If Mom Loves Mushrooms, Give her Years of Blooming 'Shrooms with Shiitake Logs -- and Recipes to Make the Most of her Mushrooms

It'll sit there in the living room like a bump on a log. It is a bump on a log: A shiitake mushroom that will grow again every two months for 3-4 years. Mom gets to harvest more mushrooms each time as the log matures. This article suggests shiitake gift log kits and gift baskets for Mother's Day and includes Lost Creek Mushroom Farm's favorite ways of cooking shiitakes, plus cookbook author Janet Bratkovich and her recipe for Hot Shiitake Bacon and Cheese Dip.

Perkins, OK (PRWEB) May 2, 2007 -- It'll sit there in the living room like a bump on a log. It is a bump on a log: A shiitake mushroom -- and it will grow again every two months for about four years. With two logs, Mom gets fresh shiitakes every month, and she gets to harvest more mushrooms each time as the logs mature.

Soak a log in ice water for 24 hours. In two or three days little white "pins" break through the bark.

"In about a week, when the 'bumps' bloom out a chocolaty brown and are mushrooms about 1½ to 2 inches in diameter, it's time to cut them off and cook them up," according to Sondra Williams of Lost Creek Mushroom Farm (www.shiitakemushroomlog.com), on the Web as "The Mushroom Lady."

"My favorite is to sauté the shiitakes in butter and garlic with salt and pepper. Then I can eat them with anything. Sautéed shiitakes freeze well and keep for months. Doug has more sophisticated recipes. He loves to cook and has an exceptional palate."

Williams' husband Doug, shiitake mushroom farmer and developer of Redbud Gourmet shiitake mixes, likes to add more intriguing tastes. "I cook my shiitakes with herbs and spices, wines, jams and jellies. It's fun to experiment because shiitakes take on the flavors of the foods they're cooked with."

Shiitake Mushroom Log Kits from Lost Creek Mushroom Farm include all-natural logs, ready to produce shiitakes, and a booklet with eight recipes developed by The Mushroom Lady, including a recipe for crab-stuffed shiitakes using either fresh or dried mushrooms.

Lost Creek also carries Janet Bratkovich's cookbook, The Shiitake Sampler, with 51 shiitake recipes ($8.95, $6.95 when shipped with a log kit).

Bratkovich's husband participated in a research project raising shiitakes on logs. She created the Shiitake Sampler recipes when the project produced an abundant crop and no one knew what to do with so many of the expensive gourmet mushrooms. "I experimented, started taking off from recipes that used white button mushrooms. They were better with shiitakes. The shiitakes have great flavor, there are lots of good health benefits and it was good to have a free supply."

Her advice for mushroom lovers: "They should grow them, so they don't have to pay an arm and a leg at the grocery store."

Lost Creek Mushroom Farm shiitake log kits include one or two shiitake logs, instructions and recipes. They are guaranteed to produce. Prices range from $27.50 for a ten-inch long single-log kit to $87 for two 20-inch logs with their own soaking trays. The Ma & Pa Kit contains two 10 -inch logs and will grow shiitakes every month by alternating the producing log ($46.50). All prices include shipping.

A Mother's Day gift packed with shiitakes is the Mild or the Hot Shiitake Gift Basket (with Spicy and Fiery Shiitake Tortilla Soup mixes). They each contain Redbud Gourmet shiitake soup and dip mixes, dried log-grown shiitakes, a Shiitake Sampler Cookbook, and a 'Shroomie, a little 5-6" shiitake log that will produce like the larger logs and is small enough to sit on the coffee table. The gift basket sells for $45, including shipping.

Order online at www.shiitakemushroomlog.com or at Amazon.com. The phone order line is 1-800-792-0053. Mail orders can be sent to Lost Creek Mushroom Farm, PO Box 520, Perkins, Oklahoma. With the exception of the northern half of California and parts of Nevada, orders placed by May 6 will arrive by Mother's Day with no additional shipping.

Recipe:

Hot Shiitake, Bacon and Cheese Dip

From The Shiitake Sampler Cookbook by Janet Bratkovich

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, minced

½ lb fresh shiitake (7-9 log-grown mushrooms), chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed

2 Tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

8 oz. cream cheese

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. Worchester sauce

½ cup sour cream

Cook the bacon, drain off the fat and chop. To 2 tablespoons bacon drippings, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the shiitakes and garlic; sauté until limp. Mix in flour and ground black pepper. Add cheese, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until the cheese melts; remove from the heat. Stir in bacon and sour cream. Serve warm with crackers and raw vegetables.

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