants aka they are not actually vegetables
The mushrooms we eat are the fruit of a fungus that grows underground
Mushrooms do not photosynthesize like plants, so they cannot produce their own food. Instead, fungi are heterotrophs meaning they obtain nutrients from other organic material, which is more similar to animals than plants!
92% of a mushroom is made of water
Mushrooms don’t have seeds, they have spores and every mushroom has about 16 billion spores!?
There are actually spores floating around us all the time, apparently in one breath we take in about 5 spores!
When found in nature, mushrooms grow by absorbing nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter. Mushrooms serve as the metaphorical recyclers in nature. They take things that have died, break them down and create nutrients for others.
So then you might ask, how are they farmed?
Mushrooms are grown in what is known as substrate which can be made from a number of different materials, but the substrate I saw being made in Malaysia was a mix of wood chips, rice bran for nitrogen and limestone.
After sterilization, the substrate is then inoculated with spores in a bag which then spreads a mycelium network throughout the bag and then mushrooms blossom fruit at the top of the bag.
If you want a super detailed walk through of a commercial growing facility, I enjoyed this video touring MycoTerra Mushrooms in Deerfield, MA.
What I’m Into ✨
Went to a Farm to People event and met Colu Henry - she’s awesome! Just signed up for her newsletter and will be ordering her cookbook soon
Making bread - I’m getting better! My slices come out a bit think and dense but I’m learning. Still using this recipe by Claire Saffitz
Trying to figure out what to do to stop the hate coming out of Florida. If you haven’t been following closely, here is the latest.
Soup! I always knew this deep inside, but it was confirmed listening to an interview with Elissa Goodman that soup is really the same as smoothies its just warm and soothing and a great way to get all the nutrients and fiber from your veggies without having to juice anything.
It’s finally time for local produce, if you aren’t getting a Farm to People delivery, now is the time to get started!
Coconut Lentil Curry ✨
Love only needing one pot for recipes and rather than making curry and then having to make rice, this recipe includes lentil in the curry so your whole dish comes together easily. Lentils are a food I’m working to bring into my weekly routine as they have more fiber and protein than most white grains and are also insanely cheap.
INGREDIENTS
Coconut oil (or any oil)
1 medium white onion
1 sweet potato (I used the white Japanese potato)
2 Japanese eggplant (or ½ a regular)
Bok Choy bunch
½ head cauliflower
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 inch knob ginger
1 cup red lentils
1 can coconut milk
INSTRUCTIONS
Dice onion and garlic and sauté in coconut oil until translucent
Chop your sweet potato and add to pot to sauté
Add in your curry paste and stir
Microplane your ginger and add turmeric and stir until coated
Add in chopped cauliflower, lentils and eggplant and mix until covered with spices
Add water to cover everything in the pot
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until potato are soft
Add coconut milk and continue cooking at a simmer until liquid has reduce for another 15 or so minutes
Add the bok Choy and stir
Season with salt and pepper
Can serve with cilantro and lime if you have on hand