Hi Everyone!  More wild mushrooms in Belize and we haven’t even stepped outside our farm!  I have called these mushrooms “Chinese” because they are eaten mostly in Asian cuisine and they are commercially cultivated for this reason.  The wonderful thing is that I can harvest them fresh in my own backyard rather than buying the dehydrated form from China via container transportation to the little known country of Belize.
This one is known as “snow ear” or “silver ear” fungus in Chinese.  Yes, even I know this one because it is so popular in Asian cookery.  If you ever find yourself in a Chinese household, you will be sure to find a packet of this dehydrated fungus secreted in their food cupboard.  It is usually used in soups (pork soup in my household).  Wiki states that it is cooked in sweet dishes…I have never heard of it being cooked in this way.
Tremella fuciformis growing on a dead branch on our farm; it is slowly getting bigger day by day:

You can buy this mushroom in the dehydrated form in Asian supermarkets.  It looks like this:

The next one is another very popular Chinese fungus called “wood ear.”  This is another “must have” in the Asian kitchen cupboard.  Again, this one is used in soups and stews.  Both the snow ear and the wood ear fungi have the texture and bite of soft and succulent ligamentous tissue…again, you have to be Asian to appreciate this. This is why we like eating them (Gnome likes them too…that’s because he is a wannabee Chinese).  Auricularia auricula fungus growing wild on our farm:

Shop-bought dehydrated form of wood ear mushroom:

There is a spelling error on this packet: “Dride Black Fungus.”  Gnome figured that it was a Scottish-Chinese who made the spelling mistake.  Ha-Ha!!

And, of course, there is the paddy straw mushroom, which I have mentioned in previous posts, which preferentially grows on cacao trash (which we get from the Chocolate Factory in Toledo for manure). These are the egg-shaped mushrooms that you get in Chinese food and stir frys.
Volvariella volvacea on our farm:

You can buy these mushrooms canned in Asian Supermarkets.  But guess what…we have fresh ones to eat…yeah!

What an auspicious three-some to find on our farm. Such delectable wild treats…who needs a restaurant when we have the best food right here at home.  Whenever I mention going out to eat, Gnome laments and says: Wah!! Our Food is fresh fresh fresh…what more do you want?  Why waste money eating bad food outside?

Sometimes he sounds just like my mum!  And so we feast a plenty at home…

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