On one of my recent walks with my husband, I noticed some unusual mushrooms. I started snapping photos of them to share on my blog. Of course, my husband thinks I am out of my mind because I take photos of everything! Sigh!

Well, if you are a blogger, you probably do the same thing. You will understand the reasoning behind this craziness. For those who don’t blog, the reason is – it is cheaper and safer to use your own photos rather than purchase them online or take them from a “free” site which turns out to be NOT FREE!

So here are my own photos which I copyright for my own use. See if you can identify each one of these fungi.

These last two mushroom above were from my yard between two Rose of Sharon bushes. They are bulbous, large and look mushy. I didn’t want to touch them for that reason. Yuck!

I don’t know much about mushrooms. All I know is there are many varieties of fungi.

Here is what I found on Wikipedia.

A mushroom, or toadstool, is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its foodsource.

The standard for the name “mushroom” is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word “mushroom” is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. “Mushroom” also describes a variety of other gilled fungi

Medicinal properties

Some mushrooms are used or studied as possible treatments for diseases, particularly their extracts, including polysaccharides, glycoproteins and proteoglycans.^[39] In some countries, extracts of polysaccharide-K, schizophyllan, polysaccharide peptide, or lentinan are government-registered adjuvant cancer therapies,^[40][41] even though clinical evidence of efficacy in humans has not been confirmed.^[42]Historically in traditional Chinese medicine, mushrooms are believed to have medicinal value,^[43]although there is no evidence for such uses.

Other uses

Mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers. The chromophores of mushroom dyesare organic compounds and produce strong and vivid colors, and all colors of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the invention of synthetic dyes, mushrooms were the source of many textile dyes.^[44]Some fungi, types of polypores loosely called mushrooms, have been used as fire starters (known as tinder fungi).

Mushrooms and other fungi play a role in the development of new biological remediation techniques (e.g., using mycorrhizae to spur plant growth) and filtration technologies (e.g. using fungi to lower bacterial levels in contaminated water).^[45]If you would like to know more about fungi, please go online to Wikipedia or other sources. They have many purposes and have been around longer than us.

Please do not pick mushrooms for consumption unless you know they are edible. There are some fungi that are poisonous. I play it safe and buy all my mushrooms from the supermarket. I love all kinds of mushrooms but usually eat button or white and portobello. I like to stuff my portobello (large) with an easy, delicious stuffing.

Here is my recipe: STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

4 large portobello mushrooms (Separate stems from mushrooms and chop)

20 – 25 Ritz crackers whole wheat

4 – 6 TBS butter

1/4 C finely chopped onion

garlic powder (few dashes or more)

dash or two of crushed red pepper (more if you like spicy)

1/4 C chopped crabmeat (frozen imitation) or fresh real crabmeat

1/4 C water

1. Saute chopped onion and chopped stems in butter until translucent

2. Add frozen chopped crabmeat, sauté until defrosted

3. Add seasonings to crab and onions while sautéing, and combine well.

4. Take off of heat and set aside.

5. Crush crackers in medium bowl.

6. Add crab mixture to crackers and add a little water at a time until desired thickness is reached.

7. If the mixture is still dry add a little more water and melted butter and combine well. If it is too mushy add more crackers.

8. Using a tablespoon fill cleaned mushroom caps with mixture.

9. Bake covered in foil in 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Last five minutes take off foil and allow stuffing to lightly brown.

Enjoy! I hope you get to try these stuffed mushrooms. I made up the recipe and each time I bring them to someone’s house I am asked for the recipe. Please share your thoughts, if you like them or not.

Thank you for stopping by to read about this post. Please come back again. You never know what I am going to write about next.

I wish I had a mushroom book to share with you but, alas, I haven’t written one. But please check out my middle-grade books, Abby & Holly, and Davey & Derek, for fun ghost stories, magic, mysteries and adventures that your children will love just in time for Halloween!

All my books are available on http://Jemsbooks.com or by clicking the covers on the right of this post.

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Blessings & Hugs,

Janice