Lion’s Mane Mushroom is a powerful nootropic, has a special talent for helping heal damaged nerves, supports mood and helps alleviate depression, and possesses the famous beta-glucan polysaccharides that make medicinal mushrooms such potent immunomodulators.

We’re having an amazing mushroom year, especially with Maitake/Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa) and when I have an abundance this is one of my favorite ways to put up the harvest! This is a traditional Italian way of preserving mushrooms- the way mushrooms on an antipasto plate are commonly preserved.

Here in the northeast we have lots of Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma tsugae) and even though it’s abundant I feel it’s still important to harvest it properly if you’re going to be doing so! Whenever possible please please please harvest once the mushroom has matured and released its spores so it can proliferate and spread!

I recently recorded a free Community Class on my Patreon Page, Herbal Support during the Covid-19 Pandemic, on my thoughts on easy and accessible herbal support you can be doing right now to protect yourself and strengthen your immunity.

Winter is a time for nourishment and replenishment and the holidays, fun though the revelry can be, can also sometimes leave us feeling tired and depleted during a season when rest should be paramount. Enter adaptogens!

Lately, this soup has been saving my life! So much so that I just had to share the recipe. During seasonal transitions, especially our current one from late summer to fall (and the on-coming fall to winter), our immune systems need some extra support. And it seems like just about everyone I know is either navigating through or has already dealt with their first cold of the season, myself included!

Medicinal mushrooms are so abundant here in the Northeast, and Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is definitely one of my favorites. Last weekend we were out on an early spring walk and I was so thrilled to find Chaga so close to home!