Wednesday Market Hours: 3:30-6:30pm
All this rain is making the crops grow! One crop always does well in the warm spring rain: Shiitake Mushrooms! If you have had a chance to walk through Durham's neighborhoods or ventured into the woods, ever since the rain started last week, mushrooms have popped up all over the place. The same thing is happening on some farms.
There are two ways to grow shiitake mushrooms. There is the active method and the passive method. But, the first step with both is to gather logs and inoculate them with mushroom spores. Then, the logs need to sit for a period of time while the spores grow. Once that period of time has passed, water is then needed to make the mushrooms grow on the logs. Farmers that employ the active method soak the logs in water to make mushrooms flush out of the log. This ensures an even harvest over a longer period of time. With the passive method, farmers wait for a rain to soak the logs and then lots of mushrooms grow all at once. Shiitake mushrooms also thrive in mild temperatures -- they don't grow when it is cold and they don't grow when it is very hot. So, right now with the mild, wet weather, shiitake mushrooms are doing exceptionally well.
So, how does one cook shiitake mushrooms? Well, I like to use them in stir frys (and I make a lot of stir frys at my house). But, they are also quite delicious cooked on their own. You can easily sautee them in butter with a little bit of garlic or quickly roast them in the oven. Cooking them on their own really highlights their fragrance, texture and flavor! They are delicious when paired with pasta, meats or tempeh.
Other spring crops that have started to come into season include new potatoes, English shelling peas, summer squash, fennel and garlic scapes.
See you at the market!
Erin Kauffman
Market Manager
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Available Wednesday!
Fruits: Strawberries
Vegetables: NEW POTATOES, SUMMER SQUASH, SUGAR SNAP PEAS, FENNEL, ENGLISH SHELLING PEAS, GARLIC SCAPES Asparagus, Asian Greens (Bok Choi, Tat Soi, Mizuna), Arugula, Beet Greens, Beets, Carrots, Culinary Herbs including Cilantro, Thyme, Oregano, and Greek Oregano, Greenhouse Grown Cucumbers, Green Garlic, Green Onions, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Pea Shoots, Radishes, Salad Mix, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips
Meats: Beef, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Pork
Eggs: Chicken and Duck Eggs
Flowers: Iris, Ranunculus, Agrostemma, Snapdragons and mixed Bouquets
Plants: Vegetable and Herb Seedlings, House Plants, Landscaping Plants
Specialty Items: Creamed Honey, Mustards, Flour, Yellow & White Cornmeal, Grits, Goat and Cow Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods - Breads, Pastries, & Pies, Preserves, Gluten Free Baked Goods, Fermented Items, Nut Butters, Pasta, Tempeh, Herbal Teas, Herbal Salves,
Crafts: Wood Crafts, Pottery, Goats Milk Soaps
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