Dancing Mushrooms in Your Backyard?

aka Hen of the Woods or maitake mushrooms (Grifola frondosa) are popping up because of all the damp weather we’ve been having in the Northeast. Look for them under oak trees and be thankful that all the rain has allowed these treasures to flourish!

Maitake mushrooms, like shitakes and reishi are tumor inhibitive. Yup!

And they....

·Help to reduce blood pressure and LDL cholesterol.

· Support glucose metabolism

· Contain vitamin B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin) potassium and copper

· Boost immune function

You can harvest them by gently cutting the mushroom mound, leaving the stem and muddier bottom part in place.

Soak the mushroom in a basin filled with salt water. Two worms and a snail emerged from mine, and I took them back outside. I froze most of mine for future use, by cutting it up into sections, and freezing it first on a cookie sheet so that the pieces won’t stick together. Then I transferred the frozen mushroom pieces to a Ziplock bag.

If you have a dehydrator, you can dehydrate the mushrooms and store them in an air-tight container or bag.

Sauté them with other vegetables or use them in soups and stews. YUM!