The edible kind!

In terms of edible fungus mushrooms specifically refer to ones with a gilled cap, so this week morel and truffleheads can LOG OFF screm-cool

I just really love mushrooms, so I decided to talk about 'em and what they’re like to eat. I’m gonna try and have a little snippet about a different edible mushroom each day. As mushrooms can be used as meat substitutes - blanket cw on each of the little spoilered sections for meat discussion; I’ll only be talking about meat in terms of what mushrooms can replace, but I figure better be cautious about it y’kno?

Also, some of the mushrooms discussed will be ones that are considered forageable. this is not in any way shape or form a guide to what wild mushrooms you can eat please do not eat random mushrooms based off of one (1) picture a random cat showed you

Monday - Agaricus Bisporus

A. Bisporus is the most commonly cultivated and eaten mushroom, and is harvested in a few different ways that are sold under different names.

Often times it is sold before maturation, with white ones referred to as Button or White Mushrooms and brown ones often referred to as Cremini or Baby Bella. At full maturation, caps can reach nearly 15cm (6in) in diameter and are sold most commonly as Portobello mushrooms.

This mushroom is honestly a great general purpose one. button mushrooms are very unabtrusive flavourwise but still provide a nice meaty texture, and baby bella and portobellos have the same texture with a rich umami flavour while still not being overpowering in a dish. I love to use baby bellas in pastas and stews. portobello caps have a lot of versatility as the anchor of a dish. They’re wonderful grilled and imo act as a great substitute for beef, i’ve made veggie tacos with them and love having a “hamburger” that’s just a full ass mushroom cap instead of a meat patty. They’re also great for stuffing, and removing the gills is honestly pretty easy and only requires a small spoon.

Tuesday - Pleurotus Ostreatus

The oyster mushroom

Another commonly cultivated one, the oyster mushroom has a milder flavour compared to portabellos and when I’ve tried it also had a less dense texture while being slightly chewier. Many places I’ve found online describe oyster mushroom to have an anise-like flavour to them, the herb that flavours black liccorice, but I think that gives a false impression as oyster mushrooms don’t have a very strong flavour at all.

I’ve heard it suggested that oyster mushrooms can be used in place of any recipe that would use shredded chicken or pork, and I was actually able to pick some up recently and can confirm yeah, texture wise the caps can very much fulfill that role and they even kind of look similar.

What I found really interesting about them is their stipes. The ones I got were clustered with the stipes meeting sort of at the base, and at that junction I found that the flavour was slightly stronger and had a chewy texture almost like calamari that I really enjoyed

Wednesday - Cantharellus Formosus

The Pacific Golden Chanterelle

A mushroom I haven’t had the chance to eat, the Pacific Golden Chanterelle has a meaty texture and mild flavour with nutty, fruity, and peppery notes. It’s most commonly sauteed with garlic and onions or used as a base in mushroom cream sauces, it’s not as widespread or commercially available as portobello or oyster mushrooms but is still cultivated in its native Pacific Northwest of North America and can sometimes be found in markets in the PNW.

Join our public Matrix server!

https://rentry.co/tracha#tracha-rooms

As a reminder, please do not discuss current struggle sessions in the mega. We want this to be a little oasis for all of us and the best way to do that is not to feed into existing conflict on the site.

Also, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It’s for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well.

Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.

spoiler

  • gaystyleJoker [she/her]@hexbear.netMEnglish
    7·
    3 days ago

    HELLO THIS IS THE MEGA SIGN UP POST/LIST POST

    if you have a preferred week please tell me

    xenon (11/16 - 11/22)
Carcharodonna* (11/23 - 11/29)
BountifulEggnog* (11/30 - 12/6)
sodium_nitride* (12/7 - 12/13)
GenderIsOpSec*  (12/14 - 12/20)
Shaleesh* (12/21 - 12/27)
peanutbuttercupola* (12/28 - 1/3)
LoveSupreme*  (1/4 - 1/10)
Shaleesh* (1/11 - 1/17) 
Eco* (1/18 - 1/24)

    ​ * after name denotes someone who has posted before and will be skipped by first-time posters

  • xenon [pup/pup's, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    11·
    5 hours ago

    its so depressing how people just gobble up completely unverified “chinese spy” claims

    “anonymous source from an anonymous intelligence agency has unspecified surveillance footage that shows, international trade”

    i <3 manufacturing consent

  • peanutbuttercupola [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    6·
    6 hours ago

    Hi trans mega, I need some relationship advice.

    My boyfriend (63M) and I (42TF) are monogamous, but he only spends every fourth night at my apartment, and never lets me visit him at his place. He has a stressful tech job, and I don’t want to be pushy, but am I wrong to expect to spend more time with him?

  • BountifulEggnog [it/its, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    5·
    6 hours ago
    talking about ftm transition, dysphoria

    bit confusing to me seeing how many FTMs (granted I’m sure a lot of the people who are this way are NB, there are some trans men too though) plan to, or do, or think going off T is fine. I saw a post of someone who described himself (themself? Forgot to check pronouns I’ll just use he/him) as ftm and was asking the community about T and if you “had” to be on it permanently. Tons and tons of comments from people who are female to male saying they hopped off after a few years, or knew a lot of people who did, even trans men. Saying that after 2-5 years on T you really can’t tell. I’ve known one trans man and he said he’s been on and off T too. As I understand, a fairly common thing to get pushed in the community is keeping one or both ovaries so you can have E even if you can’t get or decide to hop off T.

    Now obviously, obviously I know this is probably isn’t the majority, most of the people who do this are probably NB or butch, whatever. But its still very confusing for me to go on the “opposite” sex hormone for years and not feel terrible, and then go back and still not feel terrible? Like I just remember feeling awful on T and I imagine cis women would too, and I know lots of binary trans men feel the same way about their hormones. So how are these people just full on dosing T until they look like a man and then going back on E willingly??

    Also how dysphoria inducing for me for everyone to be like, “oh yea 2-5 years on T and you’ll look like a man forever. Sure there’s some changes from E but its slight.”. Just damn it. Wish I was transitioning to the hormone that actually makes you look like your gender.

    • XiaCobolt [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      1 hour ago
      I have some thoughts

      I have known some trans men, who due to years of testosterone had beards, were physically muscular, and who had had top surgery. Due to circumstances like their GP retiring or them moving or new restrictions on testosterone, were suddenly cut off from testosterone, and had a return of estrogen and progesterone, causing periods, as well as just generally hormonal stuff, and it made them profoundly dysphoric. Even the ones who didn’t have a period (they had an IUD) and passed as men, felt absolutely awful with oestrogen.

      But I have also encountered transmasculine individuals who can as you say, go off testosterone for a pregnancy or just in general and feel okay. This obviously feels weird to me a binary trans woman.

      We know that gender is a spectrum. We know that sex is not binary (with intersex people obviously). I personally think that sex itself is a spectrum and trans/cisness is a spectrum and is not as rigidly binary either (again we have non-binary people). I think something like the Kinsey scale but for trans-ness versus cis-ness would be useful in a more fairer world (right now it would be used to gatekeep).

      Just like we already know in a repressive society with sexuality, heteroflexible/bisexual and even homoflexible people end up presenting as heterosexual unless it’s safe to.

      I think there is probably some flexible stuff around gender/transness. Some people** HAVE** to transition. Some SHOULD because they would be far happier. Some *might *actually be okay either way or feel happier in the inbetween. Likewise some people might not tolerate transition but to varying degrees, hence why maybe some rare detransitioners who are sincere stick it out so long, because transition did not cause as much dysphoria as it would another cis person.

      I think because of transmisogny it is harder to find those equivalent transfeminine individuals. Because they either decide to just suffer not transitioning or end up fully transitioning, because to do any transition is such an uphill battle anyway.

      Incidentally I have met a trans woman who had been on hormones for 30 years and was happy to go through menopause in her 60s, because it felt normal. Which is wild for me. She had had bottom surgery so no possibility of re-masculinization.

      • XiaCobolt [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        1·
        1 hour ago
        Also when it comes to transfeminine non binary people...

        …we tend to as a society broadly collapse them into just f-slur-y men or in queer communities possibly into just women (not always there’s lot of transmisogyny still).

        There might be people who we call “femboys” or “drag queens” who might like to grow permanent breasts on estrogen for 5 years, have laser while the hair is suppressed by oestrogen etc, then switch back to gonadal testosterone (and a DHT blocker) at a later date.

        But until recently those people would have been gatekept from oestrogen as being not committed enough or the social stigma enforced by transmisogyny would stop anyone from entertaining such an idea in the first place.

    • MusicOwl [comrade/them, sie/hir]@hexbear.netMEnglish
      6·
      6 hours ago
      talking about my transmasculine comrades experiences, cis perceptions of gender in a possibly dysphoria inducing way

      i frequently ask my transmasculine comrades about this irl, and they legitimately just shrug about every time. two exceptions are i have had two of these comrades quit cold turkey due to their script not getting filled and understandly feel awful as their hormone balance tries to find an equilibrium again.

      most also report negative experiences once their period starts again if it had stopped thru t usage.

      and on the other note, gender signifiers for folks wanting to be read as men are often "oh facial hair? “must be a guy” If you’re trying to look like a guy, you will likely end up doing so. and there are experiences of people being on t for a length of time, deciding it is no longer for them, and doing a transition back to woman or more feminine NB. i have had a friend who was on 10 for ten years and retransitioned back to woman, and her experience is so fascinating, because she is now getting laser hair removal, doing feminizing voice training, the works.

      Leslie Feinberg notably was on t for a length of time and got off and did electrolysis to the same end bc they wanted to be seen as a lesbian, not a man.

      • BountifulEggnog [it/its, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        4·
        6 hours ago
        spoiler

        they legitimately just shrug about every time.

        Yea like literally monke-beepboop monke-beepboop what is this. I cannot comprehend not needing to have the right hormone. Unless T isn’t for them, but then also why would they take it for so long in some cases.

        Yea true, I did see/have seen them talking about only stopping post hystero.

        Yea, unlike looking like a woman, where you have to be on E forever + lucky + present right :/ Detransitioners have the huge advantage of going through, in this case, female puberty as their first which does more. It isn’t just facial hair either, I feel like its the voice (for ftm, mtfs will have more working against them). The trans man I knew passed just fine (not actually sure if he was on or off T when I knew him) without.

        That can make sense to me. Zir was not and did not ID as male or FTM. Totally get butches hopping on low dose of T/even a high dose of T for some voice deepending and other masculinization and then hoping off. Because they’re masculine women/nbs. Not ftm, male or men.

  • BountifulEggnog [it/its, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    6 hours ago

    brainworms

    spoiler

    Saw this video of someone dunking on a chud doing one of those, “you can’t always tell” things. Chud got 5/6 wrong.

    Anyway I got them all right kitty-cri and I have never been more upset at being right. I’m wormed chat.

    Worst thing to be right about coming in about 8-10 years. I don’t have a date set that I know I won’t be passing or have a passing voice by or that’d be it.

  • moss_icon [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    13·
    11 hours ago

    The thought of finally being able to start hormones is scaring me shitless tbh.

    It seems like the majority of trans people where I live have some kind of support system even if it’s just one person. I don’t have that. I have no partner, no friends in real life I can trust, definitely not family. I am quite literally alone in all of this. Between being trans and badly neurodivergent I don’t think I was made for this world.

    • BountifulEggnog [it/its, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      7·
      8 hours ago

      It’s rough. I have no one irl now, after the move. Still worth it to start though. Takes a while to be noticeable. Plenty of time to find people. Or just have people here!

      It’s better this way. You kinda have to. Repping isn’t an option so may as well start earlier rather than later.

    • EatMoreMacroplastics [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      10·
      10 hours ago

      I’ve built the entire support system i have now after i came out. Yes, there were some cis people who were nice to me when i initially came out, and that was cool and all, but the entire meaningful support i’ve had was something i started building when i started actually living, and i could not have done any of that before.