Maybe you need a shiitake mushroom log

This has nothing to do with art or design, but I have to tell you. A week and a half ago, a box arrived. It contained a log. Yes. My mom decided we would enjoy growing our own mushrooms, so she ordered us a mushroom log. We're in a second floor condo, so obviously there's no garden, but we like to make the most of our back landing and try to grow interesting things. This one takes the cake. I'm very excited. Seriously! And look! The log came with no mushrooms, and now it has two! I think more are coming. If you feel you can't live without one (and I'm sure that's just about everybody), get your own log here.

Conclusion of the mushroom epic

For those on the edge of your seats following the progress of our mushrooms, here's the final installment. Last weekend they turned into four of these pizzas, with brie, tomatoes, green onion, and garlic butter drizzled over them. Yum. I used this recipe (scroll down to Shiitake and Brie Pizzas), which is from another mushroom log retailer. I think it took about 7-10 days from start to finish to grow these. Now our log is resting before its next crop.

(Side note: I found this set of dinner plates and little matching salad plates under an inch of dust in a second-hand store down the street. They were stacked on the floor. I'm so glad I bothered to bend over and swipe a finger along the edge. I like this pattern.)

Grow your own mushrooms

Those who have followed this blog for awhile might remember the mushroom-growing experiment of yesteryear—the log that produced a couple shitakes and then required rest in a cold place (i.e. our fridge) while it gathered its energy to squeeze out a single mushroom. We got rid of it since the output didn't live up to the bounty we'd imagined, and who needs a log in their fridge?

So I was intrigued by an email from Back to the Roots, a sustainable urban mushroom farm in Oakland started by some Berkeley students. They grow gourmet mushrooms from recycled coffee grounds and sell kits that yield up to 1.5 lbs. of oyster mushrooms in about 10 days. Sounds fun! If anybody wants a kit, you can get 10% off your order by using the code Mushrooms4me10.

Mushroom update

Hey, look! In just a few days, our mushrooms have gotten this big! And there are two more on the back side of the log.