Air Date: Week of August 15, 2025

The inoculated log behind Jenni’s compost bin. (Photo: Jenni Doering)

A year after inoculating a log with shiitake mushroom spawn and reporting about it on Living on Earth, Producers Aynsley O’Neill and Jenni Doering harvested and cooked up the first crop. Jenni Doering walks Host Steve Curwood through moments from the mushroom cooking adventure, which didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned.

Transcript

CURWOOD: Well, one great way to ensure you’re not getting a side of pesticides with your food is to grow it yourself. You can even grow your own organic mushrooms right in your backyard.
And Living on Earth Producer Jenni Doering joined me soon after she and Producer Aynsley O’Neill harvested the first crop of shiitake mushrooms from Jenni’s backyard. There were a few bumps along the way, she said…

DOERING: Well, we did successfully grow and harvest some mushrooms…

CURWOOD: Uh, wait a second, you don’t sound exactly certain here, Jenni.

DOERING: Well, okay, it all started out fine. I invited Aynsley over when I first noticed that they had sprouted up…

[OUTDOOR AMBI]

DOERING: So, it's back here behind my black plastic compost bin. Look at that.

O'NEILL: Whoa. Okay, those are, those are really big. I didn't realize they were that big.

DOERING: Yeah. I mean, like five inches across, maybe?

O'NEILL: Yeah like, like the palm of your hand.

CURWOOD: Uh, Jenni, if I’m seeing a shiitake mushroom in a grocery store, I don’t think it’s usually grown to that size.

DOERING: Yeah, there’s a chance we left it a little too long. I didn’t notice them until they were already that big, and they also were looking a little bit dried out…

[OUTDOOR AMBI]

DOERING: Now, some of this has a little bit of, like, brown on the gills. I think that might mean they're starting to get older, but we can still try these. I think we can still cook them up.

O'NEILL: Yeah, and I think we should, you know, definitely make sure to identify the mushrooms before we eat them anyway, just in case.

DOERING: Yeah, yeah, something else. Yeah, you know, like, you don't want, like, a death cap growing on this log, yeah. And then you, you're like, oh, dinner!

O'NEILL: Yeah, we'll head in and do some research.

CURWOOD: Right, well of course, you really have to be careful with identification when foraging mushrooms out and about, but I suppose you’d still want to be cautious with this backyard crop. I mean, these should be shiitakes, but—but what if something else snuck into that log?

DOERING: Right, that’s the thought that snuck into my mind, I mean, a backyard isn’t a sterile environment. We gave those shiitakes a head start so they likely would have outcompeted anything else, but it’s always good to check, especially if you’re going to be cooking them up like we were!

CURWOOD: And, Jenni, what were your culinary plans here? I mean, there are a lot of different ways to prepare mushrooms, what were you thinking?

DOERING: Well, we didn’t want to complicate the flavor too much, so we stuck with a very simple recipe.

[KITCHEN AMBI]

DOERING: So, I think we can cook them up with some onion, green onion, salt, and pepper, and see how they taste.

O’NEILL: Delish! Let’s go!

DOERING: I'll do some chopping over here. So, bite sized pieces for the mushrooms, we're gonna dice the onion, add them to a pan with a little bit of oil, and sauté. Okay.

[CHOPPING SFX]

O'NEILL: Our ratios might be a little off. That's fine.

DOERING: Yeah.

O’NEILL: Onion, scallion, mushrooms, it's all tasty. So, you know. And part of our goal is to have the taste of the mushrooms shine through I think, so…

[SIZZLING SOUNDS]

CURWOOD: Mm mm, that does sound tasty.

DOERING: Oh yeah, there was just one problem though…

[KITCHEN AMBI]

[SAUTEEING SFX]

DOERING: Wait, were we supposed to, like, double-check and research these?

[SAUTEEING SFX]

CURWOOD: Oh, Jenni, say it ain’t so!

DOERING: That’s right, Steve, we got so distracted by cooking that we almost forgot to finish our research!

CURWOOD: That could have been real trouble…

DOERING: Yes, well, luckily, there aren’t too many poisonous mushrooms that look like shiitakes. But we weren’t taking any chances!

CURWOOD: Okay, Detective Jenni. How did you do your sleuthing?

DOERING: So, we tried a few different avenues. First, we reached out to the customer service desk for the company where I got the starter kit.

[ROOM AMBI]

DOERING: All right, so Tony Lee from North Spore got back to me and said, I'm happy to help with the identification. So, they said, “can you provide pictures of the topside, underside, and habitat?”

O'NEILL: Oh, we have all of those.

DOERING: We've got all of that. So, I'm attaching these.

O'NEILL: I love picturing somebody sitting at their desk with a headset on with a big book of mycology next to them, ready to identify at any given moment.

DOERING: All right, moment of truth. Thanks for the inquiry. Based on the information provided, it looks like you have some shiitakes. With photos alone, though I can't provide 100% certainty, it's important for you to consult other credible sources…

CURWOOD: Hmm. That only sounds a little reassuring.

DOERING: Right, so after that, we did some online research on some mushroom identification sites, and we sent pictures to some amateur mycologist friends. And I’m happy to report that everyone came to the same conclusion!

[ROOM AMBI]

DOERING: So, a couple of people confirmed they do look like shitakes. So, what do you think? Do you feel safe trying these, Aynsley?

O’NEILL: Let's give them a go!

DOERING: Let's give them a go. So, I'm tasting this for the first time. Want to see if the seasoning is right. So, here we go.

O'NEILL: Hmm. It smells really good, is what I'll say.

DOERING: Yeah, that's nice. It's earthy, nice. I think I'm just gonna add a little more seasoning.

[PEPPER MILL SFX]

O'NEILL: A pinch more salt.

DOERING: Okay.

O'NEILL: Let's dish it up.

DOERING: Yeah, so a little bit of scallion.

O'NEILL: Delicious. Fresh scallions, too. From the garden.

DOERING: Yes, straight from the garden. Bon appétit.

O'NEILL: Cheers

DOERING: Cheers

[CLINK SFX]

O'NEILL: Oh, that's good.

DOERING: Mm, hmm, this would be really good in a stir fry, or, like, in ramen.

O'NEILL: Oh, Yes!

DOERING: I could also use the rest in some pasta, like—

O'NEILL: For sure

DOERING: —Parmesan and some butter, you know, something simple.

O'NEILL: Or, you know, hibachi or barbecue, you know, some sort of grilling, things like that, super good, yum. Really nice, really cool. I mean, you're already a gardener, so you grow your own stuff all the time, but first crop of mushrooms. How's that?

DOERING: Yeah, this is exciting. This is, this is a step up, I guess, but it's also, it really wasn't that hard. There was just some setup. There was some drilling, and—I let that log sit there for a year, you know, like, it just hung out behind the compost.

O'NEILL: Yeah, you really set it and forget it, the way they say, you know.

DOERING: And we should be getting some more of these throughout the next few years. So, lots to look forward to.

O'NEILL: You'll have to bring some into the office.

DOERING: I think I will.

CURWOOD: I am in full agreement and glad you are still healthy. So, please bring some in for the whole crew to try next harvest!

DOERING: Copy that, Steve!

CURWOOD: That’s Living on Earth’s Jenni Doering, reporting on her mushroom adventures with LoE's Aynsley O’Neill.

 

Links

Listen to LOE’s previous coverage of a backyard mushroom kit here

Learn more about the process of growing mushrooms on a log