No Show Bus Tour

Wonder what happened to the bus tour from Philadelphia that was coming to KSQ today at 3:30pm?
A little disappointing to say the least, especially when one prepares for a group with tastings and a cooler full of mushrooms. We called your cell phone Jerry - three times this past week just to check to see if you were coming. We stayed open an extra hour waiting. A lesson learned - must ask for a confirmation phone call one week prior to trip.

Good to stay open later - had a few more sales for the day!

Mushrooms and Your Health

Mushrooms truly are "Nature's Hidden Treasure". They have been called a "superfood". There is a saying - "Eat Mushrooms and Live Longer" - Could that be? Mushrooms have been around for thousands of years and we, in America, are just now learning the benefits of these fabulous fungi! I've included a link to the nutrition research. Take time to read it. Explore the website - learn all about mushrooms. Ask yourself, "what can mushrooms do for me?" You may be surprised.

Two more 3rd grade classes from Mary D Lang

Our 2nd day of visits from the 3rd grade students at Mary D Lang Elem. School yesterday was great. They had a nice day to walk uptown - weather was perfect as was the day before. What has more potassium than a banana? A mushroom - this is just one of the facts that is learned in our 10 minute video. One other fact is that PA's No. 1 crop is mushrooms - so important to the economy of PA. There is so much to learn about the mushroom industry in our area. Both classes today were attentive. Some tasted our mushrooms with ranch dressing, some tasted the mushrooms without and some did not taste at all. All classes were given a portabella mushroom with instructions on how to make a spore print. That should be a fun project. The morning class selected the Oyster Mushroom as their favorite and the afternoon class chose the Maitake!

Teachers, parents and students - thank you - we hope everyone enjoyed the trip as much as we enjoyed having you!

Mary D Lang 3rd Graders visit

Mary D Lang elementary school is just a few blocks from The Mushroom Cap. Yesterday, 3rd Grade students, their teachers and a few parents walked uptown to visit the Mushroom Museum. The first class arrived at 10 am and the other at 1 pm. Both classes were very attentive. We showed our 10 minute video, let each student peek through the mushroom shaped peep hole and let them each taste fresh mushrooms if they wanted to. We were sure to tell them how proud they should be of an industry that is so important to the economy of Pennsylvania. Many of the students have parents who work in the industry. Some had been to a mushroom house before and some had not. We chose 4 different mushrooms and asked the classes to vote on their favorite - both classes chose the same mushroom - MAITAKE. Why? Mostly because of the way it looks - like a piece of coral in the ocean. We also told the children about the nutritional value of mushroom - 4% vitamin D in all mushrooms - the only plant life that has vitamin D.

We had fun and hope the children did too! It is always good to educate them about the heritage of Kennett Square, PA. There will be two more 3rd grade classes coming today.

Visitors to Kennett Square

Today was a pretty exciting day in the "Mush-Room". We had visitors from Israel. They came from Philadelphia on their way to Baltimore via "old Route 1" - they wanted to take the scenic route rather than I-95. They enjoyed their stop at The Mushroom Cap - learning about our heritage here in Kennett Square, PA. We enjoyed their visit.

Flat Stanley was here!

Flat Stanley arrived at the "Mush Room" today! He had his picture taken under a toadstool, next to a shiitake log and also at the mushroom house display! What fun it is for those students at St. Ignatious Loyola. Could this be the only Flat Stanley to visit a mushroom exhibit? He will have so much to tell about Kennett Square being the Mushroom Capital of the World!

Who is Flat Stanley? Read below.

Well, the project is about a book written by Jeff Brown- Flat Stanley. This book narrates the story of a boy called Stanley who was squashed by a bulletin board whilst he was comfortably sleeping in bed. In the morning, his family realised that Stanley had become flat and that he could now pass underneath doors, travel in envelopes etc. Infact, it is here that the project starts. Every class participating in the project reads the book and draws her own Flat Stanley. Children then send their Flat Stanley to other schools around the world on school visits, at home etc. Then, after this period of time, Flat Stanley returns back home full of pictures, souveniers, photos and information about the place he visited.

What is that smell?

Oh my gosh! It is Kennett Square mushrooms drying in the dehydrator. Love that aroma! KSQ crimini, shiitake, oyster and maitake mushrooms are being dried in the "Mush-Room" at The Mushroom Cap. Why? Well, visitors who are traveling and cannot take fresh KSQ mushrooms with them take dried KSQ mushrooms! A real taste of KSQ. Pictured here are dried KSQ shiitake mushrooms! These are great added to our packaged Mushroom Chowder - serve to your guests and they will think you made it fresh!

To reconstitute dried mushrooms: Soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Depending on your recipe you can also soak in wine.

A return visit

If you have read through my posts you may remember a group of "Red Hats" - they were here months ago. Yesterday one of those ladies drove to Kennett Square, PA just to get some of our fresh mushrooms! She remembered how fresh and delicious they were.
She was a happy camper especially getting her free lb. of button mushrooms!

A young student from the Radnor School District chose Kennett Square, PA for a school project. She and her mother came to The Mushroom Cap yesterday, leaving with an education about mushrooms, how they grow, how nutritious they are and how many are grown and shipped from our part of the world. We make sure that PA residents and others know that mushrooms are Pennsylvania's No.1 Commodity and how the industry is important to Pennsylvania's economy.
Mom and daughter will surely be back for a return visit to Kennett Square.

Harrington's Coffee Company

We have added Harrington's Coffee to our list of Kennett Square items available for purchase at The Mushroom Cap. One pound packages of #45 (decaf available too) is a nice addition to our KSQ gift baskets. You can not only purchase this coffee by the pound you can come in and have a complimentary cup (gratuity appreciated) any day of the week!

Harrington's Coffee Company, est. 1995, provided a great gathering place on State Street then on Broad Street in KSQ for business meetings, friendly chats, internet accessability, a visit with Santa and more for 13 years. Eveyone can remember the cozy, comfy atmosphere in the room with the fireplace. Amazing what a long ago car dealership can become. "Mushroom Capital of the World" on our water tower became reality in 2007 because of several early morning meetings with Al Willard, Dennis Melton and myself at Harrington's! We watched the Augustine family grow at the "big" table building memories for all. How about the time we did a short film clip about Kennett Square to submit to the "View"? Many locals sat front and center at Harrington's to watch the Franklin Center construction across the street. These are just a few of my memories - so many more for others who frequented Harrington's more often than I. Most can remember artist, Rea Redifer as part of the storescape in good weather. Rea, we miss you, Mrs. Harrington (Carla Willard), we miss you too but happy you are sill providing us with your coffee!

Some Kennett Square residents who frequented Harrington's often will be moving to NC soon. They will take with them memories and gifts from KSQ including a pound of Harrington's coffee, compliments of their friends and neighbors. When they get settled in and sit down to their cup of #45 they will surely remember the good times had in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Mushroom Capital of the World.

Hope to see you all soon!