The Summer has really heated up. July was a furiously full month with our fresh mushrooms in continually growing demand. So much so, that we’ve decided to make some major changes in order to get us to the next level of production. With that being said, we will be closing our retail farm store in September in order to increase our incubation space. We plan on this being a temporary measure for a few months as we are making moves to expand our grow & incubation in a few other ways. Our dedication to being an education center and community gathering space is not wavering, but it is critical that we expand now in order to grow our revenue. We will maintain our current regularly repeating events (the MHEP writing group on Monday afternoons, poetry on the 2nd Sunday, Mushroom Book Club, and NYMHA meetings on the 2nd Tuesday) and we will host the final few events already on our calendar (metal amongst the mushrooms 8/10, Dinner on the farm 9/7, and Music and Creativity Celebration with Becca and Songsten on 9/14) but until we make the shift and figure out our space availability no more events will be added. We have been approached by a few remote spots to host dinners, stay tuned for details as they unfold. Once additional space becomes available to us and our revenue has built to a more stable level, we will revisit the retail store and event space model. We will also continue to visit the Helderberg Mountain Brewing Company every Wednesday. Stay tuned to our newsletter for information as we shift into this new gear.
Until they run out or our store closes, our teas, salts, and jerky products will continue to be available. We just added a new tea to our collection: The Lion on the Shelf. Lion’s Mane for mental clarity & cognitive boost, and Reishi and Dryad’s Saddle for health and wellness. Try it hot or cold (brew it hot then chill it).
Find us every Wednesday evening from 5 to 6:30 at the Helderberg Mountain Brewing Company in East Berne. (Berne Public Library Music in the Park series runs every Wednesday through 8/21. We’ll be there after the brewery too – Support your local Library!)
Mycophilicorganism founder Luke Sarrantonio and his team put together another great Mushroom Festival down in the Catskills. The For the Love of Fungi Festival was back at the Ashokan Center for its third year and about 150 or so mushroom lovers wandered the grounds hunting for fungi, enjoyed cooking lessons (that Mushroom Shawarma Bowl!), or participated in talks. Avery gave a talk on the state of psilocybin advocacy in New York.
We donated a few items for a raffle so that the Schoharie Creek Animal Sanctuary could raise funds for much needed equipment.
The regularly repeating 2nd Sunday poetry and prose is always a great afternoon of words and laughter. Our next open mic will be Sunday, August 11th.
Our community oriented offerings continue to expand with another regular literacy focused experience amongst the mushrooms. This writing group led by Wayne Cochran from the Mental Health Empowerment Program is a low stress, creative way to explore some of those ideas you may have been percolating. This group meets every Monday at 1pm.
Poets Barbara Ungar, Jackie Craven, and Sarah Giragosian provided a few samples from the new books they have published during an intimate afternoon of words.
Our book club is reading Mystical Mushrooms: Discover the Magic & Folklore of Fantastic Fungi by Aurora Kane. This book gives splashes of facts wreathed in mystery and folk knowledge. It includes a few “spells” for people working to manifest with natural ingredients. It’s a cute primer for basic mushroom background knowledge with beautiful illustrations.
Customer Showcases
Our customers are regularly churning out some delicious offerings. Make sure you stop by and try something new at one of these capital district culinary hot spots!
Pataconia will be serving up some Caribbean style eats at our next Metal Amongst the Mushrooms show on Saturday 8/10. Check their website to see where else they are serving up their unique brand of deliciousness: https://pataconiafood.com/
The first gathering of the Little Spores Club happened at the Bethlehem Public Library. This mushrooms for tykes program introduced mycologists from 4 to 11 years old to the world of fungi.
We hosted the July meeting of the Rensco Farm Bureau board and gave everyone a tour of our small urban farm. The county policy meeting is next week and we are bringing some urban farming and mushroom farming related issues forward.
In Avery’s capacity as member of the Committee on Medicinal Mushrooms for the North American Mycological Association, he is helping to roll out an international database that will collect personal use data from people taking medicinal mushrooms. Listen to Dr Michael Beug’s conversation on Earthlings 2.0 where he talks a little about it (plus a myriad of other fungi related topics). Dr Beug currently runs the mushroom poisoning database.
A Recipe For You:
Mixed Mushroom Penne with roasted tomatoes and fresh basil
1 Pound of Penne Pasta
1 Pound of Roma Tomatoes
1 Pound of Mushrooms (We used Enoki, Chestnuts, Pioppino, Shiitake, and Oysters)
1 Onion
1 Zucchini
Fresh Basil
3 Garlic Cloves
¼ Cup Dry White Wine
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of butter (plant or dairy based)
*Garnish choices
- Bring Pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to recipe, reserve ½ cup pasta water. Strain when done.
- Cut the Zucchini in half, then in half again. Chop into quarter moons. Dice Onion. Mince Garlic. Chop or tear mushrooms. Tear or chop basil.
- Pre-heat oven to 375. Cut tomatoes in half, gently squeeze out the seeds and juices and reserve in a bowl or measuring cup. Put tomato halves on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to the reserved innards. Roast tomatoes for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool. Coarsely chop them.
- Heat a pan. Add mushrooms to the hot pan. Add a dash of water. Cook for 5- 7 minutes (or longer depending on the amount of mushrooms – they should just start to brown). Add a drizzle of oil. Cook for another few minutes. Add half of the minced garlic. Cook for another 2 – 3 minutes . Remove from the pan. Set aside.
- In the same pan used for mushrooms, add another drizzle of oil. Add zucchini and onion. Cook for 5 – 7 minutes. Add the remaining garlic. Cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add the tomato innards. Cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine. Add cooked mushrooms. Add roasted tomatoes. Stir to combine. Add splashes of reserved pasta water if necessary so it doesn’t get too dry. (if you have mushroom stock, that is even better). Add pasta. Add half or more of the basil. Stir to combine. Remove from heat. Finish with 2 Tablespoons of butter.
- Serve with chopped basil, cheese of choice, seasoned breadcrumbs, or chopped and toasted walnuts (or all of the above, whatever you’d like to garnish with).
Psilocybin Corner
Our July meeting was pretty short. Just a few updates and calls for participation. If creating a future where natural fungi substances are legally available is important to you, please do get involved. We need media / marketing people, and an entire new board for our 501c3. Watch the meeting here:
As always visit www.nymha.com for more information
Informing people outside of the psychedelic sphere that change is coming; how we got here; why it is necessary that people get access, isn’t an easy task, but we are making headway.
Avery had his first article published in the Mycophile quarterly magazine “A Brief Exploration of Psilocybin-Containing Mushrooms from the 1950’s to Today.”
Click the following link for the entire magazine. Avery’s article starts on page 50.
Visit https://namyco.org/ for more information about the North American Mycological Association.
Avery has a second article coming out in The Natural Farmer ( https://www.thenaturalfarmer.org/ ) detailing his transition from culinary mushroom farmer to psilocybin advocate. It will be published in the fall 2024 mushroom focused issue. This newsletter is distributed to the Northeast Organic Farmers Association.
Avery gave a talk at the Mushroom Festival For the Love of Fungi in Ashokan on the State of Psilocybin Advocacy in New York.
Join our next meeting on Tuesday, August 13th! (at 333 2nd ave, or zoom link below)
COMING SOON:
Identifying Mushrooms in the Wild Thursday, August 1st. 6:30 – 8pm Clifton Park Halfmoon Library. 475 Moe Rd, Clifton Park, NY 12065
https://events.cphlibrary.org/event/10934364
Growing Mushrooms at Home Tuesday, August 6th. 6pm – 8pm Bethlehem Library. 451 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054. We’ll be going over 5 different methods for growing at home.
https://bethlehem.librarycalendar.com/event/collar-city-mushrooms-adults-24018
Metal Amongst the Mushrooms Saturday, August 10th doors at 3. Music 4 – 7:30pm. Featuring Schenectavoids, Life Abuse, Chem Trails, and Horse Grave. BYOB $10 suggested donation.
New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, August 13th 7pm – 8:30pm. We’ll be talking about next steps and how we can push to make access to psilocybin happen for New Yorkers. Join remotely via zoom here:
Mushroom Book Club Thursday, August 15th 7pm – 8:30pm. We’ll be reading the second half of Mystical Mushrooms … If you are interested in joining our group, send an email. Space is limited. No Drop-ins!
Adirondack Mushroom Mania 2024 Saturday August 24th As part of the mania, we will be curating a mushroom dining experience in collaboration with Chef David Stein on Friday, August 23rd!
For tickets to this fundraising dinner ($140 for members / $160 for non members) visit the ADKX.org website to register
It will surely be a delicious evening:
5 Course Menu includes:
- Starter: Chilled Display of Raw, Grilled, Marinated, Smoked and Roasted Vegetables and Mushrooms with Several Savory Dips
- Appetizer: Smoked King Oyster and Portabella Carpaccio Salad of Roasted Shiitake, Morel and Chestnut Mushrooms with Baby Arugula, Roast Garlic EVOO and Porcini Balsamic
- Soup: Porcini Infused Summer Bounty Gazpacho with Lions Mane Croutons
- Entrée: Tingly/Numb Szechuan Peppercorn Duck Breast Tea Smoked and Seared with Citrus and Chantarelle Velouté. Baby Bock Choy and Jasmine/Scallion/Shiitake Rice Cake
- Or Vegan Entrée (by pre-request at time of registration only): Lebanese Style Cabbage Stuffed with Za’atar Seared Mixed Mushrooms and Brown Rice with Red Lentils, Sumac Onions and Tomatoes Garlic and Lemon Dressed Braised Greens
- Dessert: Chocolate/Chaga Tart with Candy Cap Infused Coconut CrèmeWine or beer pairings with each course
Dinner on the Farm Featuring Chef Kate Ray, Saturday, September 7th, 5:30 – 8:30pm. More details coming soon. This will be the final Dinner on the Farm until we expand into the 2nd floor of 333. Buy tickets directly from our farm store or through eventbrite with a fee (sales start 8/8 on eventbrite)
Music and Creativity Collaboration featuring Artist Rebecca Santosuosso and Psytrance DJ Songsten Saturday, September 14th. 5:30 – 8:30+ (NOTE: DATE CHANGE- this will be our final Art event). Food provided by Pretty Pig Provisions.
Rebecca Giel Santosuosso is an abstract artist working out of Troy, NY with a BFA from the College of Saint Rose, a BA in Psychology from SUNY Albany as well as a pending Master’s in the same subject. She works in mental health, feeding concepts from her clinical work back into her art through themes of identity, divinity, and social justice. You can find more of her work at rebeccagiel.com
DJ Songsten: Old World Old School Old Style. “I like to travel like Doctor Who with all these worlds in my hard drive…”
Collar City Mushrooms 