Shiitake Mushrooms!
Shitake mushrooms taste good in almost anything.
Like the rest of the produce, make sure you rinse your mushrooms. The stems can be tough, but they add awesome flavor to your stock. You can add these mushrooms to most dishes, one comment was not to baked ham. You can even dry the mushrooms and store them in a glass container for later use.
The Chinese were the first to cultivate these mushrooms. Japanese scientists developed a method of inserting pencil-shaped plugs of mycelial spawn grown from specially selected varieties of Lentinus edodes (Shiitake) into holes bored in oak logs. Extracts have been used in treating cancer, and claims have been made that they reduce cholesterol, prolong life, kill viruses, and improve circulation.
Broccoli and Everything Salad
Ingredients
3 cups raw broccoli, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1⁄2 c raisins
1⁄4 c onion, chopped
1 c cooked ham, chicken or turkey
1⁄4 c light mayonnaise
1⁄2 c plain, nonfat yogurt
1 T sugar
1 tsp vinegar
Directions
Wash and prepare vegetables.
In a large bowl mix together broccoli, carrot, celery, raisins, onion, and meat.
Mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, sugar, and vinegar in a separate bowl.
Add mayonnaise mixture to salad and mix well.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Notes
Try adding apples or jicama.
You can use dried cranberries instead of raisins.
This salad can be prepared the day before and stored in the refrigerator.
Heat Proofing Your Garden
Dog days of summer have arrived. Here are some tips to protect your garden and even your heat loving plants.
Water early- Well watered soil will stay cooler than dry soil. Mulching with straw, organic matter (ex. leaves), or unprinted cardboard will help retain moisture and lower temperature.
Sufficient Nutrients-Plants that have received the proper amount of nutrients tolerate hot weather better and recover from wilt injury faster than plants grown in poor soil.
Protecting Tender Root Seedlings- Brassicas are best planted along a shade barrier or in the shade of other taller vegetables to protect them from the direct hot sun, especially from the hot afternoon sun. A good investment if you want to grow lettuce and other leafy greens all through the summer is a shade cloth. Place a windbreak in front of the seedlings to protect them from the prevailing hot wind.
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