Oyster Mushroom Meets Grill

Written by Mary Ellen

 

Three Oyster Mushroom Wrap with the works!

Here in Northeast Wisconsin a party ain’t a party unless you have “three meats.”  Usually that means pork, chicken and beef (there are no such expectations about any vegetables) so here at F&FP we sure would like to see Oyster mushrooms  take at least one of those spots.  

A no-fuss  ‘Three Oyster Mushroom Wrap” makes a fast and delicious meal. No need to worry about marinades or BBQ sauce, plus how about those vegetarians in the crowd? This wrap will satisfy everyone, even mushroom haters. We guarantee it!  

 

Rachel reveals the three types of Oyster mushrooms (Pink, Golden, and Grey Dove) that will serve as the filling for her birthday party wraps.

All you need is a grill pan (this is one of those pans riddled with holes that will give the food a nice smoky flavor). Ingredients…a mess of Oyster mushrooms and optionally an assortment of chopped vegetables. Use what is lurking in your vegetable crisper if you don’t have an ethnic direction with this dish.  

Method: Get the grill heating. Take your Oyster mushrooms and trim away any straw or bits of wood. From the base of the stem, rip the Oyster mushroom upward until you have a pile of thickly shredded of mushrooms. They cook down fast so you can rip the mushroom into quarters or even leave them whole if they are small.  

Chop a sweet or red onion into chunks. Chop any other vegetables. We like zucchini and sweet peppers. Get a large bowl and toss everything together. Drizzle some vegetable oil on top and toss it all together with your hands until everything is lightly coated with oil. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt.  

The Oyster mushrooms have been torn into pieces, and the veggies are all cut up, now it's time to grill.

Now have fun with the seasonings!  If you are having a Mexican style wrap, sprinkle with cumin and smoked chipotle chili or smoked paprika. Indian wrap? Cumin and coriander or a zillion other spice combos. New artisanal tortillas inspire a dozen  filling themes, and before you know it you will be adding pineapple, or pears and gorgonzola…maybe even BBQ sauce! Toss until everything is evenly coated. 

Now, slide everything into your grill pan and casually stir fry with a spatula until done (depending if you like crispy or soft) and take advantage of the waning grill heat and warm up your tortillas. Heap on to a serving platter and surround it with condiments: sour cream, cheese, lettuce, salsa, chutney; whatever you have on hand that fits the theme.  

This dish takes less than 30 minutes to assemble from kitchen to table (not including heating up grill; if you live in Northeast Wisconsin sometimes that means heating it with firewood). It is really and truly one of our favorite summer dishes.  If you try it, let us know if you have a favorite flavor combo. Thanks!

Quail poultry Farming in Kenya

Make Ksh 25,500 per month from 200 quail’s only

Quail Returns are quite impressive at a price of Ksh10 per egg.

Here are the technical facts about the quail agribusiness

135 eggs produced per by 200 birds day sold @ Ksh 10=ksh1,350
200 quails eat 5kgs feed daily @ Ksh 60=ksh300
Labor for attending the birds daily @ ksh ksh200
Net income per day from 200 quails @ Ksh ksh850
Net monthly income from 200 quails @Ksh 25,500

Quail poultry are short birds, very rich in protein weighing about 500gms.Their fertilized eggs have  high demand among farmers and health conscious Kenyans selling at good prices. The eggs take about 17 days to hatch and two weeks in the brooder. This means the egg incubates for 16 - 17 days.Quails poultry are short cycle birds because they mature early and start laying eggs in the sixth weeks. So, if you have an egg today, you will need about eight weeks for the egg to begin giving you an egg per day. No other commercial birds performs this well. A lighting system is very important and can be improvised as a way of also keeping the room warm. The chicks requires some warmth just as is the case of chicken. The birds require feeds amounting to at least 20-25 grams of feed per bird per day.

 

Old parent stock of quail poultry can be revitalized for weight gain by shortening the light exposure they get per day from 17 hours to 8 hours after which they can be slaughtered for meat. The broiler quail poultry stores very limited fats making it a protein source for weight-sensitive and health conscious people. Layers  birds can be reared commercially up to18months. If the birds are reared for meat it will reach slaughter age at  six to eight weeks depending on the feeding regime the farmer puts the birds on. Quails poultry do not need immunization like the hens given their strong natural immune system which reduces the cost of production.
 
Read also-http://yagrein.blogspot.com/2013/11/dairy-farming-in-kenya-has-become.htr

POULTRY FARMING e-MANUAL ( COVERS BROILERS, LAYERS, IMPROVED KIENYEJI AND INCUBATION

We sell the above detailed farming e-manual. We shall email the manual to you after payment thro’ Mpesa. The contents includes:

Poultry Farming systems in Kenya

Poultry housing

Broilers poultry Farming

Poultry market trends

Broiler business returns

Rearing day old chicks

Broiler performance indicators

Poultry vaccination programme

Poultry equipments

Space requirements for different ages

Improved Kienyeji poultry production

Hybrid layers production

Eggs care and storage
Incubation management
poultry diseases and control

Email yagrein@gmail.com for more information.

Our Products and Services 

We offer the following products and services at affordable fees.

1. Agribusiness plans preparation
2. Agribusiness information e-manuals

AGRIBUSINESS PLANS PREPARATION

An Agribusiness Plan is the road-map to success in any farming business. An Agribusiness Plan preparation is therefore crucial for success of any farming business. This is the document which will support your agribusiness to grow, seek funding from financial institutions and/or donors, and monitor performance over a period of time for continuous improvement. Agribusiness plan is a management tool which will help you to avoid expensive mistakes in your farming business. FAILURE TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL. MAKE SURE YOU PREPARE AN AGRIBUSINESS PLAN BEFORE STARTING YOUR FARMING BUSINESS.The second important milestone is to get the right technical information.
 

AGRIBUSINESS INFORMATION E-MANUALS

a)       Watermelon farming e-manual 

b)       Dairy Farming e-manual

c)       Passion fruit farming e-manual

d)      Strawberry farming e-manual

g)      Tomatoes farming e-manual

h)      Capsicum farming e-manual

i)       Greenhouse farming e-manual

j)       Oyster mushroom Farming e-manual

k)      Tissue culture Bananas farming e-manual

l)       Upland arrowroot, Cassava, Sweet potatoes and yams e-manual

m)    Poultry Broilers, layers and improved indigenous/ Kienyeji e-manual

n)    Value addition and Agro-processing e-manual:The e-manual contains Manufacture of Fruit juices, yogurt, Fruit Jam, Small scale ice-cream making ,Tomato sauce processing, bread baking & cakes baking, cake decoration, vegetable solar drying,  Banana crisps and flour processing, cassava fermenting and flour processing, Soya milk and peanut butter processing.    

Email yagrein@gmail.com for more information

The Italian Love Affair
Written by Mary Ellen

The Italian Oyster is a delight in both the kitchen and the grow room.

What is the big whoop about Italy and food? Forget the Gelato. The whoop is really all about the Italian Oyster Mushroom. Forget also that the name probably has nothing to do with Italy (besides the name). This is a big complex of Oyster mushrooms with a very wide geographical range. What we do know is that they are a wonderful species of Pleurotus; they are beautiful, tender, creamy brown and white, succulent and the closest culinary match to the glorious King Oyster, and they are a lot easier to grow. Known to mycologists as Pleurotus pulmonarius, the Italian Oyster (Indian Oyster, Chocolate Oyster or Phoenix Oyster, etc.) may have lots of variations within its group, but all share some characteristics that are important to both cultivators and cooks.

In my case, I have been grateful for the forgiving nature of the Italian Oyster, which we grow indoors on pasteurized straw, all winter long. This species seems less sensitive to the effects of light on fruitbody formation, and at the 45th parallel, although we need supplemental light, we don’t always arrange for it. Perhaps it is just not as noticeable because of the shape: short thick stem and spatula or lung shaped caps (hence the species name pulmonarius)* and much less inclined to become overly cupped, clustered and long stemmed as the Tree Oyster group. While it is considered a warm weather Oyster (compared to the P. ostreatus group such as Grey Dove, Blue Dolphin and Polar White strains), it also handles a 58 degree (F) fruiting room just fine.
 

Italian Oyster fruiting from a straw bag in the grow room at F&FP.

While first crops of the Italian are robust and large capped, subsequent flushes are smaller and can be harvested very young as “Petite Italiana.” A handful of these sweet Petites are tender, juicy and pure delight to use in the kitchen. Even a small grow room can house a few bags of these Oysters, which will produce many months worth of special meals.

One of my favorite ways to use these mushrooms is to braise them; split each in half or in quarters and then caramelize one side in butter, letting them braise in the released juices with a dash of fresh lemon juice or white wine. I treated myself to such a dish the other day in celebration of more snow and the promise of a long, slow spring, nourishment for our thirsty soil following last year's drought. 

Braised Petite Italiana with Snow Peas

Braised Petite Italiana with Snow Peas sets the mood for spring.

 

 
Ingredients:
1 pkg. snow peas, rinsed and unstrung (6 oz.)
4 oz. small Italian Oysters, including stems, split in half (start the split from cap side)
2 tsp. butter
1 T. fresh Lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. oil

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tsp butter and add torn caps, Let the pan side caps sizzle for about 2 minutes until they become caramely brown. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt and fresh pepper, stir and put the lid on. A minute or so later, add 1 T of lemon juice, replace lid and cook until tender. 

Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Add 1 tsp oil and add the snow peas, stir frying briefly until tender. Plate the peas and top with a liberal scoop of mushrooms. Happy Spring!


*Kuo, M. (2009, April). Pleurotus pulmonarius: The summer oyster. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com website: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotus_pulmonarius.html