Grandchildren

This has been an exciting year for our family. Our daughter Erin was married on May 3rd. Keira Naomi Smith was born on May 31st. Austin Paul Lafferty was born on October 6th. Pop-Pop is Santa - oh so proud!
We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Bus Tours on Saturday, December 6th

On Friday, December 5th we received a phone call from a tour guide who would be bringing a group from Union, NJ to the Brandywine Valley to visit Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine River Museum on Saturday, December 6th. Can we bring a Coach Bus to town around 1 pm? Why not? I will call the police department to let them know so that parking spaces would be reserved. To my surprise the police department said we had another bus coming to town at 4 pm that same day. This bus group was from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton area. Both buses were coming to The Mushroom Cap - everyone wanted to visit the Mushroom Exhibit but most importantly several wanted to take fresh mushrooms back home with them. Everyone enjoyed their visit. The first group came from the Brandywine River Museum, left The Mushroom Cap and went to Longwood Gardens where they had plans to have lunch. The second group spent a little more time in town, also visiting the new Flickerwood Wine Tasting Room next door to The Mushroom Cap. They ended their day at Mendenhall Inn for dinner. Hopefully these tour guides will add Kennett Square to future itineraries. Why not visit small town America at it's best? Shop, Dine, Discover Kennett Square! There are several great restaurants in town who can accommodate large groups. Hope to see you soon!
One other note - I asked the tour guide from NJ how they heard about The Mushroom Cap? They picked up a Mushroom Cap rack card at the PA Visitor Center on Route 78!
Wow!

Happy Thanksgiving - A good day indeed.

Have you ever had roasted brussels sprouts with roasted sweet potatoes? I cut up two medium sized sweet potatoes, placed them in a metal baking pan, seasoned with salt and pepper and a little olive oil and roasted them for about 45 minutes at 350. I added brussels sprouts and allowed them to roast along with the potatoes for another 20 to 30 minutes. This dish was delicious and great with our slow cooker roasting chicken. Didn't want to cook a big turkey just for the two of us. Couldn't have a meal without mushrooms so we sauted shiitakes in olive oil and garlic.
After all said and done I just had to make one of my recipes for wedding soup. Nothing like having fresh chicken broth to start with. Add some celery, carrots and onion, fresh cooked chicken, left over brown rice, some frozen chopped spinach, salt, pepper and voila - wedding soup - just no meatballs! I may add them tomorrow! We will share with family over the weekend.

This was a day alone without family or friends. Last minute change of plans kept us from spending Thanksgiving in MI with our daughter and son-in-law. We miss them and will visit another time. Our day started off with breakfast at Creekside Diner in Kennett Square. Wow did they have a crowd! From there we went to The Mushroom Cap and decorated the outside of the store with garland and lights to get ready for the annual Holiday parade and tree lighting which will take place on Sunday this year. Scott Hammond from Half Moon was putting up fresh greens on the front of his building today too. He yelled that it might have been better to have the tree lighting tomorrow instead of Sunday because rain is expected. It was held on Black Friday evening in the past. Maybe the rain will delay the event to First Friday! Yes! Can you tell I'm in favor of having this event on Black Friday?

While in town we noticed Jeff Yetter and his two sons moving display pieces that I donated for use at The Flash - http://www.kennettflash.org/. What an exciting live performance venue this will be! Be sure to check it out in January - be there.

Work all done and off we went to see the grandchildren before they were off to visit and enjoy the holiday with their other grandparents! We had a good day! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Together for Education

This week the 4th grade classes from Mary D Lang visited The Mushroom Cap on a field trip as part of Together for Education, a non-profit organization that is a catalyst for community involvement in education. Together for Education seeks to strengthen the partnership among parents, educators, students and the community through quality program development and communication. This field trip was to enhance the 4th grade PA Industries unit.
The students watched a video about the mushroom industry. They were also able to look through a "mushroom shaped" peep hole to see a man picking mushrooms. They learned that mushrooms were first discovered in Egypt, that spawn came from France and England and that PA produces 63% of the nation's crop of cultivated mushrooms. How about the shiitake log, the maitake log and the oyster log? All mushrooms do not grow alike. The students were given recipes to take home. The class received fresh mushrooms and instructions on how to make spore prints and were given the book by Sue Yocum, Let's To to a Pennsylvania Mushroom Farm.
Thank you Mrs. Wagner, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Desjardien for bringing your students to The Mushroom Cap and we all thank Mrs. Jen Augustine, Executive Director of Together for Education for coordinating the trip.

Richmond, VA Bus Tour and more!

What a beautiful Saturday in Southern Chester County for a group of men and women to visit from Richmond, VA. The Mushroom Cap was on their agenda after leaving Winterthur Museum. They had been to Simon Pierce and will go to Longwood Gardens before leaving for home. Great group of people. Most took advantage of our offer of making a purchase of $10 to receive a free 1 pound bag of button mushrooms. Interesting to find that the most popular item purchased was our "mushroom brush". Great little item for cleaning your mushrooms. One visitor purchased our "pickled mushrooms" because our label shows a martini glass with one olive and one mushroom on a toothpick. I asked if she had ever had a mushroom in her martini - who would have ever thought? All left happy - those who did not wish to purchase took a little jaunt over to the Half Moon - uh oh - bus is leaving in 5 minutes - go tell the others. After a short 45 minute stay in Kennett Square they were off to their hotel for dinner. They were warned not to leave their mushrooms on the bus - didn't want them to freeze - especially if they wanted to have them for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Yesterday a few mushroom food gifts were purchased by those visiting family for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Portabella, shiitake and maitake mushrooms will be on someones table in NJ. Visitors were in Kennett Square picking up their horse at New Bolton Center. Interesting - they were in earlier in the week when they brought the horse to New Bolton and knew they had to stop back for fresh mushrooms!

Jenny is going to Canada this week to visit family. Jenny works at The Mushroom Cap and put together a great gift for her Aunt who she has not seen in a long time. Porcini flavored linguini, roasted portabella pasta sauce, mushroom shaped chocolates, italian mushroom dip mix and a few other mushroom related items.

How about our one pound bag of mixed mushrooms? I did forget to mention that two on the bus tour did purchase these. We offer a mix of shiitake, oyster, crimini and enoki mushrooms. This is a great mix for soup or a saute. As a matter of fact we will be taking a variety mushrooms to MI for our Thanksgiving feast. Also a must to take a 3 lb. box of maitake for our friends from Thailand who we will see in MI. They taught us that the maitake mushroom keeps the ying and the yang right in our bodies - great for our immune systems. Be sure to eat your maitake today!

Talula's Table - Oh how wonderful!

Pemaquid Oysters, Cinderalla Pumpkin and Duck Consomme, Handkerchief Pasta with Wild Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, Brussel Sprouts and Farmstead Parmesan, Wild Alaskan Halibut, Beef Short Rib "Chili" Tomato Fondue, Venison Tenderloin, Cocoa Roasted Beets, Honey Cap Mushrooms.........................................and the menu goes on! Yes, I was fortunate enough to experience the autumn tasting menu at Talula's Table with a group of friends on Thursday evening! A last minute cancellation, a phone call or two and voila we were there. Some of us first met at Flickerwood Wine Tasting Room at 116 W State Street to enjoy a glass of western PA wine. Everyone enjoyed - Did you know that you can have your dinner from Portabello's (across the street) delivered to this wine tasting room? Some have bought lunch at Talula's Table and walked down the street to this great new establishment. What a wonderful addition to Kennett Square! We now not only have BYOBs in town we have our own BYOF! Bring your own food!
Let's get back to dinner at Talula's - I will tell you that there were several items on the tasting menu that I had never had before. I enjoyed every last bite as did everyone in our party. Everyone would go back again to enjoy another season's tasting menu. The wait staff couldn't have been more accommodating. Bryan and Aimee served part of our meal. Knowing Bryan had just been on the Martha Stewart Show I asked him to tell us about that experience. If you saw the show his segment was longer than most. He and Martha got along well - Martha is Martha so you have to go along with the flow - it's her show. As a matter of fact Martha Stewart was scheduled to be at Talula's Table on Friday night a week ago but couldn't make it. Wonder when she will be there? Can I eat in the kitchen that night???? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!
Good food, good friends, great atmosphere - in downtown Kennett Square, PA, small town America at its best!

Flickerwood Wine Tasting and Sweet Christines Gluten Free Bakery

http://www.flickerwood.com/tasting_room.html
http://www.sweetchristinesglutenfree.com/bakery.html

Kennett Square welcomes two new businesses on West State Street. Flickerwood Wine Tasting Room and Sweet Christines Bakery had their ribbon cutting ceremonies last night just before our First Friday Art Stroll. These two shops are a wonderful additon to the downtown storescape.

The Mushroom Cap served Mushroom Chowder, Sweet Roasted Red Peppers and a Portabella and Sun-Dried Tomato tapenade with aged balsamic during the evening hours celebrating yet another First Friday Art Stroll. Tourists, friends and family were out and about enjoying downtown Kennett Square.

I prepared marinated white button mushrooms for Flickerwood's Grand Opening last night.

Recipe:
10 lbs. white button mushrooms (available at The Mushroom Cap @$2.75/lb.
1 bottle Garlic Expressions Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (available at The Mushroom Cap)

Wash mushrooms, cut off stems (you can save and make soup with)
Blanche mushrooms in water for 1 minute
Drain liquid and put mushrooms in glass bowl
Pour 1 bottle of Garlic Espression over mushrooms and refrigerate

Voila! Delicious Marinated Mushrooms!

Hope to see you soon!

Election Day

Interesting to have visitors from Mississippi on election day as well as from Bethesda, MD. Of course I had to ask if they had voted. All did before coming to Kennett Square! All were going to visit Longwood Gardens that day. We served Mushroom Chowder which all had a taste.

Our manequin's shirt reads: I already know more than the president

Just added a Mushroom Bag and Mushroom Playing Cards to our ebay store. Great gifts!

South Africa residents visit Kennett Square

What a surprise to find out that we had visitors from South Africa! They were so interesting to talk to. They were here visiting family but decided that the cost to come to America was so expensive that it wasn't worth coming for just 3 weeks. They decided to come for 3 months. They have seen more of the USA than I have and Canada too! What a great vacation. They did spend several weeks with their family. This does prove that we get people from all over the world who visit our "small town America" - any day of the week! It was nice to meet them!

Anyone for Mushroom Chowder?

The number one selling packaged food item at The Mushroom Cap is Mushroom Chowder with vegetable, pasta & rice. Now that the weather is cooler we offer a sample taste on the weekends. It is very easy to make but with the fresh mushrooms we add (sometimes shiitake, sometimes crimini, sometimes white button) one would believe it was made from scratch. We continue to get calls to have this product shipped - 6 to 8 packages at a time. Have you tasted it yet? Look for our coupon on our website - make a $10 purchase (in store only) and receive 1 lb. of fresh button mushrooms - perfect for the chowder! Yummy.

Red Hat Society visits The Mushroom Cap

A planned trip for the Red Hat Society from Bel Aire, MD for Friday, October 24, 2008 turned out to be a great experience for the six ladies who visited Kennett Square. After enjoying lunch at the Kennett Inn, having had mushroom soup, they walked down to The Mushroom Cap where they watched our 10 minute, informative industry video. They were surprised to see shiitake, oyster, maitake and pom-pom logs producing mushrooms in our exhibit area. Before leaving for Va La Winery the Red Hat Ladies purchased our fresh mushrooms to take back home. They were so excited to find fresh mushrooms like they have never seen before! We know they will be back for more since they found out that Kennett Square is only a 45 minute trip from home! Love those hats!

Getaway Guides

Visitors from Binghampton, NY today arrived in Kennett Square using their GPS directing them to The Mushroom Cap at 114 W State Street. They were using their Getaways for Gourmets In the Northeast by Nancy and Richard Woodworth, which they use time and time again. I was quite surprised to see The Mushroom Cap listed along with several other establishments in our area. I do remember the Woodworths visiting Kennett Square but there was no guarantee that The Mushroom Cap would be included. This guide was revised in 2006. You will be able to buy this guide at The Mushroom Cap in a day or two. You just take this book on vacation, take advantage of the research and enjoy! Thank you to the Woodworths!

Kennett Square Merchants

Has anyone seen the Kennett Square merchant billboard advertisement on Route 322? If you drive from the Philadelphia Airport via I 95 South and Route 322 toward West Chester to Route 1 South, you should see it loud and clear! Kennett Square has so many great retail establishments featuring a wide variety of goods. Visit our website: http://www.kennettsquaremerchants.com/ to see how we can best make your shopping experience and your dining experience memorable in Kennett Square,PA Mushroom Capital of the World!

We are gearing up for the Holiday season with food products. Today I was interviewed for the Signature Brandywine Magazine - a feature on food products for this years holiday gift giving. We offer six different marinated mushrooms with The Mushroom Cap label, a mushroom chowder with The Mushroom Cap label and several other food products. Our signature gift is a 3 lb. box of fresh mushrooms to include 2 portabellas and a mix of white, shiitake, oyster, crimini and enoki. The gift box includes recipes. This product was shipped all over the USA last year. The cost is $18.50 plus shipping! Another great item is our gift box that includes two of the marinated 12 oz. jars and the mushroom chowder. This product sells for $24.00. It can be purchased already wrapped. Have you tried our Portabella Sun-dried Tomato tapenade with aged balsamic. Um-Um-good!

Our shiitake log arrived today. I soaked it in water for about 5 hours. I then placed the log on a tray and then covered it with a plastic bag. The bag will keep the log moist. The log will have to be misted along the way. Shiitake happens in Kennett Square!

Hope to see you soon!

The Growing Tree - Kennett Square's Children's Consignment Shop Reopens

The Growing Tree, a children's consignment shop featuring gently used clothing from infant through size 8, shoes, books and some toys, has reopened. Located below The Mushroom Cap it has its own entrance (free parking) off Scarlet Alley in Kennett Square. Strollers welcome. The Growing Tree was established in 1984 in Landenberg, PA. Closing The Growing Tree for a time was necessary to make room for the Mushroom Exhibit in The Mushroom Cap where pieces from the original Phillips Mushroom Museum are displayed. Visit www.thegrowingtree.com for more information. Go Green, Shop Green, Save Green!

Be sure to watch Travel Channel (57) if visiting our area on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 6 pm to see the Half Moon Restaurant and Saloon featured in the 2nd half for the "Hamburger Paradise" segment.
Half-Moon Restaurant
Kennett Square, Pa.
If you are totally over the beef, try some kangaroo. At Half Moon, you can sample a hamburger from several different kinds of meat. Known for its game burgers, Half Moon has been steaming up meat from non-farm dwelling animals for over eight years. Choose from alligator, wild boar, buffalo, kangaroo and other wild meats, which are imported from farms around the world.

Hope to see you all soon! Weather is great today - finally feels like Fall!

Brandywine Valley Visitors from Alabama - October 18, 2008

Visitors from Alabama were in town yesterday. They arrived at Philadelphia Airport, rented a car and drove to Kennett Square arriving at 2 am with no place to stay - Did they really sleep in their car? As we say - Shiitake Happens in Kennett Square! It was all worth it after they visited Longwood Gardens and of course The Mushroom Cap.

How about the gentleman who called to ask for directions to Kennett Square - coming from the Chadds Ford area? "We are coming to The Mushroom Cap before we go to Longwood Gardens", he said. When he finally arrived he told us he thought the village of Hamorton was Kennett Square. Boy was he surprised when he arrived in town! Some just never drive beyond Longwood Gardens coming from the North. They just don't know what they are missing.

This week we are featuring locally prepared Roasted Red Peppers. We found a great recipe with portabellas, spinach, and eggs. Adding cheese is a must. Brunch anyone?

We've had several requests for pickled mushrooms to replace green olives in their martinis. We now have those pickled mushrooms. How about two martini glasses to go along with our 12 oz. jar of pickled mushrooms for a great gift?

Coming soon - a shiitake log. We are going to try our hand at growing shiitakes at The Mushroom Cap - one log at a time! Should be a great experience! How many shiitakes will we get? Can't wait to find out.

Portabella Fries

Forgot to mention that John at Portabello's (new restaurant in town across from The Mushroom Cap) has taken my suggestion to come up with Portabella Fries as an appetizer offering. This could end up becoming his signature dish! Wow are they good! The first time I had portabella fries was at The Mushroom Festival a few years back. Since that time I was in the Crazy Horse restaurant in Bloomington, IN where they not only served them but had a tent card on the table advertising them. I wonder if the portabella mushrooms are as plentiful in Bloomington as they are in Kennett Square? I am so excited to have a restaurant in Kennett Square, Mushroom Capital of the World finally serving Portabella Fries! You go John!

October 1, 2008 - now selling Mushroom Powder

We are now making our own mixed blend of mushroom powder out of Kennett Square shiitake, oyster, maitake and crimini mushrooms. Great for sauces, soups, gravies, etc. When is someone going to add mushroom powder to Gerber baby food???

A visitor today from Northwest PA - here to search for "Wild Mushrooms" - found "Chicken of the Woods" - Fresh Mushrooms, Nature's Hidden Treasure at its best! Wow! I'm not familiar with wild mushrooms - most of those who come to The Mushroom Cap who are familiar either learned how to identify mushrooms from their parents or grandparents. Not sure that I care to learn - I will stick to the cultivated and benefit from their nutrients!

Be sure to get your mushroom recipes from www.mushroominfo.com

Today is Monday, September 29, 2008

How about those visitors from Utah today? And then there were those from Exton, West Chester, Wilmington and................... I received a phone call from a Rand McNally representative in FL asking general questions about the annual Mushroom Festival for their festival guide to be published sometime late next year. We are happy with free publicity.

Yesterday afternoon there were three gentlemen from the UK visiting Kennett Square. They were in town, commissioned by the Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.co.uk) to make a television series called 'Great Motorcycle Rides of the World'. This programme is focusing on Route 1 from Boston, MA to Key West, FL. How interesting! Riding Route 1 will be broadcast to 18 million homes throughout the UK, Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia and South Africa in November of this year and then broadcast worldwide on CNBC, the Consumer News and Business Channel, at the beginning of 2009. The previous three programmes in the series have been the highest rating Travel Channel programmes ever and because of this they are constantly repeated on Travel Channel and Travel Channel2. The programmes are then released on DVD as well and each title has been selling between 1500 - 2000 units every six month period from the Travel Channel website alone.
Hopefully, filming at The Mushroom Cap will be included in the project as well as Talula's Table where we all had lunch. Off to Annapolis in the rain yesterday - not good on a motorcycle. Nice to have met you Hamish, Steve and Henry! Love those accents!

After Mushroom Festival

I've just written a post about Winterthur Garden Fair but I've not written about the Mushroom Festival since it has come and gone for another year.

You all know that we were somewhat washed out by a tropical storm on Saturday, September 6th. Shiitake Happens in Kennett Square. For those of you who came - we thank you. Some events had to go on - others had to be postponed. We learned that we can go through a storm. People showed up for the culinary events, the farm tours, the grower's exhibit and the dance party. Sunday turned out to be a great festival day with lots of sunshine, lots of people, lots of strollers and too many pets. The estimate was 80,000 festival attendees.

The Mushroom Festival is a regional event that highlights the number one cash crop in the state of PA as well as promotes tourism in Southern Chester County. We will continue to carry on the tradition of Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square, PA, Mushroom Capital of the World as long as we do not outgrow the borough of Kennett Square. Could we do that?

Plan to be here next year - September 12th and 13th.

Wintherthur Garden Fair

It is September 28th - The Mushroom Cap is an exhibitor at the Winterthur Garden Fair in Wilmington, DE. We took most of our product for the exhibt on Wednesday, the 24th - took fresh picked mushrooms on Thursday, the 25th and placed them in the cooler to keep them fresh for the entire weekend. The weather has been great compared to going through a rainy, windy tropical storm weather event on September 6th for the Mushrom Festival.

Shoppers come to our location at Winterthur and are able to taste some great products - chowder, tapenade, pasta sauce, dipping oil, chop sauce and a dip - all made with mushrooms. These products have been our best sellers both at events and at our store location in Kennett Square, PA. It is wonderful to talk to people who can truly appreciate our mushrooms. We grow the whites and all of our exotics come from Phillips. Some have never seen a maitake mushroom, some do not recognize the oyster mushroom, others might not like mushrooms at all (they do not know what they are missing). Have you ever tried maitake mushrooms?

We have several new, updated brochures that have been provided by the Mushroom Council for handout. You will find that mushrooms are truly Nature's Hidden Treasure. We have a saying in the mushroom community - "Eat Mushrooms and Live Longer" - it has been around for a long time but now it could very well be a saying we could all live by. The nutritional value of mushrooms has been researched and the findings are something to take seriously.
Mushrooms provide 4% of Vitamin D. There is no other vegetable has Vitamin D. Visit http://www.mushroominfo.com/ for all of the latest information.

Today is the last day for Winterthur Garden Fair this year. The weather is not favorable but for those who made the trip to the area - the weather will not deter them.

Hope to see you at The Mushroom Cap!

Festival is in less than two weeks

Did you know that the Mushroom Festival is a non-profit, all volunteer organization? Did you know that the festival board of directors gave $60,000 to 32 different non-profit organizations from the 2007 festival proceeds? This year there is a $2 admission fee for all those 12 and older.

All will receive a 2008 festival wristband and a raffle ticket for a chance to win a $500 gas card.

Money collected will go directly into our grant fund. We will also give the Kennett Fire Company a portion of the proceeds for their help in making this possible.

The Mushroom Cap is the headquarters for the Mushroom Festival. We have brochures, t-shirts, mugs, postcards, cookbooks and more.

Please stop by and sign our guest book!

Visitors to Kennett Square, PA - 08/09/08 and 08/10/08

This past weekend we had visitors from MD, NY, NJ, CT, OH, VA, Guadalajara, Mexico and England. Since we boast about Kennett Square being the Mushroom Capital of the World because we ship 61% of the Nation's crop of white mushrooms, tourists want to see what we are all about. Most are impressed, some are not but all get to taste something related to mushrooms, whether it be portabella sun-dried tomoto tapenade, mushroom chowder, marinated mushrooms, fire roasted portabella bread topper or just a fresh white mushroom out of the cooler.
How long does it take for mushrooms to grow? Are they grown in caves? Can you wash mushrooms? How do you store mushrooms? How long will they last? Should I put them in my cooler? Just keep in mind that they need to breathe!
We ran out of oyster and portabella mushrooms this weekend. I cannot wait to try marinated mushrooms on a skewer cooked on the grill. Recipe came from a visitor who frequented a vegan restaurant in the Midwest!
Today I will make mushroom salad to ship to Columbus, OH and then take a trip to Oxford, PA to pick up an order of marinated and pickled mushrooms. The pickled mushrooms are new for us - they have been requested for use in martinis. Hope to see you soon!

Mushroom Festival is fast approaching

We are getting ready for the 23rd annual mushroom festival held in downtown Kennett Square, PA, Mushroom Capital of the World. Event will be held September 6th and 7th. Visit our website at http://www.mushroomfestival.org/ - download our brochure. Fun, Food and Fungi for all!

While visiting the Brandywine Valley be sure to stop by The Mushroom Cap in downtown Kennett Square. See mushroom museum pieces from the original Phillips Mushroom Museum.
Samples of mushroom food products served daily. See you soon!