My good friend Carol gave me a delightful gift for my birthday— grow-your-own oyster mushrooms.

As it turned out, the gift triggered my long-suppressed American Gothic. You know…the farm, the pitchfork, the Willie Nelson concert.  

There I was every day for a couple of weeks tending my crop of tiny mushroom spores. I misted them—being sure each tiny spore got a generous drink. I nudged them into the dappled sunlight several times each day as the sun arced over my home. I gave them words of encouragement; there were a lot of “good jobs!” on my farm watch.  (Juliet, of course, thought I was nuts. The sweet little pup doesn’t have a farm dog bone in her fluffy little body.)

Then, after about two weeks and to my amazement, Woo-Hoo! I had a harvest!

I also had a conundrum: what to cook that was worthy of my crop?

Stir fry?

Ragu?

Nope– Oyster Mushroom Po’ Boys. 

Po’Boy sandwiches are a New Orleans institution. Local lore has it that the sandwiches were introduced in the 1920s by brothers Bennie and Clovis Martin at their Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant in the French Quarter. Former street car conductors, the brothers conjured up the large signature sandwiches to feed striking workers (the poor boys) during the bitter New Orleans street car strike in 1929. Here is a short video produced by the local historical society about the origin of the Po’Boy.

Vowing to support the strike “until h–l freezes,” the Martins published this fervent letter in solidarity with the strikers. 

Toni Tipton Martin, however, in her recent best-selling cookbook, Jubilee: Recipes From Two centuries of African American Cooking, writes that the origins of the sandwiches reach back into the African American experience in the South.  “Fried oysters piled high in a box made from a loaf of bread is referred to as a mediatrice–‘the Peace Maker’–in early twentieth century cookbooks. Back then, when a man came home late from a night of carousing in the French Quarter and told his anxiously waiting wife that he had been detained on business downtown, he brought her a mediatrice to curb her anger and make peace. The success of the plan depended upon an exquisitely prepared sandwich filled with delicate oysters.”

Whether you are making peace for your transgressions or standing strong with people who labor, unionize, and make things happen here in America, here is my oyster mushroom take on the Po’Boy.

As they say in New Orleans, laissez les bon temps rouler.

OK.  So I had cake for breakfast. Strawberry Snacking Cake, actually.

My customary breakfast of oatmeal and flax seeds was getting old. And…why shouldn’t I have cake for breakfast? Aren’t muffins cake?  (I rest my case.)  

In any event, I’ve always subscribed to this bit of wisdom:  “Always keep a fork in your purse in case cake happens.” 

This recipe is adapted from one featured in Yossy Arefi’s great little cookbook, Snacking Cakes. Arefi’s photography and recipes have been featured in The New York Times, Bon Appetit and on Epicurious. She is the author of another great cookbook, Sweeter Off The Vine: Fruit Desserts for Every Season. The recipes in this cookbook feed your need for a quick cake fix. The book presents fifty “everyday” cake recipes that can be made with readily-accessible ingredients and in one bowl. What’s not to love about that? Give me cake and no messy kitchen any day.

This recipe is adapted from Yossy Arefi’s book Snacking Cakes. The book is available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

What is the world’s largest edible bean?  

Look that question up on the Internet and you are in for a trip down the rabbit hole. 

There is a Guinness record for the World’s Tallest Bean plant. (46.3 feet/2003.)

There is a record for “The largest pot of baked beans.” (1479.36 gallons/Macedonia/2012.)

A man in North Carolina grew a pretty big green bean. (48.75 inches/1996.)

There’s “Largest Bean Bag Chair” and on and on…and on. 

World’s largest edible bean? (crickets/2021.) 

So, here is an entry: Rancho Gordo’s Royal Corona bean. It is about twice the size of a lima bean and it’s buttery creaminess is a thing to behold. Epicurious calls the bean “the Escalade of beans.” 

Here is a recipe to get you started with Royal Corona Beans: Fried Royal Corona Beans With Pearl Barley. 

Here is a link to another Hetty McKinnon-style recipe. This one is also served atop a spicy sauce; this time it is a spinach sauce: Cauliflower With Lentils Salad.

This recipe is adapted from a Hetty McKinnon recipe in her exceptional cookbook Neighborhood. Neighborhood is available through your local bookstore or Amazon. Here is a link to Amazon: Hetty McKinnon’s Neighborhood.