Coop Scoop: Mushrooms September/October 2023

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and Open to All Store Hours: Daily

Open to All Store Hours: Daily 8am-9pm

Front and Back Cover Illustration: Jeffrey Wright-Sedam

ISSN 2473-6155 (print)

• ISSN 2473-6163 (online)

The Coop Scoop is for informational purposes only, and not intended as medical or health advice. Always consult your physician or other qualified healthcare provider. The views of our guest writers do not necessarily reflect those of Honest Weight, and we do not take responsibility for them.

Ruth Ann Smalley PhD, is our Content Editor. An educator and writer, with a 4-digit Co-op member number from the early 90s, Ruth Ann offers wellness, writing, and creativity coaching through her practice at www.vibrant-energies.com or www.ruthannsmalley.com.

Colie Collen is a flower farmer and designer raising a funny little kid in Troy. You can find her work at www.flower-scout.com

Letter from an Editor

By Ruth Ann Smalley

Mycelium is ecological connective tissue, the living seam by which much of the world is stitched into relation.”

Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life

Linking up trees and plants in huge, sometimes ancient mats, they shuttle nutrients and water through a massive mutual aid system.

We probably don’t think much about it, but the Co-op is full of fungal activity, from the fresh mushrooms and grow kits in Produce, to the dried and powdered mushrooms in Bulk and Wellness, to the yeasts in the Beer and Bread aisles, not to mention the kimchis and kombuchas!

In this issue, we consider the topic from many angles: from mushroom art, to medicine, to meal preparation. You’ll find an archival as well as a new mushroom recipe from Melanie Pores. We review a recent bestseller about fungi, as well as a cookbook connected to the wildly popular film Fantastic Fungi. Megan Hetfield, a mushroom foraging guide, offers insight into mushrooms’ transformative powers. Catherine Jura updates us on developments at MyForest Foods, and Doctor Madeline discusses how to help our gut microbiome.

Where do you fall on the spectrum from mycophobic to mycophilic? Whether you love them, hate them, fear them, or feel indifferent, fungi are movers and shakers in our world, and we hope you’ll enjoy finding out how. Here’s the last word from Natalie, one of our editors:

the way! They can be reached at: education@honestweight.coop

Pat Ellis has been a shopper at HWFC for years and became a member a year ago. She enjoys participating in the creative energy of the Scoop’s editorial team and is excited about contributing more in the future.

Lucia Hulsether is a teacher and based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her first book, Capitalist Humanitarianism, is available from www.dukeupress.edu/capitalist-humanitarianism

Mathew Bradley is our Layout Editor. He has been the Lead Designer at Honest new store. Outside he enjoys writing band, tending to his garden, and training his English Cocker Spaniel, Cricket, for field work.

We’re excited to take a deep dive into fungi and fermentation, mushrooms and mycelia in this issue! It’s an intriguing topic, with significant discoveries coming out constantly. It’s becoming clear: these highly adaptive lifeforms play a key role in nurturing and healing not just humans, but whole ecosystems. Recent research shows that fungi’s mycelial networks are engaged in the most cooperative of ventures.

Mushroom Superfood

By Pat Ellis

In past issues, “What’s Fresh” introduced the Scoop readers to some of the newest products at HWFC. While we will continue to do that, we also want to “Refresh” our readers' awareness of some beneficial products they may have walked by.

“The Mad Doc’s” information on the Gut microbiome in this issue is very relevant to our topic. Because, in addition to the fermented foods Dr Madeline discusses, the lowly mushroom is becoming a mighty superfood that benefits many of the body's systems, including our microbiome.

“Ruth Ann’s book review mentions a distinctive group of people of which I am one: ‘the mushroom cautious.’ Very cautious, I might add. And I don’t think I am alone. The September/October edition explores the mystery of mushrooms and offers an “ah ha” moment for all, no matter where we might be on that mushroom continuum. I expect there will be increased foraging among the aisles in the months to come!”

Om Mushroom Superfoods offers a full line of supplement powders, all grown in the USA. They grow, dry, and mill their organic mushrooms into powders at their facility in Southern California, thus ensuring a controlled quality. That high quality is then verified using 3rd-Party testing. Om Mushroom powders are USDA Certified 100% organic, non-GMO, gluten-free and paleo and keto-friendly.

Om Mushroom Superfoods are designed to promote immunity, vitality, cognitive health, and energy. For example:

Om’s Reishi Organic Mushroom Powder is made of whole food adapto genic mushroom powder that includes mycelium and fruit bodies. It provides immune support, plus dietary fiber and prebiotics for gut health.

Om’s Chaga, Turkey Tail, and Immune Support Blends all have similar targeted benefits. Be sure to check them out the next time you are at the store!

Adaptogens are plants and mushrooms that help your body respond to stress, anxiety, fatigue and overall wellbeing. You can take adaptogens by adding them to food or beverages or take them as tinctures. Adaptogens bring your body back to a steady balance by managing both physical and mental stressors.

Anastasia Rodgers is the new Education and Engagement Specialist at HWFC. They love learning, creating and having as much fun as possible along

Natalie Criscione remembers shopping at the Quail St. Honest Weight location. She wears many hats: educator, writer, artist, musician, property manager, advocate, volunteer. She loves being part of the Coop Scoop team!

By Deanna Beyer

What is a Co-op?

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By Lucia Hulsether

If you’re new to Honest Weight, you might be wondering what makes us different from any other grocery store. There are lots of things, but probably the biggest is that we’re a community-owned co-op!

What is a Mushroom?

What do you imagine when you imagine a mushroom? Many of us probably think about what we can find in the produce aisle of a mainstream grocery store: a small, whitish-brown thing that has a short stem and a domed top. But the world of mushrooms goes far beyond the button and shiitake varieties most common in the United States. Look a little further, and you’ll see them all around you–including at the Coop.

All of this leads to another question: what is a mushroom, anyway? Most broadly, mushrooms are a kind of fruiting body

Honest to Goodness

Felted Fungi

Fun, Fuzzy Felted Fungi are one of the many art workshops offered at Honest Weight by Mixed Media Fiber Artist & Member Owner Mallory Zondag. Through the growth and decay in the natu ral world, Mallory finds inspiration for her sculp tures. Her creations are visual and tactile master pieces; utilizing felting, dyeing, and weaving, she creates everything from wee mushrooms to large hanging sculptures. Her techniques and media create very little waste.

In her Mushroom, Flower & Soap Felting Work shops, Mallory guides students through the art of wet felting using warm water, olive oil soap, and a whole lot of elbow grease to bond the wool fibers. Not to be mixed up with needle felting, where one uses needles to poke wool fibers together to bond them

Through rolling and massaging, using unexpected tools like bubble wrap and pool noodles, the fibers are bonded, and the possibilities are endless! Join Mallory for one of her exciting workshops both within Honest Weight and the broader community. You can also follow her on Instagram @malloryzondag to see what she’s been creating!

that is sprouted by a fungus. They are usually visible to the naked eye and can be picked by hand. Underneath the mushroom itself is mycelium, an enormous network of fungal threads that thrives in darkness and moisture, and sprouts fruit when the conditions are just right. They especially like to grow underneath wet leaves and around fallen trees.

Biologists estimate that there are between 1.5 and 5 million species of mushrooms in the world. Only about 20,000 of them have been identified. Of these, there is stunning diversity in shape, color, size, and use. Some mushrooms are poisonous; others possess healing properties. Some grow above ground; some grow underground. Some look like miniature umbrellas; others might look like a glob of peach jelly, a human ear, or a bright red softball.

Salad, Hot Bar, and Cafe are Back, with

This fall, keep your eyes out for mushrooms. You can do this on a hike, a backyard scavenger hunt, or even at the Co-op, where there are mushrooms tucked away in almost every area of the store. From medicinal teas, to truffle cheeses, to grow-your-own mushroom kits, to moisturizing products, to mushroom powders and dried mushrooms in the bulk bins, to the wide variety of fresh mushrooms in the produce section, the foraging opportunities abound.

September 18th

Veggie Printed Dish Towels

5pm Community Room $12/person

October 18th

Felted Soaps

7pm Community Room $12/person

November 15th

Indigo Dyed

Tote Bags

1pm Community Room $15/person

Vanguard ASO

By Natalie Criscione

experience, has grown to become the fundraising and support group for the ASO. Volunteers help to coordinate and provide concert ushers, lodging and transportation for visiting artists, assistance with office work (stuffing envelopes, for example), aid for children’s programming events, and even refreshments for certain occasions. Prior to events, Vanguard-ASO hosts concert previews to introduce subscribers to guest conductors, performers, and composers. Opportunities abound for such enrichment and new volunteers are always welcome.

Fundraising includes such events as Jazz Brunches and Shrimp Boils at June Farms, a Victorian Tea and Fashion Show, as well as trips to the Culinary Institute of America, the Sagamore, and Indian Ladder Farms. With each event are opportunities to connect with others, make new friends, and share a passion for supporting the strong tradition of orchestral music in the Capital District.

Vanguard-ASO is also involved in community outreach and music education. One of their ongoing initiatives is to collect and distribute gently-used instruments to area schools that may otherwise not have a sufficient supply for the number of students who are interested in music. By placing instruments into the hands of students, opportunities are realized and connections made. Suddenly those professional musicians on stage represent possibilities and goals for young people.

spinach, or a mixture

Profile Producer

blended fruit recipe, that you can either enjoy as a yummy drink or easily pour it into an ice pop tray and place in your freezer to help keep you hydrat ed. It’s a healthy, and delicious way to attend to your body's thirst, as soon as it arises, and to restore your body’s electro lyte balance.

You have probably heard of the Albany Symphony Orchestra (ASO) conducted by David Alan Miller, and perhaps you’ve seen a performance on stage. (If you haven’t, you should!) The Grammy Award winning orchestra is a cultural icon of classical and contemporary music in the Capital District and welcomes performers and composers from throughout the world. Audiences see incredible concerts that they remember for weeks or years to come, as they find themselves humming Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, or a world-pre miered piece by a contemporary composer. Children recall memories of conductor “Cowboy Dave” at the Palace Theater, who introduced them to classical pieces, showed them how music tells stories, and ignited their interest in being part of an orchestra.

There is so much to see and hear at a concert that one easily forgets what might be happening backstage, on the other side of the lights and curtains, in the back of the house, and within the daily operations.

Behind the scenes of the ASO is another kind of choreography and performance, and different kinds of stories. Aside from the small, brilliant staff, there are dozens of dedicated volunteers whose mission it is to “promote and sustain exceptional classical music through performances and educational outreach in the greater Capital District.”

I hope you will enjoy my simple recipe for a date sweetened fruit smoothie.

Vanguard-ASO, originally established in 1963 for the purpose of raising money to build an acoustical shell to enhance audience

During the month of September at Honest Weight, when you say “yes” to the question “Would you like to round up to the nearest dollar?” consider yourself part of a growing crescendo that hums along with the broader symphony.

website at https://www.vanguard-aso.org/. And, while you’re surfing, check out the ASO website as well: https://www.albanysymphony.com/.

By Pat Sahr

North Spore

coconut water or pitted, chopped dates, fresh or frozen cooling blackberries, protein powder (pea protein powder for vegans) ground cardamom

The co-op carries a wide variety of mushrooms for everyone who loves these delectable fungi. For those with a sense of adventure, there are also mushroom kits created by a regional company called North Spore, located in Portland, Maine. With these kits one can grow Lion’s Mane, Pink Oyster, Blue Oyster, and Golden Oyster mushrooms.

coconut oil, avocado or almond butter or

North Spore is the brainchild of three college friends (a mycologist, an organic farmer, and a photojournalist) who came together initially through their shared love of mushroom foraging. This led to a mutual fascination with fungi cultivation and, in 2014, to the development of an urban mushroom farm. Now at its vertically-integrated facility, North Spore produces 100% of its spawn (living fungal culture), sterile substrates (growing medium), cultures, and kits. North Spore staff includes several mycologists who lead research and development, and lab technicians who oversee spawn and substrate production.

AUGUST

Pour coconut water/ or milk, and unsweetened almond milk, filling a high-speed blender to the 2 1/2 cup mark for 2 quarts of smoothie. Add the greens.

Start blending on low and, greens start to break down, increase to medium speed until completely broken down and smooth, approximately

Kip and Camie Weeks, who started North Spore, are committed to the their missions to empower people to grow and harvest their own healthy edible and medicinal mushrooms. There is great potential for mushrooms to naturally improve health and wellness and become delicious, sustainable meat alternatives. North Spore products are organic, natural and non-GMO; locally sourced materials are used in the cultivation process. In addition to their health benefits, there are positive environmental impacts of mycelium: soil nutrient cycling and bioremediation. Indeed, North Spore is committed to the environment and sustainability.

Add in soaked dates and cooling summer fruit.

Add ground flaxseed, protein powder, and carda-

This business strives to be a hub for fungi enthusiasts, both beginner and expert, where there is sharing of knowledge about mushroom cultivation, foraging and favorite mushroom recipes. It is an inclusive place where everyone is invited to learn to love mushrooms, and their website is packed with cool blog

cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Add 1 to 2 Tbsp healthy fat. Blend until smooth.

6. Serve immediately or pour in an ice pop tray and freeze. Enjoy!

North Spore mushroom kits are available in the Produce Department at the Co-op. Staff say that they are growing in popularity. Try them and experience the adventure of cultivating your own mushrooms.

To see the full line of products offered by North Spore, go to

Promoting Gut Diversity for Wellness

By Dr. Madeline

Each one of us is a habitat for microbes. Don’t get grossed out now! They help us in many ways! A healthy microbial flora can protect us from pathogens, help us in the production of vitamins, and even make hormone precursors for us. For the most part, a healthy human lives symbiotically with their lovely diverse microbial flora…your inner pets!

The microbial world is an invisible set of life, consisting of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and more. Most microbes that live on the earth have established a happy symbiotic relationship within their niche, including our body’s. While pathogenic microbes pop up, if we keep our immune systems in top shape, we can fend them off more easily. One way to boost our immune system is to understand that our symbiotic microbes act as part of that system. Keeping our symbiotic microbes happy, by providing them a healthy environment, allows for harmonious health across the biological Kingdoms.

WHAT IS “THE GUT?”

The alimentary canal is one long passage or tunnel from your mouth all the way to “where the sun don’t shine.” The food that you eat moves through this long canal where various metabolic functions happen along the way. For instance, your mouth chews food into smaller pieces and also begins the chemical digestion of carbohydrates (like sugar, bread, pasta, etc.). As your partially digested food moves through, it enters the stomach where proteins (like meat, beans, and tofu) are chemically digested. Throughout this long tube, different subsets of microbes reside. When one hears the term, gut microbiome, however, they usually are referring to the part of this tunnel toward the end, in the intestines. We will focus on the intestinal microflora here.

FERMENTED FOODS NOURISH YOUR GUT

Fermented foods are those with live active beneficial bacterial cultures that aid in the health of all body systems. When people ask me, “what is the best fermented food to start with?” I tell them to think of the fermented food consumed by their ancestors. Genetically, I think this is a good place to start. Most of our ancestors had fermented food that was a regular part of their daily diet. It’s only here in the US that we don't have standard or traditional fermented foods. Once you find a fermented food you like, use a little bit of it with a meal each day. The following week, why not try a new fermented food to diversify your microbial flora? Changing it up each week will beneficially build the diversification of your microbiome, which is essential for the proper functioning of every body system! Remember you only need a little bit of fermented food at a meal.

ANTIBIOTICS

How grateful we are that we live in a world with antibiotics to aid us in fighting infection. However, in the same way alcohol in hand sanitizer kills good microbes on your skin, oral antibiotics may also destroy some of your beneficial microbiome. After you’ve worked hard to diversify and create a fabulous gut microbiome, you want to replenish and renew it during and after an antibiotic course. Consider consuming a fermented food two hours after each dose of antibiotics, and once you finish your course, a health care provider might recommend a quality probiotic supplement to help repopulate your gut microbiome again.

IMMUNITY

A healthy and diverse gut microbiome begins with natural childbirth. As babies pass through the birth canal they pick up their first introduction to healthy gut bacteria. These microflora will help newborns to digest mother’s milk. As toddlers try different foods to expand their culinary palate, they continue to enhance and flourish microbial diversity within. Even the act of toddlers and kids putting everything in their mouths, helps to diversify their gut microbiome. Did you know that 85% of our immune system is in our gut? Part of our immune protection comes from these microbes!

BUILD DIVERSITY WITH FERMENTED FOODS TO STRENGTHEN IMMUNITY

If we want to build a strong immune system we have to cultivate a healthy gut flora. You know that to build strong muscles, one must “work-out” the muscle, to build bone we need to mechanically stimulate them with force, and in order to increase the capacity of our minds we need to challenge ourselves with puzzles, problem solving, and getting out of our comfort zones. In the same way, we need to challenge our immune systems daily. If we don’t, it will grow weak just like any other system of the body. The microbial world is part of our immunological army against pathogens. We can strengthen and diversify our gut microbiome by eating a small portion of fermented foods daily. Feeding your inner microbial “pets” fortifies them so that they can work for and with you as you travel on your personal path toward health.

Dr. Madeline has a Ph.D. in molecular cellular and developmental biology. She works at a local college where she teaches in the biology department specializing in Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Nutrition. When not at work, she can be found with her awesome family (which includes 6 chickens). Have a question or

”

”Did you know that 85% of our immune system is in our gut?

Worldmaking with Mushrooms

By Lucia Hulsether

“You who search for a world of mutually-flourishing companions, consider mushrooms.”

“In spite of ourselves / Our kind multiplies // We shall by morning / Inherit the earth.”

-Sylvia Plath, “Mushrooms”

What can a mushroom teach a human—in our limited perception and propensity for anthropocentrism—about living in partnership with the earth’s ecosystems? How might paying attention to mushrooms help us reimagine our actions with respect to the ongoing climate emergency and mounting ecological disasters? When is a mushroom not “just” a mushroom, but an invitation into projects of alternative and sustainable world-making?

These questions might seem like a bit of a stretch. Most of us are more likely to know mushrooms as the cute patches of above-ground fungi that sprout after a rainstorm, or to think of them as one item on our list of ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Some of us have been taught to fear mushrooms as poisonous or invasive (there’s even a word for the fear of mushrooms: mycophobia). We are probably less likely to see mushrooms as openings into deep questions about ecological responsibility and environmental solidarity.

And yet there is a tradition of feminist theorists, ecologists, writers, and organizers who have looked to mushrooms as inspiration. For these thinkers, mushrooms—and the ecological relationships that enable them to thrive—carry lessons for anyone who seeks multispecies collaboration and kinship amid, and against, the systems of exploitation and extraction that threaten our collective survival.

-Anna Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World

ers, but here are two of the major ones: they live interdependently with other species and they are resilient in the face of harsh conditions.

What is a community-owned

It’s a grocery store owned by its members, usually the people who shop here. These are the people who cooperatively manage and control the business. The membership makes all kinds of decisions, including what foods and products are on the shelf, and what standards those products and their producers have to meet (think growing practices, clean ingredients, etc.). At Honest Weight, we’ve got about 14,000 members.

A mushroom’s fruiting body—what you might find in the park after a thunderstorm—is just one moment in the life cycle of the larger organism. Beneath the mushroom lies mycelium, a vast, web-like network of fungal cells that collects nutrients and exists symbiotically with roots and other organisms with which it comes into contact. These fungi enrich the soil and support the survival of surrounding species. They also can rebalance ecosystems degraded by fossil fuel extraction and nuclear contamination. From the fungi discovered on the Chernobyl reactors, to those that digest fossil fuels and turn them to sugars, mycelia and other fungi may prove indispensable to regenerating our collective ecosystem.

The interdependence of mushrooms is especially powerful in the face of their unruliness when it comes to attempts to domesticate and eliminate them from the environment. In her

sabotaged imperial projects. Mushrooms grew in the wood of British naval ships, eating away at their structure to the point of sabotaging colonial excursions to South Asia. Likewise, Tsing notes that mushrooms have long been the enemy of unsustainable agricultural practices like industrial farming and monocropping. We might see mushrooms as a hopeful sign that anthropocentric conquest is not complete—and that a different way of being is still possible and even emergent right beneath the surface.

How does Honest Weight support the local community?

myriad fungi and bacterial species that allow us to survive. Understanding this, we might then wonder where one ends and the other begins.

Most co-ops devote significant time and resources to educational programming, community development, and outreach initiatives. We donate 5% of our net profits to local not-for-profit organizations, run free and low-cost educational programs that are open to all, and are always looking for ways to collaborate with partners in the community. We offer many opportunities for member-owners to help with this community engagement.

Mushrooms Inspiring Transformation

Who can shop here? Everyone is welcome: anyone can shop at the co-op. If you decide to become a member, you’ll purchase a “share” of the co-op, become eligible for lots of additional discounts on products, and have voting rights on decisions that affect the store. Honest Weight member-owners can choose to invest their time at the store, serve on one of our committees, or work with a program, in order to receive a bigger discount (up to 24%) on their groceries.

What is on o er? We believe everyone in our community should have access to affordable, high-quality, natural foods and products for healthy living. So we offer things like Co+op Basics (a line of over 450 high-quality foods and household items) at Everyday Low Prices. We

Mushrooms correct our limited vision of the world and its inhabitants. Emerging research in the field of mycology (otherwise known as the study of mushrooms) has helped to upend old and outdated scientific binaries around gender, sex, reproduction, and even species distinction. Mycologist Erika Kothe recently identified in the Schizophyllum fungus over 23,000 different potential sexes—all in one single species. Meanwhile, other scientists have discovered that mushrooms and other fungi have more DNA

What other co-ops are in the area? You can find co-ops everywhere! In addition to Honest Weight, there are several others you can check out: Niskayuna Consumers Co-op, Chatham Real Food Market Co-op, Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market, and Cambridge Food Co-op.

While every co-op has its own distinctive vibe, we are all founded on the same basic principles:

· voluntary and open membership democratic member control

Organizations like the Institute for Queer Ecology have taken these insights and run with them—not only toward further scientific work, but also to artistic exhibitions and mutual aid projects. As Patricia Kaishan, one of the leading thinkers in queer studies and mycology, has written, “In mushrooms and other fungi, I saw reflecting back at me our shared evolutionary history, the human position in the landscape of beings, and my own queer ambiguousness. We were strangely familiar; our cells probed the limits of the other, finding no resistance.” Kaishan’s words resonate with ones written by Sylvia Plath nearly five decades ago. “Nobody sees us / Stops us / Betrays us,” Plath writes in the first person plural, “We shall by morning / Inherit the earth.” For these writers and thinkers, the ecology of mushrooms is a promise of resistance—and the foraging of mushrooms is one step toward more conscious ways of being.

· member economic participation

· autonomy and independence

· education, training, and information

BY MATHEW BRADLEY

”

” We might see mushrooms as a hopeful sign that anthropocentric conquest is not complete—and that a di erent way of being is still possible and even emergent right beneath the surface.

Foraging as Healing and Liberation: An

Interview with Meghan Hetfield

Here in the Capital Region, there are abundant opportunities to learn from and look for mushrooms native to the area. For more on the practice of foraging, and to hear a firsthand account of the power of mushrooms to heal and rejuvenate, we turned to local guide Meghan Hetfield. Meghan lives in Woodstock, NY and is a Certified Mushroom Foraging Guide (yes, this certification exists!). When she’s not out foraging in local forests, she is an organizer, harm reductionist, and peer recovery advocate working toward more compassionate and just practices around drug policy and drug use. We spoke to Meghan about how she became passionate about wild mushrooms, what mushrooms have meant to her own healing process, and how novice foragers can get started.

I’ve heard you say before that mushrooms are your superpower. I think you even have a shirt with this quote on it. What do you mean by this?

Mushrooms have healed me in so many ways! I used to be an Ultra Runner, which is basically an absurd (also totally bad-ass) sport where you run mostly up-hill in the woods until your toenails fall off. I had a chaotic relationship with substances and my mental health for most of my teens and twenties, and I reinvented myself as a trail-runner. It was a “phoenix rising from the ashes” story that gave me a new identity. Combine hours spent in the woods, all those amazing endorphins and a whole new community of supportive friends and I had a really great new way to support my wellness.

Unfortunately, I started to be injured more often than not and became less able bodied. As my running miles dwindled, so did my resilience and ability to manage my mental health. By this point I had become a public speaker, using my story to advocate for a more compassionate approach to our drug poisoning and mental health crisis. My injuries and mental health complicated things for me on those stages and affected my identity in many ways. It was a really dark time.

One day I was invited to a Mushroom Foraging retreat by a friend (Friends Of Fungi at Menla Retreat Center in Phoenecia, NY). I decided to give it a try, as I was always curious about those wild looking mushrooms I zoomed past on my runs! This turned out to be a life-altering experience. As someone who doesn’t use animal protein, this Miami suburb-raised NYC transplant was able to go out into the woods and hunt for dinner! If that’s not a super-power, I don’t know what is.

What a cool story! What else can you say about how foraging changed your perspective?

On top of the culinary delights I was now able to find on my own in the beautiful forests of the Hudson Valley, I started learning about the “fungal pharmacy” that was available to me. I learned to make my own tinctures and medicines to share with friends and really benefited from the vast uses of our local fungi. I think the most important thing that happened with fungi is that my relationship with wild nature changed.

I’m convinced. For those of us who have never foraged mushrooms before–and who might have been raised to be mycophobic–what advice can you give about getting started?

As a runner, I was a conqueror, obsessed with the longest, hardest, fastest and tallest challenges. As a forager, I learned to slow down and connect with the magic of the mycelial networks that create the forests and landscapes that I took for granted. As a descendant of colonizers, I was fighting generations of “taking” and “owning”. For the first time in my life, I turned to indigenous knowledge and began to honor the original stewards of this land, the Munsee-Lenape people. [The Munsee people maintain strong ties to this area, after being displaced to Wisconsin from their lands in present-day New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. See September/October 2021 Coop Scoop for more about the return of the Papscanee Island Preserve to the Stockbridge-Munsee community.]

It has had a powerful and profound effect on my world-view and my dream of a better way to be human. I gained a beautiful and treasured community of fellow Myco-obsessed friends and can say with full authority that I have been “inoculated” into the mycelial network!

First, it’s ok to touch mushrooms! Most of us are raised to be terrified of them and wonder if they are poisonous. There are certainly a few poisonous ones here but you have to actually ingest them to get sick. Second, buy a “field guide” (the National Audubon Society has a pretty good one) that can help you learn more about the local fungi. I recommend The Complete Mushroom Hunter by Gary Lincoff. It’s actually very readable and definitely played a role in my fungal obsession! Last but not least: Join your local Mycological Association! Memberships are typically between $20-50 for the year and you will gain access to knowledge, opportunities to forage in a group and new “mushroom friends.” It’s critical in the beginning to have multiple people help you verify your findings before you eat them. Myco Societies, aka “Mushroom Clubs,” can help you out with that while you’re gaining confidence.

What kinds of mushrooms can we find in upstate New York?

So many! Black Trumpets, Chanterelles, Lion’s Mane, Maitake aka Hen Of The Woods, Porcini, Wood Ear, Reishi, Chaga, Turkey Tail, Puff-balls… Chicken Of The Woods is a favorite for many, although for some people–ahem, it’s me–it can cause discomfort. The general rule is that when you are trying a new shroom, you should eat only a small amount first, then wait a bit to see how you feel. If all’s good, then chow down the rest of your mush-meal. And yes, we do have “Magic Mushrooms,” but they are really difficult to find and identify, even to some of the most experienced mycologists! If this is something you’re interested in, I would recommend a book by Paul Stamets, Psilocybin Mushrooms of The World

As a forager, I learned to slow down and connect with the magic of the Mycelial networks that create the forests and landscapes that I took for granted.

Underground Bacon from MyForest Foods

By Catherine Jura

Bacon?

Mushrooms are so much more than meets the eye: it’s what’s under the soil that can change the world.

The root-like structures of mushrooms consist of masses of thin filaments called mycelium. Mycelium is pronounced my-cee-lee-yumm. It’s gluten-free, top-8 allergen free, rich in fiber and vitamins, and contains no saturated fat or cholesterol. That’s great—but even more amazing is that mycelium is what makes MyBacon . . . bacon!

MyForest Foods

In 2020, Eban Bayer and Gavin McIntyre founded MyForest Foods. Its mission? To address the impending global food shortage and the climate crisis by producing meat alternatives that can be grown quickly and sustain ably. Their flagship product, MyBacon, is sourced from gourmet oyster mushrooms. It has a distinct, savory flavor and the texture and mouthfeel of meat. When operating at full capacity, MyForest Foods is projected to serve MyBacon to more than one million consumers by the end of 2024.

Swersey Silos Farm

On July 25th, 2022, MyForest Foods celebrated the opening of its new vertical AirMycelium™ farm—the world’s largest vertical farm. The farm, known as Swersey Silos, utilizes a patented AirMycelium™ technology developed by Ecovative, the mycelium company that spun out MyForest Foods in 2020 in Green Island, NY. This farm has the capacity to produce nearly three million pounds of mycelium per year.

This is a very different kind of farm. First, there are two feedstock silos containing a compostable mix of wood chips and plant by-products. These feed the oyster mushroom spores next door in the indoor vertical farm. AirMycelium technology enables the fine-tuning of several environmental factors that mushrooms need (i.e. mist, temperature) to control mycelium’s shape and density. The growing process produces large structures that resemble whole cuts of meat, explains Adam Heinz, Director of Operations at MyForest Foods. These whole cuts of mycelium are called “mush bellies” because they look like a pork belly (but are obviously made of mushrooms). With a harvest time of only 12 days, the farm is continuously setting up and harvesting new mush bellies.

Despite a small land footprint, Swersey Silos Farm has the capacity to produce nearly three million pounds of mycelium annually. What’s more, this type of farm can be built all over the world. When compared to traditional pork bacon, an AirMycelium farm drastically reduces the land, water, and carbon footprint found in conventional factory farming practices.

Time to Make the Bacon

After harvest, the mush bellies arrive at MyForest Foods’ production kitchen in Albany, New York, where they are sliced and seasoned in traditional bacon-style brine. Chef Nick Ruscitto’s recipe consists of minimal, familiar ingredients: salt, sugar, natural flavors, and beet juice for a bit of color. Finally, each strip is coated in coconut oil, making MyBacon pan-ready, right out of the package. Once cooked, the end result tastes like real bacon. So much so that MyBacon won a “Mindful Awards” recognition as the “Breakfast Meat Alternative Product of the Year!” in 2022.

MyBacon is just the beginning. “My hope is that we will have a mushroom for every type of meat people eat in 15 years,” shares MyForest co-founder Eben Bayer. “You’ll be able to buy them under the MyForest brand—MyFish, MyChicken, MyBeef.” ( Capital Region Living Magazine, Sept. 12, 2022). My-cee-lee-YUMM!

Ready to fry up some bacon? Honest Weight was the first supermarket to offer MyBacon to consumers and you can find it in the meat department. That is, if it isn’t sold out.

Catherine Jura has had a 40 year love affair with food and the people who bring it to us. She enjoys the outdoors, reading, people, and laughing. Member-owner (nine years).

By Natalie Criscione

colors, shadows, and focal points. For, it is through such conversations that a world of other topics is opened. “It’s really interesting,” says Hutchison, “how there are some community events where we draw or create a design and suddenly the social awkwardness comes down because you have something to talk about… It’s that shared experience.” Hence, the art becomes therapy, the process is revered over the product, and coloring outside the lines is actually encouraged.

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Besides “Open Studio” times when students are invited to work on their own or the day’s prescribed project, CREATE offers a number of other weekly/monthly programs such as the Teen Writing Program, Community Wellness, Art in the Park, Zentangle, and others that bring community members together. No matter the art medium, within every group exists a “core value of acceptance where everything you do is ok,” says Hutchison. In fact, one does not even have to create anything. Sometimes what is needed is just to be in the space, listen, and know that is ok. “Sometimes,” she says, “it’s not even about the art, it’s just about the presence of others who you know are going to be accepting.”

tion of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits that we’ve seen in a single year. Which is why we’re so excited to participate in Double Up Food Bucks!

CREATE (Capital Region Expressive Arts Transformation Empowerment), by its very nature, has been coloring outside the lines since its inception. Like so many burgeoning non-profits, CREATE evolved because of what did not exist. In 2017, Heather Hutchison, Aili Lopez, and Julie Lewis recognized a need for a place in the Capital Region where people could go and use the arts for mental health and wellness. Hutchison is quick to clarify that CREATE is not a place that provides art therapy per se, but rather a place to “use art as therapy.”

What does that mean, you might ask? How does one use art as therapy? At CREATE, art is used to express oneself, and it offers a place where the barriers to that expression, whether economic or otherwise, are removed. It is described by both its founding members and patrons as a “safe space.” Through individual projects and group collaborations, for example, young people “communicate and express themselves appropriately with adults and other students,” says Hutchison. As a way to embark on such dialogue, it is not uncommon to have conversations about the meanings behind a piece of art, its

In addition to the regularly scheduled programs, CREATE has recently embarked on some long-term initiatives. “‘Erasing Spaces and Faces: The Legacy of Urban Renewal,’” says Julie Lewis, “is a social practice, multi-dimensional project that integrates history, art, and storytelling to learn about the impact of urban renewal on Saratoga’s BIPOC and immigrant communities. The project includes community storytelling events, oral narratives, visual arts, and a short documentary film. A recent exhibition which featured a mural and graphic novel-style narrative panels by artist Marcus Kwame Anderson, and small scale miniature recreations of the West Side neighborhood by Jen Wojtowicz, was on display at Saratoga Arts.”

Further, CREATE is launching its first capital campaign which involves a partnership with Alchemy Studios, to include a ceramics studio at the Schenectady location. Hutchison theorizes that the reason ceramics classes have been so highly requested since the pandemic began is because working with clay and dirt is “about being from the earth…and getting back in touch with that is literally emotionally and physically grounding,” something that continues to be an integral need.

Now in its 6th year, C.R.E.A.T.E has established itself in both Schenectady and Saratoga Springs as a place of welcome for people of all ages. To register for one of the many art offerings, visit their website at createcommunitystudios.org .

During the month of October as you say “yes” to the question at the register, “Would you like to round up?” know that you are already coloring outside the lines.

Double Up Food Bucks is a nationwide fruit and vegetable incentive program, servicing millions of SNAP users, active in 20+ states at over 800 farmers markets, CSAs, farm stands, mobile markets, and grocery stores. The program gives shoppers $1 for every $1 spent with SNAP, so you can purchase even more produce.

The Elf and the Dormouse

By Oliver Herford (1892)

A match of up to $20 a day could mean $40 for healthy foods. Why is this important? Because too many people don’t have access, even with government aid, to the amount of healthy food needed to support families. Sign up is free and the dollars never expire.

Under a toadstool crept a wee Elf, Out of the rain to shelter himself.

Under the toadstool, sound asleep, Sat a big Dormouse all in a heap.

In New York State, Double Up has contributed to 1.1 million pounds of healthy food sales to over 24,000 customers, at more than 130 sites spanning 23 counties.

Trembled the wee Elf, frightened, and yet Fearing to fly away lest he get wet.

Visit our Service Desk to sign up and go to honestweight.coop for more information on the program.

To the next shelter—maybe a mile! Sudden the wee Elf smiled a wee smile, Tugged till the toadstool toppled in two. Holding it over him, gaily he flew.

Soon he was safe home, dry as could be. Soon woke the Dormouse “Good gracious me!

“Where is my toadstool?” loud he lamented. —And that’s how umbrellas first were invented.

At CREATE, art is used to express oneself, and it o ers a place where the barriers to that expression, whether economic or otherwise, are removed.

Corner

Portobello Mushroom Strogano

By Melanie Pores

Servings: 4

As I have shared in earlier columns, according to Ayurveda, the 5000 year old “Science of Life” from India, the year is divided into 3 seasons. In Ayurveda, the Fall/Winter season is viewed as a season of change, and an ideal time for us to rebuild our “ojas,” the subtle force in our bodies that provides health, digestion, strength, and vitality.

As the temperature begins to drop, our bodies begin to try to protect themselves from this heat loss. Nourishing, ojas-building foods, especially soups and casseroles are not only more appealing to us at this juncture, they also afford us the opportunity to fortify

our bodies by helping to insulate us from the cold.

With this in mind, I am sharing a recipe with you that is tasty, healthy, and simple to prepare. Also, many of the ingredients that I used in my recipe can be found in the Honest Weight grocery aisle where soups and pasta are located. So, if you are looking for a dish with an umami—stick to your ribs sensation, then you’ll love my yummy recipe for my favorite portobello mushroom stroganoff.

12 oz. package pasta of choice, (I used Sfoglini Whole Grain Reginetti, but you could use fettuccini, linguini, macaroni or spaghetti or any other pasta that you like, or use spiralized zucchini)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 cans Native Forest Organic Portobello Mushroom slices, divided

2 cups water

1 cube Edward & Sons Low-Sodium Garden Veggie Bouillon cube

1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Mushroom

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp arrowroot powder

½ cup Greek yogurt, (I used The Greek Gods nonfat yogurt) ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

1. Cook the pasta with a little olive oil and a pinch or two of salt, according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil, and sauté the diced onion until soft and translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add the minced garlic clove, and sauté an additional minute. Add 1 can of the portobello mushrooms, and sauté for an additional few minutes until fragrant and well-combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Pour the water, Garden Veggie Bouillon cube, the teaspoon of Better than Bouillon Mushroom, ground black pepper, and 1 cup of the cooked onion, garlic and mushroom mixture into a blender, and blend for 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and creamy.

4. In the large skillet that contains the remaining onion, garlic, mushrooms, add in the broth, cooked onion, garlic and mushroom mixture from the blender. Then carefully add in the arrowroot powder, stirring constantly to break up any clumps of arrowroot powder that might form. Cook on medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken a bit.

5. Stir in the cooked pasta until thoroughly combined. Remove from burner, stir in the Greek yogurt, and Parmesan cheese until well-combined. Season with additional freshly ground black pepper and/or more grated Parmesan to taste, and enjoy!

Melanie Pores is a retired bilingual educator, an HWFC member since 1978, and the facilitator of HWFC’s Spanish Conversation Group since 2015, currently on Zoom, Fridays 10am to noon.

Book Review

Entangled Life:

By Ruth Ann Smalley

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Merlin Sheldrake

He is also keenly aware of the ways stories, language, and metaphors impact what and how we actually see. The book is packed with interesting, sometimes jaw-dropping facts like these—”Sixty percent of the enzymes used in industry are generated by fungi;” “a mere six percent of all fungi species have been described;” and “fungal melanins, the pigments produced by radio-tolerant fungi, are a promising new source of radiation-resistant biomaterials.” But Sheldrake also keeps asking questions about how we categorize things, and about the very process of asking questions. And his advocacy of the role of imagination in scientific research is a big part of why the book itself really fires the imagination and offers such food for thought.

Double Up Food Bucks is a nationwide fruit and vegetable incentive program, servicing millions of SNAP users, active in 20+ states at over 800 farmers markets, CSAs, farm stands, mobile markets, and grocery stores. The program gives shoppers $1 for every $1 spent with SNAP, so you can purchase even more produce.

Onward, to food for eating! If you’d like to incorporate more mushrooms into your menu, the Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook is a gorgeous resource. Editor Eugenia Bone has curated recipes she gathered from the community that developed around the Fantastic Fungi movie.

A match of up to $20 a day could mean $40 for healthy foods. Why is this important? Because too many people don’t have access, even with government aid, to the amount of healthy food needed to support families. Sign up is free and the dollars never expire.

By Deanna Beyer

Hunger Free America estimates that this past year has seen a 67% increase in food- insecure New Yorkers. And here at Honest Weight we’re on track to have the highest redemp-

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures came out in 2020, and was an HWFC book club pick. If you missed out on reading it then, I’d encourage you to pick it up for an awe-inspiring read. A skilled researcher and gifted storyteller, Sheldrake is a phenomenal guide on this tour of what we know and don’t know (and there’s a lot!) about fungi and its fundamental role in ecosystems.

Sheldrake literally lives and breathes his topic. From beer fermentation and truffle hunting to psychedelic experimentation, and from mushroom ink to mycoremediation, he’s tried it. He illustrates how the field is both extravagantly full of possibility and woefully underfunded. Academic researchers have been joined by a growing movement of citizen scientists and “kitchen sink mushroom growers,” as well as entrepreneurs like our neighbors at Ecovative. Sheldrake visits with many of these: at Ecovative he learns about their innovations not only with mycelial packaging, but research into mycotecture—creating shelters from fungi (see Underground Bacon for more about Ecovative’s MyForest Foods).

From the Archives: Mom’s Rice & Mushroom Ring

By Natalie Criscione

One can dive far back into the early days of the Coop Scoop’s archival past and find little in the way of mushroom-related topics. Or, one can just peek around the corner into the Pre-Covid days of 2019 and discover the January/February column by Melanie Pores, in which she shares her wonderful recipe for “Mom’s Rice and Mushroom Ring.”

Admittedly, there are some archived items that are best left alone. This is not one of them. As Melanie introduces the recipe, she reminds readers that this one is special, prepared by her mom, Anne Pores, on holidays, for the entire family. Definitely worth a reprint! Melanie’s version is slightly modified from her mom’s original recipe as it includes vegan margarine and/or coconut oil instead of butter. Your choice! Enjoy!

The book is laid out in “mushrooms with” categories—with vegetables; eggs; soup, pasta and rice; fish; and poultry and meat. There’s even a drinks and condiments section. A helpful index makes it possible to search for recipes by type of mushroom, which is a great tool for folks just starting to experiment.

tion of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits that we’ve seen in a single year. Which is why we’re so excited to participate in Double Up Food Bucks!

For the mushroom cautious, there are plenty of recipes using familiar fungi, such as Potato Mushroom Tortilla, Mushrooms with Garlic, and Squash and Mushroom Pie, using button mushrooms. There’s the portobello-based Ultimate Mushroom Halloumi Burger, as well as Enoki Mushroom soup and Shiitake Fennel Latkes.

In New York State, Double Up has contributed to 1.1 million pounds of healthy food sales to over 24,000 customers, at more than 130 sites spanning 23 counties.

Visit our Service Desk to sign up and go to honestweight.coop for more information on the program.

But if you’re feeling more adventurous, there are many foraged mushroom recipes, such as Dryad’s Saddle Soup, Chanterelle Risotto, Chicken-Fried Chicken of the Woods, and Morel Gratin. Now that you can pick up a diversity of fresh and dried mushrooms right here in the store or at many local farmers markets, you can go a bit wild without needing foraging credentials yourself. And, if you are like me, and get motivated to try new things based on mouth-watering photos, you’ll find plenty of drool-worthy pictures to get you ingredient shopping!

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2 cups rice, well-rinsed

2 large onions, chopped

1 lb. mushrooms, ground

4. Grease a large ring mold (or casserole dish) and line loosely with foil. Put rice in layers, alternately with mushroom mixture, beginning and ending with rice. Cover with foil.

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1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups water

¼ lb. of vegan margarine and/or coconut oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook rice until nearly done.

2. Sauté onions in margarine and/or coconut oil until golden. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Preheat oven to 350 F.

5. Put ring mold (or casserole dish) in a water bath and heat for 25-30 minutes.

How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures Mycelium is a way of life that challenges our animal imaginations