Thursday, October 21, 2010

Bursting at the Seams

Huh!? What can be bursting at the seams? No, no, no.....Mommy is not talking about human flesh (or rather fat!) growing sideways!! ^_^


It's the oyster mushrooms again, but this time are white ones instead of grey! They seems to be bursting at the seams this time and not growing out from the proper channel! (Hahaha....but that's only on one 'bottle' and not the others!). The seams turn out to be a small tear at the plastic wrapper of the oyster mushroom's growth medium. And the small tear was caused by it being the folding point of the plastic bag. So the mushrooms choose to 'burst' out from there.



This photo was captured at 6.24 am - just before Mommy left for work.




Then about 13 to 14 hours later (at 8.05 pm), the white oyster mushrooms have grown this big! Woo-hoo!




Before harvesting, Mommy called Juan Or to come and 'enjoy' the mushrooms fresh as it was, first by smelling the mushroomy smell - .......


inhale.....






...and exhale - ....






......then by touching and feeling them!





But hey, not too rough, ya? Mommy doesn't to see the mushroom's 'umbrella' tear apart!





Go ahead, Juan Or, tell the mushrooms to grow some more so that you can eat them up, ya? ^_^






Here's Mommy's take of the mushrooms:

view from the top....





...view from the side....






....and view as a whole.







Now, here's the harvest!






P/S: Slurrp, slurrp, slurrp, Mommy can't wait to cook the mushrooms together with tom yam prawns this weekend! ^_^

26 comments:

Alice Law said...

Wow~!! It looks more beautiful when it was sprouted from the proper channel, it seems like a different species spores has mixed into it! It's lovely~!

Have a great day!
p/s: Not afraid of Juan Or inhaled the spores? As both Juan Juan and Xuan have hypersensitive nose that I dare not allow them to get close to pollen nor spores. It's great that Juan Or doesn't inherit the sensitive nose!:)

Alice Law said...

Oh yes, btw, forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday! A happy belated Lunar Birthday to you, wishing you a wonderful gregorian birthday(which is arriving soon), and blissful motherhood!

Didn't realize time has past until this morning checked with the lunar calendar!

Hayley said...

Wah, I never thought mushrooms can grow this way.. Look pretty interesting but growing them in bathroom?? =_="

yvonne said...

Wow... I've never seen 'live' edible mushroom before. I only get to see packaged mushroom from markets. Hahaha! Basically I love all type of mushrooms :)

Btw, am giving you advance "happy birthday" first.

Alice Phua said...

Alice Law, these are the white type. That time one when I last blogged about growing oyster mushrooms was the grey type. My colleague told me that the newer batch of growth medium that she gave me is the white type. About the spores....actually in the previous batch of mushrooms, I have tried shaking them on my palm just to see if there are any spores or not. Apparently I don't see nor feel any spores on my palm, that's why I'm not so concerned about him or myself smelling them. So far so good, no reactions from the nose - both him and me. :-D

Alice Phua said...

Alice Law, thanks for the birthday and motherhood greetings! Sure time flies unnoticed expecially when one is occupied with things. :-D

Hayley, LOL, so now you see it. Well, no choice have to put them in the bathroom becos that's the dampest and most shaded place in my house. As for doing 'bathroom business' I keep that to the other bathrooms whenever possible.

Yvonne, I'm a mushroom lover too! So nnow you get to see it virtually! Thanks for the advanced birthday greeting! :-D

Broccoli Ginger said...

Wow! So beautiful! :) Looks so yummy too! Wish I know how to plant this.. hehe.. mushroom lover too. you may want to try abalone mushroom next time.

Yannie said...

Oh my! I also first time seeing this, so huge and so fresh, cook it and let me know how it tastes. Happy Birthday to you in advance too.

smallkucing said...

i wanna go tumpang makan at you house la

Unknown said...

When i read about this in your few posts ago, i thought you were joking, now looking at it,,, i know it is true,,,,

ChloeRuoyi said...

Beautiful! They are so white, clean and flawless. I'm sure your tomyam prawn is going to taste heavenly with these added in. Enjoy! :)

Adrine said...

I have never seen mushrooms grown like this b4. I'm so amazed! So huge too!

The mushroom smell must be really nice.

Oh, and looking at the comments above, Happy Early Birthday to you too! :)

Merryn said...

that's so nice :D i've never seen homegrown mushroom before :D

Lee said...

Hello Alice, wow! First time I read about such a hobby, growing mushrooms, and in the bathroom too.
You take great pics, love your boy's pics.
And the mushrooms look really beautiful, too good to eat, ha ha.
I too love mushrooms....
Can I come for the tom yam? Ha ha.
Have fun, Lee.

Alice Phua said...

Broccoli Ginger, hahahaha....don't be mistaken. Actually I don't really know how to plant this. In actual fact, I'm only providing a roof over the mushrooms, that's all. The actual hard work was all done by my colleague who gave me those mushroom 'bottles' which already has the growth medium that she has mixed. She's the mushroom expert, not me. :P You can read more about how this mushroom growing thing came about at http://juanorandmommy.blogspot.com/2010/10/growing-oyster-mushrooms.html

Haha....yes, one day must ask my colleague whether she has the breed for abalone mushroom or not. :-)

Alice Phua said...

Sheoh Yan, thanks for the early birthday greeting! :-D Ya, will let you know how it taste. :-D

Smallkucing, ok, then I'll have to go to the supermarket and buy some more to top up, otherwise pai-seh lah, not enough to makan.

Eugene, oh, yes, it's true! :-D No joke.

ChloeRuoyi, oh, yes, thanks! I'm really looking forward to it this weekend! :-D

Adrine, thank you for the early birthday greeting too! :-D Oh, yes, both Juan Or and myself love the mushroomy smell.

Merryn, thanks. Well, now you get to see it. :-D

Uncle Lee, LOL, no choice, when growing mushrooms at home, I have to put them in the downstairs bathroom because that's the only part of the house that has high humidity and is sufficiently shaded and airy. THanks for your compliments on the pics I take. Never have any formal photography training though, whichever angle I see nice, just click only....hehehe. Yes, I agree, when something is too beautiful to be eaten, it feels so 'sayang' to eat them, but no choice, still have to eat them anyway, becos if not, it's going to rot and look ugly instead! Sure, you can come for my tom yam, only thing is I'm afraid you have to pay for the air ticket flights yourself! :P

Alice Phua said...

Alice Law, I have asked my colleague about the mushroom spores and the possibility of inhaling them. He said if the mushroom is not dried and crinkled, i.e., it is still fresh, then the gills at the underside of the mushroom's 'umbrella' won't open up, so the spores are still trapped inside. But once the mushrooms are drying up, i.e., the 'umbrella' part looks crinkled, then yes, the gills will release the spores. So conclusion is as long as the mushroom is still fresh and 'wet', there is no risk in smelling the mushrooms. That explains why when I shaked them, I don't feel nor see any spores on my palm. Hope this info is useful to you. :-D

Alice Law said...

Noted with regards! have a wonderful weekend ya!

Alice Phua said...

Broccoli Ginger, my colleague says growing abalone mushroom is already in their future plans for their mushroom project.

mommy to chumsy said...

oh wow, they are lovely. Must be really easy to grow them :) can't wait to see what dishes you are going to cook.

mNhL said...

Wow.....nice mushroom. Nevermind, as long as they still grow and can harvest to cook. Wow...you are making me wanna eat tomyam.......so long did not eat already.

Aleksandra Nearing said...

OH my GOODNESS! Those are so neat!

Kiasu Mom said...

Wah.... didn't know you can do that!! Geng ah...

Alice Phua said...

Mommy to Chumsy, thanks. Yes, on the whole, it's easy to grow them - very little maintenance needed and no pest too! :D Hehehe....but the hardest part was all done by my colleague who prepared the growth medium mixture and innoculation. I merely provide a roof for the mushrooms, that's all! :P Actually the dish that I cooked this weekend using the white oyster mushrooms can be seen here: http://juanorandmommy.blogspot.com/2010/08/mommys-lucky-win.html

mNhL, thanks. Yup, as long as they still grow, I'll eat them! Heheheh! Go, go, satisfy your cravings! :-D

Busy Working Mama, thanks! The mushrooms that sprouted are actually the first batch from the 'bottle', that's why they look like a beautiful and neat bunch. But by the 6th or 7th batch, they won't look that neat and big anymore (according to what my colleague said who is the mushroom expert here). :-D

Kiasu Mom, paiseh...hehehe....actually the effort is not fully my effort alone. My colleague who is the mushroom expert, had mixed and packed the growth medium and then innoculate the medium with the mushroom's culture. So you see, she is the one who did most of the hard work. As for me, I merely provide a roof over the mushrooms, that's all! :P

Unknown said...

Aww... me mouth watering liao... big mushroom, yum yum!

Alice Phua said...

Cheeyee, hehehehe!