I just graduated optometry school and I feel like I’ve lost a bit of my identity. I didn’t have much free time to focus on the things that make me happy and now I’m lacking inspiration. I can’t work until my license is approved so I’ve had days of doing nothing since May 7. It’s been great but it’s starting to get boring; I can only play so much Zelda and doom scroll so often.
So whatcha got? What do you like to do? What are some hobbies or passions everyone has? What are non-drinking related activities to do with a partner or friends?
Hiking, kayaking, swimming, gardening, and mycology! I love growing Gourmet mushies to eat, as I’m vegetarian and some of the varieties I grow I can’t get in my area easily. It’s not too hard for some basic mushrooms (blue and pink oysters are where I’d start), and it is fascinating to see the mycelium grow.
Gourmets would be so fun to grow! I did some actives awhile back for microdosing and it was so hard not to check on the tubs every couple hours. I had my eyes in lions mane at one point but never ordered any. What are some other ones you like and how do you like cook/prepare them? I’ve also wanted to get into wild foraging but need to do more research for what’s in my area and ensure I don’t bring home poisonous ones.
I love eating lions mane as well (taste and medicinal properties), also king blue oysters seem to be the most reliable strain I currently have. Lions mane can be used as a sub for crab, or you can press it for a steak sub. King blue oysters are a relatively newly bred strain, good oyster taste with maybe a hint of shrimp. I generally either fry mushies in butter with some salt and pepper, or actually follow a recipe if I’m trying anything more complex. If you are planning to grow them, the main equipment is start with is a pressure cooker for sterilizing spawn (I use a wild bird seed tek for my grain jars). Then just use hardwood fuel pellets and pasteurize them with boiling water in an autoclavable bag for when moving to bulk.
I’ve got most of those things already. I need to procure some sort of small greenhouse-like chamber to maintain humidity. For my actives, I covered my tubs with plastic bags which worked fantastic but not sure that would work with gourmet. Perhaps this will be my winter project later this year!
Should work the same, so long as you cut smallish holes on the autoclave bags the moisture will remain pretty decent. The more finicky bit is making sure there is enough FAE (fresh air exchange) as well. Would open the bags at least once a day, fan it, mist and close back. Also, not really much of a winter project, more of a late spring through autumn one.