I missed Santa's arrival by helicopter last night!

Last year on the 1st Friday of December we buried my Dad that morning. During the evening our family attended New Garden Township's Tree Lighting and Santa's arrival by helicopter. It was something we just had to do since Santa is one of our family!

Santa arrived by helicopter again last night. Could not let Keira or Austin sit on Santa's lap for fear they would recognize Pop Pop's voice! Kids are so smart these days. Must get another family photo - Addison Grace Lafferty was born in April this year.

Mom-Mom was at The Mushroom Cap this year greeting guests, offering samples of Mushroom Mustard, SnackNShrooms and other gourmet mushroom food items during Kennett Square's December Art Stroll.

Philadelphia and The Countryside

VisitPA.com! Wow - was happy to see that Kennett Square is listed under Philadelphia and The Countryside along with Jenkintown and the Landmark Town Communities in its Happy Holiday Shopping Guide.
Was happier when finding The Mushroom Cap in the write-up. Was this the reason someone called to verify a product called "Snack N Shrooms"? I wonder.

A few months ago a gentleman called saying that he was proof reading a couple of chapters in a book for a friend. He could not give me any details but said that it would help my business. He was calling to verify my snack product. He also said that the woman who was writing the book had been to the Mushroom Festival and had tasted the snack the year before.

Will keep you posted of course.

Creamed mushrooms for Thanksgiving dinner

When growing up and going to Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents house there was always a bowl of creamed mushrooms on the table. It was a must for Thanksgiving dinner. I can still remember my grandmother making them - standing at the stove, stirring - making sure they were just right. They were so good.
Thanksgiving is the busiest time of year for the mushroom growers. More mushrooms are sold for this holiday than any other.

So far we are shipping mushrooms to a few customers in NY and a few in NJ on Monday for their Thanksgiving dinners. One is a repeat customer who buys for her boss who thought the mushrooms were the best present she could have received! I wonder how everyone will prepare their mushrooms for their Thanksgiving dinner? Soup, stuffing, raw stuffed with dip for an appetizer, cooked stuffed with......................, marinated or.................... So many great things to do with mushrooms!

Mushrooms are great for any meal - nutritious too!

Stop by The Mushroom Cap and find a variety of gourmet food products as well as our cooler full of fresh mushrooms! A shipment of Shiitake oil should be arriving today or tomorrow along with a shiitake tapenade!

Hope to see you soon at The Mushroom Cap. We have lots of gift basket ideas for you to choose from!

Happy Holidays everyone!

26 years ago today!

The Growing Tree is 26 years old today! The Growing Tree shares space with The Mushroom Cap at 114 W State Street in Kennett Square, PA

A back porch (because we did not want to rent space and be committed to 5 or 6 days a week), a cash box, pipes hanging from the ceiling, a book of sales receipts and friends with children's outgrown clothing is how it all began on a country road in Landenberg, PA! How to get customers? Have a friend who worked in a mailroom in Wilmington, DE give you the list of streets and their zipcodes and send a flier to new birth announcements found in the local newspapers. The list was most valuable in that the newspaper did not disclose the complete address. The mailing list eventually grew to over 2000 with Moms coming from NJ, MD, PA and DE. Post cards went out periodically for sales. The shop was only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays to start - 9:30 to 4. Then we added Thursdays - then we added another day and.......................

Eventually we had a 2 car garage with a room above for the shop built in order to get the business off of the back porch and out of the house. The business grew and grew - we had girls clothing on one floor and boys clothing on the other - garage was not used as a garage for a very long time.

In the Spring and Fall we had huge garage/yard sales in the driveway where Moms would rent space for $10. They could bring their toys and baby equipment, cribs, etc. to sell. This sale was advertised in several newspapers - amazing where folks came from.

Advantages: Work at home, no rent to pay, home with the children who were only 6, 4 and 2 when it all began. As the children grew they were not the happiest about the business being at home but having been a latch key kid when growing up I knew that what I was doing was best for them. When they became involved in afterschool activities the store hours changed so that I could attend their activities.

In 1997 the building at 114 W State Street was purchased! Excitement - we were moving the business to my home town! The Landenberg store remained open as well until July of 2000 - it was apparent that since my youngest graduated high school that year I would no longer need to be home. When requesting phone service for the new location there were three numbers to choose from and one was 610-444-8484. Could this be? Two significant events happened in my life in 1984 - my Mom passed away in March and The Growing Tree opened in November.

That phone number was a message - it was meant to be!

The Growing Tree has changed a bit. We discontinued consignments for a couple of years. Our oldest daughter, Kelleanne encouraged the re-opening of The Growing Tree after her daughter, Keira was born in 2008. Since then we have added women's clothing, shoes and accessories.

Along the way I've met and become good friends with some great people! I've had some interesting conversations with customers over the years. And the best yet is seeing some of those Moms who first visited The Growing Tree in Landenberg so many years ago come to the Kennett Square location searching out those special little items for their grandchildren several years later! It's really good to see you again! Welcome back!

Kennett Square Merchant Holiday Raffle Basket

2nd Annual Holiday Gift Basket Raffle

Kennett Square Area Restaurant and Merchant Association is having their 2nd annual Holiday Gift Basket Raffle. Proceeds benefit KARMA - this association is a not for profit organization, raising funds for marketing.

In this basket are several gift certificates to local restaurants, salons, shops and service businesses as well as gifts (diamond pendant, KSQ Blanket, Jewelry, Pottery, Mirror, Solar Goose item etc.) We started off with a basket value of over $1500 - we have gone over that estimate as we continue to recieve gifts. The raffle drawing will take place on 12/12/10! This will give the winner an opportunity to complete his/her Christmas shopping! Tickets are $3 or 2 for $5 and available at most participating shops.

Meringue Mushrooms

Ever had Meringue Mushrooms? Someone brought some to The Mushroom Cap during the Mushroom Festival this past September. Along with the mushrooms was a business card from the bakery in Pottstown where these mushrooms could be purchased. I called to place an order. When can you pick them up? That was the end of that conversation but not the end of wanting this product.

I approached Vicki at Sweet Christine's Bakery in Kennett Square not too long ago. Vicki was willing to give them try. Best of all they will be gluten free - made with natural and organic products!

Yesterday, Vicki brought her first batch - 4 cute little mushrooms in a cupcake container. She and I were both happy with the result! Soon Sweet Christine's will have a new product as well as The Mushroom Cap.

Be sure to check out the link where you will not only find out how to make your own meringue mushrooms but also find out a little bit of tradition that goes along with them.

A Love Story

I've posted this on FB and just had to share here.

A woman came into The Mushroom Cap today to look around and to get a feel for Kennett Square. Her husband was sitting out on the bench in front of the store with their black lab. We chatted a bit - found out that they were in Kennett Square on a very special mission - to spread her parent's ashes at "Kennett Square Park". I am not sure where that would have been. They had already spread some of the ashes along the stream down at Anson Nixon Park. Her Dad proposed to her Mother in Kennett Square in the '40s. How very special that must have been for them to want their ashes brought back to where they made a committment to each other forever.
In chatting I found out that these folks drove up from FL to honor her Dad's last request. Her Mother was originally from NJ and her Dad was from PA. Her Mother was on Broadway and was a Rockette. She did tell me their names but I do not recall them.

Seems lots of folks do return to Kennett Square in one way or another. Kennett Square is very Cool!

Token Tuesday

It's Token Tuesday at The Mushroom Cap and The Growing Tree.

Token Tuesday - For every $10 you spend at either one of these shops you are entitled to a free meter token. Please remind us to give them to you! Extra bonus at The Mushroom Cap - free lb. of button mushrooms for a purchase of $10 or more - you do have to ask though.

You can enter The Growing Tree through The Mushroom Cap or use the entrance off State Street down the steps.

The Mushroom Cap and The Growing Tree offers free parking for their customers. How to get there? Route 82 to Scarlett Alley - first parking lot on right. Don't park there if you are not coming in - parking tickets are $20 at this location!

Mushroom Monday at The Mushroom Cap

Mushroom Monday - Mushroom Chowder, Mushroom Mustard and Mushroom Snacks all served to whoever visited The Mushroom Cap today!

So great to meets folks from Germany. None of them spoke English but their friend who lives here does. Their favorite Mushroom Monday Mushroom was the Mushroom Snack! Yes, most bought the original mild flavor to take back home to their little village in Germany.

Another group of ladies, all cousins from around the country, arrived at The Mushroom Cap today. One of the cousins lives in NJ - they all decided that they wanted to see the Andrew Wyeth display at the Brandywine River Museum. What a disappointment to get there after driving two hours and after calling to see if they were open, to find that the Andrew Wyeth display is not quite ready for visitors. So, to not make their day a complete waste they visited downtown Kennett Square! Their favorite Mushroom Monday Mushroom was the Mushroom Chowder! Yummy.

The family from Reading, PA and the folks from Philadelphia liked the Mushroom Monday Mushroom Mustard! You really must try this the next time you visit. It is made with our Snack N Shroom Seasoned Mushroom Powder. Now available mild or hot.

All in all it was a great day at The Mushroom Cap!

A Healthy Coffee?

Interesting to say the least!

On Friday a gentleman came into The Mushroom Cap looking like one of those Verizon sales people (why does Verizon need these door to door sales people out and about anyway?). Can I help you? You are not from Verizon are you? No. Good thing - been there, done that.

What are you selling? A coffee with reishi mushroom extract. Really? I am definitely interested. I've been reading about how healthy reishi mushroom is.

The rest is history - Saturday and Sunday we gave customers an 8 oz. cup of coffee on the house. I think most were pleasantly surprised. The best is that they were just introduced to a healthy coffee. When the first customer arrived I mentioned "reishi" mushroom. She knew about this mushroom because when she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease she took a form of reishi. Wow - I wasn't sure anyone would be familiar but.....................

Someone else arrived a little later because her friend saw my post on FB that I was serving this coffee. She has been using Reishi for a long time.

This coffee is caffeinated but the presence of reishi (Ganoderma) neutralizes the negative caffein effects so you get the "boost" without the negative effects of caffein. The comment from most who had a cup was that it was very smooth. They liked it.

Don't drink coffee? There is a green tea with reishi. This will be my drink of choice over the winter!

Seems appropriate to have this coffee at The Mushroom Cap, dont' you think?

Jack Czarnecki's White Truffle Oil

Just received Jack Czarnecki's White Truffle Oil today.

Interesting reading about Jack Czarnecki - www.yachats.org/JackCzarnecki.html

Jack did have a restaurant in Reading, PA several years ago. We went there with friends and I distinctly remember the mushroom soup. It had a mushroom shaped swirl on top. Delicious!

It's Doctober!

Just had to add the pic to the left. Phillies lost their bid to the World Series. Shiitake does happen - shame it had to happen to the Phillies!

The Phillies just won the 5th game of the play-off series in San Francisco! The Mushroom Cap has a Phillies scarecrow complete with rally towel!

We would love to have your vote. Go to: http://www.historickennettsquare.com/

Thanks!

It was 30 years ago tonight that the Phillies won their first World Series! It was 30 years ago yesterday that our 2nd child was born. I can still remember watching the game while in the hospital! Always a Phillies fan!

July 25, 2010

Today would have been my Dad's 83rd birthday! I mention him because he was often at The Mushroom Cap helping out - doing what he could. His job for a while was breaking down boxes and taking them to be recycled. In his days of declining health he would sit in a chair outside and watch the traffic go by. Sometimes an old friend would stop and say hello. He usually recognized everyone but could not speak. Dad lived his entire life in Kennett Square - he wouldn't have had it any other way. I think he celebrated his birthday with a bang today - electric out, trees down - what a storm we had. Happy Birthday Dad! Miss you! The baby in his arms is Keira - she is now 2 and says "Pop-Pop" everytime she sees his picture! Dad passed away 11/27/09.

I'm a Fun-gi! Kennett Square is Cool

Did you know that Kennett Square came in 5th (out of 21) in the Budget Travel Magazine's Coolest Small Town in America contest? We are so proud to have received over 40,000 votes.

The Fun-gi in this picture happens to be from NY! He is a writer for Budget Travel Magazine who seemed very excited to get the job of telling why Kennett Square is so cool! The top ten towns will be featured in the September issue of Budget Travel. What is it that makes these towns special? Will we see a pic similar to this included? Maybe!

The NEW Mushroom Cap/Growing Tree

Finally I have a picture of our "new" look! What a nice change!

At one end of our counter we have tastings of Snack N Shrooms! Even those who don't like mushrooms must admit they are soooo good!

Store Renovations

We are all ready for spring and summer here at The Mushroom Cap after a cold snowy winter.

My dream for The Mushroom Cap was always to have a counter/bar area to bring back a little of the Square Restaurant from long ago. We couldn't possibly bring back what it once was because we have no records/pictures or people left to tell us about it.

We are in the process of doing a 'make-over'. New paint, new floor - new beginning! We will have a mushroom tasting bar when all is said and done! What will we be tasting? Mushroom Chowder, Roasted Portabella Mushroom Pasta Sauce, Marinated Mushrooms (6 flavors), Tapenades, Snack N Shrooms, etc. to start. Tastings will be served Thursday through Monday!

We hope to make The Mushroom Cap a "must" stop for anyone visiting the Brandywine Valley! Hope to see you soon!

Square Restaurant

In the book Greetings From Kennett Square A Sesquicentennial Tribute 1855-2005 by Joseph A. Lordi & Dolores I. Rowe dated 2004 I found some interesting facts.

The Mushroom Cap is housed in the building in the picture that has a sign above that reads: Square Restaurant. In the early 1930s it was The Dutch Kitchen. The Dutch Kitchen was well known for steak and mushroom dishes, as well as pastries, cakes and pies. Prepared mushrooms from the Dutch Kitchen became well-known in food stores along the Eastern Seaboard and, according to the Kennett News and Advertiser of December 18, 1942, this helped establish Kennett Square as the world's mushroom center.

Since that time it was C & B 5& 10 and Department Store, Murray's Variety Store, Kennett Radio and now The Growing Tree and The Mushroom Cap.

There's a bit of KARMA here! Who would have ever thought that The Mushroom Cap would be in the same location that helped establish Kennett Square as the Mushroom Capital of the World through prepared mushroom dishes! I'm sure Mr. Blokzeyl had no idea that he helped create a brand for Kennett Square so many years ago! I am so excited to have created Snack N Shrooms some 67 years later in the same building! Mr. Blokzeyl would be so proud to see Kennett Square, Mushroom Capital of the World painted on the water tower at the East entrance to town.

If you come to The Mushroom Cap you will see a small metal arrow sign that says: Square Restaurant hanging near the counter............

Yes, things do happen for a reason!

Far West Fungi in San Francisco

We are tourists in San Fran! That's Louise D'Amico with owner of
Far West Fungi!

While in San Francisco for Mushroom Council meetings it was nice to take a break and take the BART transit system downtown to the Embarcadero stop. Just had to visit Far West Fungi at the Ferry Building. Found some mushrooms there that I was not familiar with but the chantrelles, shiitake, maitake, portabella were beautiful. I must say their whites could not compare to our Kennett Square Mushrooms, especially those from our family farm. Several jars of dried mushrooms and also mushroom powder - great cookbooks too! Hope to send SnacknShrooms to Far West Fungi! They will love 'em! Louise and I took notes -

bringing some ideas home to The Mushroom Cap!

Immune boosting foods

Mangoes, Garlic, MUSHROOMS, Salmon, Green Tea, Yogurt, Almonds and Spinach!

Read all about it! Keep your immune system in check!

The Daily Loaf - Mushroom Recipe

Haven't tried this recipe but just reading it makes me want to make it!

Mushrooms in your diet

Interesting how mushrooms are becoming a superfood!

Kennett Square in a bottle

Visiting Kennett Square? Be sure to stop by The Mushroom Cap to see our museum pieces from the original Mushroom Museum that was once located on the strip between Longwood Gardens and our quaint little town - (The Mushroom Cap is just 2.7 miles from Longwood). You may just want to stop by for a souvenir like no other!

If you are a collector of unique items from around the world you may want to add Kennett Square Potpourri to your collection. Inside this one ounce jar is spent mushroom substrate that comes from our family farm located here in mushroom country. Our beautiful white mushrooms were grown in this substrate. The cork jar is glued shut so you don't get the benefit of that often mentioned "mushroom smell" which we have all become accustomed to. Forget the smell - mushrooms are soon to be on the "Super Food" list!

Have fun while you are here! And be sure to ask to taste Kennett Square's Favorite Gourmet Snack when visiting The Mushroom Cap too!