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Cute-as-a-button mushroom house captivates buyers

A quirky “Mushroom House” has popped on the market in Michigan, USA. A home owner in the United States has taken their love for the humble vegetable to a whole new level, with the seven-bedroom property expected to sell for a cool $US4.5 million ($6.4 million). The unique abode covers 6,000 square-feet and is referred to as “The Thatch House” due to its signature roof. American architect Earl Young designed the original seven-bathroom home back in 1918. He was known to source stone for his multiple properties throughout Northern Michigan. However, the new owner dreamed up a new aesthetic, drawing a thatched roof onto a napkin. The design concept took nearly two years to come to fruition and saw thatch being imported in from Europe. The interiors reflect Young’s original aesthetic with stone fireplaces and staircases, along with the timber joinery and benchtops in the living areas, kitchen and bathrooms. The timber floorboards are a rich chocolate tone, along with the new owner’s choice of plush textiles in bold hues, provides a warm and inviting feel to the estate. Images: Domain

Real Estate

“Benjamin Button” mice could pave way for reverse ageing

If the three blind mice from the iconic nursery rhyme were living in molecular biologist Dr David Sinclair’s lab at Harvard Medical School, they might not be blind for very long. Dr Sinclair and his team at Harvard Medical School have been using proteins that can turn adult cells into stem cells - a kind of cell that can be turned into any of the specialised cells our bodies need. These stem cells have been helping restore the sight of old mice with damaged retinas, essentially making them younger versions of themselves. “It’s a permanent reset, as far as we can tell, and we think it may be a universal process that could be applied across the body to reset our age,” Dr Sinclair said about his research, which was published in late 2020. The Australian scientist has spent the past 20 years studying ways to reverse the effects of ageing - including the diseases that can afflict us as we get older. “If we reverse ageing, these diseases should not happen,” he said. During a health and wellness talk at Life Itself, Dr Sinclair said the technology is available and it’s only a matter of when we decide to use it. “We have the technology today to be able to go into your hundreds without worrying about getting cancer in your 70s, heart disease in your 80s and Alzheimer’s in your 90s,” he said. “This is the world that is coming. It’s literally a question of when and for most of us, it’s going to happen in our lifetime.” Whitney Casey, an investor who has partnered with Dr Sinclair to create a DIY biological age test, said the researcher wants to “make ageing a disease”. “His research shows you can change ageing to make lives younger for longer,” she said. Dr Sinclair said that when it comes to how modern medicine addresses sickness, it doesn’t tackle the underlying cause, which is usually “ageing itself”. “We know that when we reverse the age of an organ like the brain in a mouse, the diseases of ageing then go away. Memory comes back, there is no more dementia,” he continued. “I believe that in the future, delaying and reversing ageing will be the best way to treat the diseases that plague most of us.” Dr Sinclair’s research comes amid a global effort by scientists working to reprogram adult cells into stem cells, started by Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka, who won a Nobel Prize for reprogramming adult skin cells into behaving like embryonic (or pluripotent) stem cells. These “induced pluripotent stem cells” became known as “Yamanaka factors”, with later research finding that exposing cells to four of the main Yamanaka factors could remove signs of ageing. Since their original study, where they discovered that damaged cells were able to be rejuvenated by injecting three of these factors into the eyes of mice, Dr Sinclair and his lab have reversed ageing in mouse brains and muscles, and are now working on a mouse’s whole body. Dr Sinclair said their discovery indicated that there is a “back-up copy” of youthful information stored in the body, which he calls the “information theory of ageing”. “It’s a loss of information that drives ageing cells to forget how to function, to forget what type of cell they are,” he revealed. “And now we can tap into a reset switch that restores the cell’s ability to read the genome correctly again, as if it was young.” Image: Getty Images

Body

Why an edit button for Twitter is not as simple as it seems

Most people who use Twitter have had the experience: you fire off a quick tweet, realise it contains a typo, then get annoyed you can’t click “edit” to fix it. Twitter users have been <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90376786/a-brief-history-of-not-being-able-to-edit-your-tweets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clamouring for an edit button for years</a>. Elon Musk, who has recently been buying up shares in the microblogging platform and has made a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-15/elon-musk-offer-to-buy-twitter-worlds-richest-man/100994580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US$48 billion offer</a> for the whole company, asked his 82 million followers if they wanted an edit button. His (deeply unscientific) poll attracted 4.4 million responses, with 73% in favour. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Do you want an edit button? — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1511143607385874434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote> Other social media platforms let you edit posts after you’ve sent them. It seems like it would be a simple feature to add – so why doesn’t Twitter do it? Well, the time may at last have arrived. Independent of Musk’s poll, Twitter has confirmed that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/5/23011327/twitter-edit-button-blue-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an edit button may be in the works</a>. Enterprising users have even dug out some hints of what it <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/18/twitters-in-development-edit-button-offers-hints-as-to-how-the-feature-could-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">might look like</a>. So what’s the fuss about? Why has Twitter been so opposed to an edit button? The answer might be that it isn’t as simple as it appears. The first thing to know about tweets is that, unlike posts on many other platforms, there is fundamentally no way for Twitter to pull them back after they are sent. The reason is that Twitter has what’s called an Application Programming Interface (or API) which allows third parties such as other apps or researchers to download tweets in real time. That’s what powers Twitter clients such as TweetDeck, TweetBot, Twitteriffic and Echofon, which together account for some <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/17/6-million-users-had-installed-third-party-twitter-clients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6 million users</a>. Once third parties have downloaded tweets, there’s no way for Twitter to get them back or edit them. It’s a bit like an email – once I’ve sent it and you’ve downloaded it, there’s no way for me to delete it from your machine. If a user were to edit a tweet, the most Twitter could do is send out a message saying “please edit this tweet” – but the third party could choose whether or not to actually do it. (This is currently what happens when tweets are “deleted”.) Cats and dogs More importantly, an edit button might have unintended consequences, and could be weaponised. Consider this. I, a cat lover, decide to tweet “I love cats!” Then you, being also a cat lover (because why wouldn’t you be), decide to quote my tweet, agreeing “I do too!” (Remember when Twitter used to be this innocent?) Now, what happens if I edit my original tweet to declare “I love dogs”? You are now misrepresented as a dog-lover, and when your cat-loving friends see this (which they will when I reply to your tweet, mentioning them all), they disown you. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459030/original/file-20220421-70799-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A screenshot showing a tweet reading " /></a><figcaption>A Twitter edit button could be used to change statements after others have retweeted or endorsed them. The Conversation</figcaption></figure> Yes, this is contrived, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see how the edit button might be used in this fashion, particularly by things such as bot armies. Will Twitter users be happy to trade this possibility for the convenience of fixing typos in their tweets? ‘Warts and all’: a bug or a feature? Twitter has built its reputation on being the most “real-time” of the social media platforms – the place where <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo832" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquakes are reported quicker than by scientific instruments</a>. However, for many people the “warts and all” nature of Twitter postings is starting to look like a bug, rather than a feature. Will an edit button change Twitter’s unique brand? There may be ways to ameliorate this, such as only allowing edits within a short time of posting, but it is surely a consideration for the company. More generally, the design of media platforms shapes the type of discussion that occurs on them. The presence of the “like” and “retweet” buttons on Twitter encourage users to create content that will entice others to click these buttons, and make their content spread further. This, in turn, shapes the nature of conversation that occurs on the platform. Similarly, websites use algorithms and design to “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1476570" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nudge</a>” users in particular directions – such as to buy a product. There is a rich body of research into the ways discourse is shaped by the design of social media platforms, which establishes that every “affordance” a user is given affects the conversation that ends up taking place. This means that beyond the fundamental technological challenges, Twitter must think about the possible unintended consequences of seemingly simple changes – even to the level of a humble edit button. The medium shapes the message, and Twitter must think carefully about what sorts of messages they want their platform to shape.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181623/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lewis-mitchell-266859" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lewis Mitchell</a>, Professor of Data Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Adelaide</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-an-edit-button-for-twitter-is-not-as-simple-as-it-seems-181623" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Magic mushrooms relieve depression and now we might know why

Psychedelics like psilocybin, the key active ingredient in magic mushrooms, have become a beacon of hope for people with depression that is resistant to other forms of treatment - and new research has shed some light on how they affect the brain. A team of psychedelics researchers have used MRI technology to understand how psilocybin works in the brain, finding that it first “dissolves” then expands brain connections. The study, published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01744-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature Medicine</a>, found that certain parts of depressed people’s brains became more interconnected and flexible after two doses of psilocybin, and that the changes lasted for up to three weeks. “These findings are important,” Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist at the Imperial College London and one of the senior authors of the study, said. “For the first time we find that psilocybin works differently from conventional antidepressants - making the brain more flexible and fluid, and less entrenched in the negative thinking patterns associated with depression.” Though magic mushrooms have been used for their healing properties by Indigenous people for a long time, per <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-finally-figured-out-how-magic-mushrooms-might-relieve-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ScienceAlert</a>, their use in clinical trials - and our understanding of how they work - is limited. Previous research from Professor Nutt and his colleagues found that a combination of psilocybin and psychological therapy was as effective as taking escitalopram, a common antidepressant, without the common side effects that can include weight gain, reduced libido, and insomnia. Though this and other small studies have shown the benefits of psilocybin, how it works in the brain has been poorly understood until Professor Nutt’s most recent study. He and his team analysed the brain scans of 43 people with clinical depression who had participated in two previous clinical trials, including 22 people treated with psilocybin, and 21 people who received escitalopram. They found that those who received psilocybin had greater connectivity in regions of the brain that are rich in serotonin receptors which are usually segregated in depressed patients. A day after treatment, their brain networks were more interconnected and flexible, while no such changes were seen in the people taking the antidepressant. “This supports our initial predictions and confirms psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to depression treatments,” Professor Nutt said. Their findings match those of a study from 2020, which found similar changes in brain network connectivity up to a month after one dose of psilocybin. As exciting as these findings are, neuroscientist and fellow senior author Dr Robin Carhart-Harris said more research is needed. “We don’t know yet how long the changes in brain activity seen with psilocybin therapy last and we need to do more research to understand this,” he said. “We do know that some people relapse, and it may be that after a while their brains revert to the rigid patterns of activity we see in depression.” Either way, the researchers hope their findings pave the way for studying psilocybin’s effect on other mental illnesses characterised by rigid thought patterns, such as anorexia and addiction. “We now need to test if this is the case, and if it is, then we have found something important,” Dr Carhart-Harris said. Image: Getty Images

Mind

From Fendi to fungi – your next handbag could be made from mushrooms

It might be time to switch your handbag from Fendi to fungi, say researchers. They have harnessed the power of the humble mushroom to convert food waste into <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/a-novel-approach-to-making-leather/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainable faux leather</a>, paper and cotton substitutes. Presenting their results at a virtual meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the researchers say that this fungal leather takes less time to produce than existing substitutes already on the market, and, unlike some, is 100% bio-based. Their efforts tie together two enormous, but seemingly unrelated, environmental concerns. Cotton, petroleum-based synthetic fibres, paper and leather are all beset with ecological woes, ranging from water demand to contributions to climate change and the ethical treatment of animals. Meanwhile, plenty of food goes to waste. Setting out to resolve the whole suite of issues in one fell swoop, lead investigator Dr Akram Zamani and her team in Sweden have developed a range of sustainable materials derived from fungi. “We hope they can replace cotton or synthetic fibres and animal leather, which can have negative environmental and ethical aspects,” says Zamani. They’re not the first group to have produced a fungal leather, but according to Zamani, they are the first to have made a product with properties that can match real leather, and at a production rate that could realistically match market demands. Although there is little available information on the production process of existing fungal materials, Zamani says it appears that most are made from harvested mushrooms or from fungus grown in a thin layer on top of food waste or sawdust using solid state fermentation. Such methods require several days or weeks to produce enough fungal material, she notes, whereas her fungus is submerged in water and takes only a couple of days to make the same amount of material. In addition, some of the fungal leathers on the market contain environmentally harmful coatings or reinforcing layers made of synthetic polymers derived from petroleum, such as polyester. That contrasts with the University of Borås team’s products, which consist solely of natural materials and will therefore be biodegradable. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p186111-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.56 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/technology/materials/sustainable-textiles-fungi/#wpcf7-f6-p186111-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page spai-bg-prepared" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://www.google.com/" data-value="https://www.google.com/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> “In developing our process, we have been careful not to use toxic chemicals or anything that could harm the environment,” says Zamani. So how do they go about the transformation of mushrooms to materials? It all starts with fattening up your chosen fungus. Fungi are hungry little organisms. To feed their cultivated fungal strain – Rhizopus delemar, commonly found on decaying food – the team collected unsold supermarket bread, which they dried and ground into breadcrumbs. As the fungus fed on the bread, it produced microscopic natural fibres made of chitin and chitosan that accumulated in its cell walls. After two days of feeding, the scientists collected the cells and removed lipids, proteins and other by-products that they say could potentially be used in food or feed. But what they were really after was the jelly-like residue left behind – a goop consisting of the fibrous cell walls that was then spun into yarn, which could be used in sutures or wound-healing textiles and perhaps even in clothing. In an alternative method, the suspension of fungal cells was laid out flat and dried to make paper- or leather-like materials. Through a series of trial-and-error tests, the team has now developed materials made from multiple layers of these fungal sheets. The composites are treated with tree-derived tannins to give them softness, and alkalis to give them strength. Finally, strength, flexibility and glossiness are all improved by treatment with glycerol and a bio-based binder. The end result is a material that very closely mimics real animal leather. “Our recent tests show the fungal leather has mechanical properties quite comparable to real leather,” Zamani says. The team is working to further refine their fungal products. They recently began testing other types of food waste, including fruits and vegetables – particularly the mushy pulp left over after juice is pressed from fruit. “Instead of being thrown away, it could be used for growing fungi,” Zamani says. “So we are not limiting ourselves to bread, because hopefully there will be a day when there isn’t any bread waste.”  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=186111&title=From+Fendi+to+fungi+%E2%80%93+your+next+handbag+could+be+made+from+mushrooms" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/materials/sustainable-textiles-fungi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/jamie-priest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamie Priest</a>. Jamie Priest is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Adelaide. Image: Akram Zamani </div>

Technology

Try this one pot lamb shanks with button mushrooms

Need some weeknight dinner inspiration? Why not try this tender-to-the-bone lamb shank recipe? Serves: 3 | Cooks in: 3 hours and 10 minutes Ingredients <ul> <li>50g (1/3 cup) plain flour, to dust</li> <li>4 lamb shanks, Frenched</li> <li>1½ tbsp olive oil</li> <li>½ bottle red wine</li> <li>12 eschalots, peeled</li> <li>1 bunch thyme, half trussed, half leaves picked</li> <li>400g Button Mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed</li> <li>Salt and pepper, to season</li> <li>Creamy polenta, to serve (¾ cup with 750ml mix of chicken stock and milk, butter and finely grated parmesan)</li> </ul> Method 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the flour into a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Dust the lamb shanks in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. 2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based, ovenproof saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the shanks for 5 minutes, turning, until browned. Remove and set aside. 3. Pour in the wine and boil for 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol. Return the shanks to the pan with the eschalots and trussed thyme. Pour in enough water to submerge the shanks and bring up to a simmer. Cover the surface with a piece of baking paper, then cover with a lid and place in the oven for 1.5 hours. 4. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and turn the shanks over, topping up with water if necessary. Add the mushrooms and cover with the baking paper and lid, then return to the oven for a further 1.5 hours or until the shank meat is falling from the bone. 5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tsp oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Toast the remaining thyme until bright green, then remove and set aside. 6. Remove the shanks from the pan and place in a bowl, loosely covered with foil and set aside to rest. 7. Place the pan over high heat. Reduce the sauce for 10-12 minutes or until thickened and glossy. 8. Divide polenta among bowls and top with a shank, mushrooms and eschalots. Spoon over the sauce and scatter with toasted thyme to serve. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/recipes/one-pot-lamb-shanks-with-button-mushrooms" target="_blank">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Food & Wine

Healthy creamy mushroom pasta sauce

Serves: 4 | Cooks in: 15 minutes Ingredients <ul> <li>350g farfalle pasta</li> <li>1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle</li> <li>1 bunch sage, leaves picked</li> <li>500g Button Mushrooms, cleaned, thinly sliced</li> <li>50g butter</li> <li>2 tbsp plain flour</li> <li>2 garlic cloves, finely chopped</li> <li>750ml (3 cups) vegetable stock</li> <li>1 cup milk</li> <li>250g fresh ricotta</li> <li>75g walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped</li> <li>Salt and pepper, to season</li> </ul> Method 1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, then drain and set aside. 2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Toast the sage leaves until crisp and translucent, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 3. Melt the butter in the pan. Stir-fry the mushrooms and garlic for 4 minutes until golden. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for 1 minute, then gradually stir in the stock and milk. Cook for 5 minutes or until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the pasta and toss to combine. 4. Divide the pasta among bowls. Spoon over the ricotta, scatter with the walnuts and sage and drizzle with oil, to serve. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/recipes/healthy-creamy-mushroom-pasta-sauce" target="_blank">Wyza.com.au. </a> Recipe courtesy of Mushroom Association Australia.

Food & Wine

Baked breakfast mushrooms stuffed with spinach, feta and egg

Prep / cook time: 25 minutes Serve: 2 mushrooms per person Ingredients: <ul> <li>4 large flat mushrooms (large Portobello mushrooms also work well)</li> <li>1 big handful of baby spinach leaves</li> <li>1 1/2 tbsp marinated creamy feta cheese </li> <li>4 medium free-range eggs</li> <li>2 thyme sprigs</li> <li>Cracked pepper to taste</li> <li>Sea salt to taste</li> <li>1 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped, to serve</li> </ul> Method: <ul> <li>Pre heat the oven to 180°</li> <li>To clean the mushrooms, brush the skin with a dry paper towel to remove any dirt.</li> <li>Using a small paring knife, remove the stems.</li> <li>Fill the base of the mushrooms with the baby spinach leaves, ripping larger leaves into smaller pieces. </li> <li>Carefully crack an egg into each mushroom on top of the spinach.</li> <li>Add a spoonful of marinated feta cheese as well as a drizzle of the feta marinating oil on top of the cracked egg.</li> <li>Add a pinch of salt and pepper and sprinkle a few leaves of the fresh thyme on top.</li> <li>Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until the mushroom has softened and the egg is still soft inside.</li> <li>Serve straight away topped with parsley.</li> </ul> This recipe has been published with permission from Australian Mushrooms.

Food & Wine

Miguel’s mushroom sweet potato gnocchi

When it comes to cooking, celebrity chef Miguel Maestre has a surprising favourite ingredient – mushrooms. “Mushrooms are a brilliant and versatile ingredient that make meal times tastier and healthier,” the restaurateur and TV presenter said. Here’s one of Miguel’s mushroom recipes. Recipe by: Miguel Maestre for Australian Mushrooms Serves 2-3 Ingredients: <ul> <li>2 medium sweet potatoes</li> <li>2 cups all purpose flour</li> <li>2 teaspoons salt flakes</li> <li>flour for dusting</li> <li>250g Swiss brown and button mushrooms, chopped in quarters</li> <li>10 sage leaves</li> <li>2 tbsp toasted pinenuts (optional)</li> <li>1/2 lemon</li> <li>50g butter</li> <li>Grated Parmesan</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork, and then bake them for at least 1 hour on a bed of rock salt in the oven until they are tender and the skin starts to look wrinkly.</li> <li>While the potato is still warm, peel the skin away from the flesh and set aside to cool slightly.</li> <li>If you have a potato ricer, put the sweet potatoes through this. Otherwise you can use a fine sieve and push the potato through with a ladle or wooden spoon.</li> <li>Place the flour on a board, or your kitchen bench. Make a well in the centre and add the riced / sieved sweet potatoes to the well. Season with salt and pepper.</li> <li>Using your hands, work the sweet potato into the flour until it’s fully combined. You don’t want the dough to be sticky so keep adding flour gradually until you get a nice dry dough. This could take quite a bit of extra flour.</li> <li>Once fully combined, roll the dough into a ball and cut it into 4 even pieces. Roll each piece into a long sausage, each about a finger in thickness.</li> <li>Cut the rolls of dough into 2cm little pillows of gnocchi, and gently toss each piece into some flour on your work bench to ensure that it’s dry. At this point you could also use a gnocchi board or fork to press grooves into each piece of gnocchi to make it more professional looking but this is optional and tastes just as good without!</li> <li>To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the salt. Blanch the sweet potato gnocchi in salted boiling water until they all float. Then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.</li> <li>In a large frying pan, over a high heat, add a splash of olive oil and a teaspoon of butter, add the quartered mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until golden. Spoon out the mushrooms into a bowl.</li> <li>Using the same frying pan, add the cooked gnocchi and sear until crispy. Add the remaining butter, pine nuts, sage leaves and mushrooms you just set aside. Cook until the butter starts to burn.</li> <li>Then add lemon juice and Parmesan and serve.</li> </ol> Tip: <ul> <li>Putting the potatoes through a sieve or potato ricer is a vital step to making gnocchi, as this breaks down the starch.</li> <li>If you make gnocchi often, a potato ricer is a fairly inexpensive kitchen tool that is handy to have.</li> </ul>

Food & Wine

BBQ mushroom skewers with rosemary gremolata

Have mushrooms laying in the fridge but not sure what to do with them? Simply throw them on the barbie and let the magic happen with this recipe. Ingredients: 2 large bunches rosemary 500g button mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed 1 garlic clove 2 tbsp olive oil 1 lemon, zest finely grated 10g butter Salt and pepper, to season Directions: 1. Strip the leaves from sharpest end of the rosemary sprigs, leaving a few at the top, making enough for 12 skewers. Alternatively, you can use short, soaked bamboo skewers. Thread 3 mushrooms onto each skewer. 2. Finely chop the garlic and 1 tbsp of the rosemary leaves together on a board. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Lightly toast the garlic and rosemary mixture for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove and combine with the lemon zest in a bowl. 3. Increase the heat to medium-high. Melt the butter and remaining oil in the pan. Cook the mushrooms skewers for 4 minutes each side or until golden and cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter and scatter over the gremolata to serve. Tips: You will need thick, sturdy rosemary sprigs to be used for skewers in this recipe. Soaked bamboo skewers are the best alternative. If using rosemary sprigs as skewers, use a bamboo skewer to make the first incision to make it easier to insert the rosemary sprigs. Recipe by <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.australianmushrooms.com.au/" target="_blank">Australian Mushrooms</a>. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wyza.com.au/recipes/bbq-mushroom-skewers-with-rosemary-gremolata.aspx" target="_blank">Wyza.com.au</a>.

Food & Wine

Indulge in some filling mushrooms and ancient grain salad

Time to prepare: 10 mins Cooking time: 20 mins Serves: 4 - 6 If you're finding your healthy New Year's resolutions have started to wane, try this mushroom and grain salad that is sure to get your body back on track! Ingredients: <ul> <li>1 packet superblend (fibre) – freekeh, green and yellow lentils and beans</li> <li>80ml (⅓ cup) extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>2 punnets swiss brown mushrooms, cleaned, quartered</li> <li>2 lemons, zest finely grated, juiced</li> <li>1 red onion, halved very finely shaved</li> <li>1 bunch coriander, finely chopped, including the stems</li> <li>80g pine nuts, toasted</li> <li>200g feta, optional</li> <li>Salt and pepper, to season</li> </ul> Directions <ol> <li>Cook the grain blend according to packet instruction, then drain, set aside and cool.</li> <li>Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes or until golden and cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.</li> <li>Meanwhile, combine the lemon zest and juice with the onion in a large bowl. Add the remaining oil, cooled grain blend, mushrooms, coriander and pine nuts and toss to combine. Season well with salt and pepper. If using, top with the feta to serve.</li> </ol> Recipe courtesy of <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.australianmushrooms.com.au/" target="_blank">Australian Mushrooms</a>.

Food & Wine

Meat Free Week Recipe: Braised mushrooms by Rowie Dillon

Serves: 4 Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes These gorgeous braised mushrooms are especially delicious when served with creamy polenta. They’re an all year round winner! Ingredients: <ul> <li>3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>680g mixed wild mushrooms or shittake, trimmed</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">½ tbsp marsala (optional)</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">125 ml water </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Sea salt</li> </ul> Method: In a large braise pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add ⅓ of the mushrooms, pressing down firmly to sear them. Add marsala if desired. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the next tablespoon of oil and mushrooms and then repeat again. Return all the mushrooms to the pan, add the water, reduce heat, over and simmer until tender. Season with salt and serve with creamy polenta. This recipe was supplied by Rowie Dillon for Meat Free Week 2019. The campaign runs from 23-29 September in support of Bowel Cancer Australia. See <a href="https://www.meatfreeweek.org/">meatfreeweek.org</a> to sign up.

Food & Wine

Tasty lemon and herb mushroom salad

This quick and easy salad is the perfect accompaniment to a weekend lunchtime meal Ingredients: <ul> <li>Dressing</li> <li>125ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>Juice of one lemon</li> <li>2 red chillis, de-seeded and finely chopped</li> </ul> Salad <ul> <li>250g button mushrooms, sliced</li> <li>4 mini cucumbers</li> <li>1 bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped</li> <li>Salt and pepper, to season</li> </ul> Directions: Dressing 1. In a screw top jar combine olive oil, lemon juice, chillies and a pinch of salt. Put on the lid and shake until well combined. Salad 2. Add all salad ingredients to a bowl, top with dressing and gently mix to combine. Serve as a side salad with chicken, fish or grilled meat. Recipe courtesy of <a href="https://australianmushrooms.com.au">Australian Mushrooms.</a> Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/recipes/lemon-herb-mushroom-salad.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Food & Wine

Easy beef and mushroom stroganoff

This version of the classic dish of quick–fried steak with mushrooms shows how vegetables can be used to enhance and ‘stretch’ a modest portion of meat. The result is every bit as special as true stroganoff, and is more in keeping with today's taste for meals that are not dominated by meat. <div id="ingredients">Ingredients <ul class="no-bullet"> <li>2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>200 g chestnut mushrooms, halved</li> <li>1 red capsicum, seeded and cut into fine strips</li> <li>200 g broccoli, cut into small florets</li> <li>150 ml beef stock</li> <li>1 onion, sliced</li> <li>300 g fillet steak, cut into thin strips</li> <li>2 tablespoons brandy</li> <li>¼ cup horseradish cream (optional)</li> <li>⅔ cup (160 g) sour cream</li> <li>salt and pepper</li> </ul> </div> Preparation <div> <ol> <li>Heat half of the oil in a large saucepan.</li> <li>Add the mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes or until beginning to soften.</li> <li>Stir in the capsicum and broccoli florets and continue to fry, stirring, for 3–4 minutes.</li> <li>Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.</li> <li>Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the broccoli is just tender.</li> <li>Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and stir–fry the onion for about 5 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown.</li> <li>Add the strips of beef to the onions and stir–fry for 1 minute or until the beef begins to change colour.</li> <li>Stand safely back from the pan, pour in the brandy and set light to it.</li> <li>As soon as the flames subside, stir in the horseradish cream, if using, and the sour cream.</li> <li>Add the vegetables with their cooking liquid.</li> <li>Stir well, season to taste and serve immediately.</li> <li>A rice pilaff is the traditional Russian accompaniment for stroganoff; tagliatelle is very popular today.</li> <li>Boiled new potatoes are also delicious with this vegetable–rich version.</li> </ol> This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/recipes/beef-and-mushroom-stroganoff">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> </div> <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Food & Wine

Mushroom and spinach frittata

A dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, this mushroom and spinach frittata will never failed to please. Serves: 4 Ingredients: <ul> <li>6 eggs, lightly beaten</li> <li>¼ cup milk</li> <li>1 cup grated cheddar cheese</li> <li>1 brown onion, sliced</li> <li>150g mushrooms, sliced</li> <li>30g butter</li> <li>2 cups fresh baby spinach</li> <li>Salt and pepper, to season</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Preheat oven to 180 °C.</li> <li>Whisk eggs and milk in bowl. Add cheese and season with salt and pepper.</li> <li>In a large ovenproof frypan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until caramelised. Stir in spinach and cook for a further minute. Season with salt and pepper.</li> <li>Pour egg mixture into the pan. Spread ingredients evenly across the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until frittata is browned and puffed. Serve warm or cold.</li> </ol> Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/food-wine/2015/08/broccoli-cheese-soup/">Slow-cooked broccoli and cheese soup</a> <a href="/lifestyle/food-wine/2015/07/pea-soup/">Simple pea soup</a> <a href="/lifestyle/food-wine/2015/05/broccoli-quiche/">Broccoli quiche</a>

Food & Wine

Creamy mushroom and pork pasta bake

This dish is also delicious made with tomato pasta sauce. It can also be prepared in advance and refrigerated for 2 – 3 days until required or frozen prior to baking for up to 2 months. Serves: 6 Ingredients: <ul> <li>600g lean pork mince</li> <li>2 tablespoons oil</li> <li>1 onion, finely diced</li> <li>2 cloves garlic, crushed</li> <li>200g mushrooms, sliced</li> <li>500ml jar creamy pasta sauce</li> <li>¼ cup parsley, finely chopped</li> <li>4 cups pasta shells, cooked & drained</li> <li>2 cups grated cheese</li> </ul> Method: <ol start="1"> <li>Preheat oven to 190⁰C.</li> <li>Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and brown the onion, garlic and pork mince well. Pork may need to be browned in small batches depending on your pan size. Remove and set aside.</li> <li>Heat the remaining oil in the pan and sauté the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, stir in the creamy pasta sauce and bring to the boil.</li> <li>Combine the pork mince, cooked pasta and mushroom sauce in a large bowl and mix well.</li> <li>Spoon pork pasta bake mixture into a deep oven proof dish that has been lightly greased. Sprinkle surface with grated cheese.</li> <li>Bake in the preheated oven at 190⁰C for 40 minutes until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling. Serve hot with salad.</li> </ol> Recipe courtesy of <a href="http://www.pork.com.au/" target="_blank">Australian Pork</a>.

Food & Wine

Eye fillet with mushroom sauce and roasted winter veg

This warm and delicious will be a hearty meal the whole family will enjoy. Ingredients: For the roasted winter vegetables <ul> <li>1 carrot, peeled, cut in half lengthways and sliced 1cm on an angle</li> <li>1 parsnip, peeled, cut in half lengthways and sliced 1cm on angle</li> <li>400g orange kumara, scrubbed and diced 1.5cm</li> <li>½ red onion, sliced 0.5cm</li> <li>2 teaspoons runny honey or maple syrup</li> <li>1–2 handfuls baby kale leaves (or use baby spinach)</li> </ul> For the eye fillet with mushroom sauce <ul> <li>300g beef eye fillet steaks (at room temperature)</li> <li>3 tablespoons white wine or Marsala</li> <li>½ red onion, finely diced</li> <li>125g white button mushrooms, thinly sliced</li> <li>1 teaspoon soy sauce</li> <li>½ cup sour cream</li> </ul> Method: 1. Preheat oven to 220C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Toss all vegetables (except baby kale) with honey/maple syrup and a drizzle of olive oil on prepared tray. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20–25 minutes, or until vegetables are starting to caramelise. Toss halfway to ensure even cooking. 2. When vegetables have 10 minutes' cook time remaining, heat a drizzle of oil in a large fry-pan on medium-high heat. Cook eye fillet for 3 minutes each side. In the final 3 minutes of vegetable cook time, move the vegetables to one side and add beef to tray. Continue to cook for a further 3 minutes. 3. Remove tray from oven and cover beef until ready to serve. Sprinkle kale over vegetables and toss to wilt. 4. Return same pan to medium heat (do not clean). Add wine/Marsala to pan, let it bubble and use a wooden spoon to rub bottom of pan to release any pan brownings. Cook until liquid has almost evaporated. 5. Add a drizzle of olive oil to pan along with onion and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (add a tablespoon of water to pan if onion starts to burn). Add soy sauce and sour cream, immediately remove from heat and stir to combine. To serve: Slice beef thinly against the grain. Divide roasted winter vegetables between plates and top with sliced beef. Spoon over mushroom sauce. Written by Nadia Lim. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a> Have you ordered your copy of the Over60 cookbook, The Way Mum Made It, yet? Featuring 178 delicious tried-and-true recipes from you, the Over60 community, and your favourites that have appeared on the Over60 website, <a href="https://shop.abc.net.au/products/way-mum-made-it-pbk" target="_blank">head to the abcshop.com.au to order your copy now.</a>

Food & Wine

Quick pickled mushrooms

Tangy, spicy and so easy to make, these quick pickled mushrooms are a delicious treat for a lazy Sunday afternoon, and the perfect pantry-packer. Makes: About two and a half cups Ingredients: <ul> <li>4 cups of water</li> <li>300g mixed mushrooms</li> <li>1 tablespoon salt</li> <li>1 cup of white wine vinegar</li> <li>Olive oil</li> <li>1 tablespoon black peppercorns</li> <li>1 tablespoon sugar</li> <li>Bay leaf,</li> <li>Thyme,</li> <li>Several cloves peeled garlic</li> <li>2 small dried chillies</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Boil water with salt then add mixed mushrooms and boil an additional two minutes.</li> <li>Drain, reserving half a cup of the liquid.</li> <li>Place reserved liquid plus white wine vinegar, olive oil, peppercorns and white sugar in pan.</li> <li>Add bay leaf, thyme sprigs, garlic and chillies.</li> <li>Bring to boil.</li> <li>Place mushrooms in a sterilised jar and pour hot liquid over.</li> <li>Cool, pop on a lid and chill at least 48 hours before using.</li> <li>These keep for up to a month in the fridge. </li> </ol> Written by Bernadette Hogg. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Image credit: Stuff.co.nz / Manja Wachsmuth

Food & Wine

Everybody has a story to tell

Celeste Frances Scott is well known for her work as storyteller and emotive writer. The stories encompassing her life are inspiring and heartbreaking. In launching the innovative storytelling website <a href="http://buttonjarstories.com/" target="_blank">Button Jar Stories</a> Celeste is on a mission; to preserve one memory, one story in each family, as a legacy to future generations. The night my Father died, I met my Husband. My Mother died the same hour I gave birth to my Son. So how do you think you’ll be remembered? The brutally honest answer is; when a loved one plugs a memory stick into the latest gadget to download your image. YES. We’re all bound to end up stored on a piece of branded plastic. Hi. I’m Celeste Frances Scott. Writer, Author, Columnist and Creator of the innovative new concept Button Jar Stories where you simply journal one memory at a time guided by my question. We all have stories that have shaped the person we became and like many, mine reads like a book. Fifteen years a Graphic Designer for a national newspaper; PA to one of Australia’s leading Tourism Visionaries; Consecutive Finalist Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network Awards; long time Columnist for popular Noosa Magazine; Awarded top Female Marriage Celebrant during the decade I was one of the most sought after ceremony Officiants in Queensland; and then just to prove to myself I could, I went out and obtained my Heavy Rig Licence and became a FIFO worker on the Gorgon Project in WA; the most remote and expensive natural resource project ever undertaken in Australia’s history. <img width="499" height="278" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35126/image-1_499x278.jpg" alt="Image 1 (9)"/> Celeste’s father and mother when they were young. These days the steel cap boots are off. I’m now a busy Freelance Writer, Guest Speaker and Workshop Presenter. My passion is to enlighten many on how to write their own life stories. Stories you simply MUST preserve for your own posterity. Let me tell you a little more of my story. My parents were your everyday Mum and Dad, yet they died when their grey nomad adventures were just beginning. Sudden and unexpected. Many of the untold stories in my parent’s life are now gone. As a family, we didn’t journal or preserve them. We always thought we must start that ‘tomorrow’. My children will never know the incredible people their grandparents were as told in my parent’s words. I know with all certainty those historical stories of our family will become forgotten. My Father was a Printer and Photographer. I grew up with a dark room under our family home. The legacy my Father left, were boxes of precious photos taken over the duration of his life. However, times of taking an actual photograph to hold to heart are gone. The generation of today rarely see a polaroid photo and tomorrow’s generation may not even know what a photograph is. It’s the sad truth. There will be no boxes of treasured photos to leave. There will however be boxes of old phones, microchips and memory cards. For the sake of those precious stories we must go back to basics and use our words to preserve our stories in print on paper. <img width="500" height="233" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35127/image-2_500x233.jpg" alt="Image 2 (8)"/> Family photo of Celeste’s family in younger years. You may be thinking, ‘But I don’t have any stories worth preserving!’ Let me tell you, you do. How about those stories told sitting on Grandad’s knee. Stories shared around the dinner table. Stories of first loves, lost loves, eternal loves. Stories of new beginnings and endings. Stories in your family of black sheep, skeletons, personalities, legends and heroes. Stories of challenges that have shaped you. Stories of travels and adventures both behind and beyond your garden gate. Your parents love story. The one thousand stories and counting, that made YOU the person you are today. That memory stick will never tell the young man or woman in your future who share your DNA, anything about who you were, what you were, and how incredible the journey of your life was. I vow to change that. One memory, one story and one question at a time and it begins with ‘Button Jar Stories’. <img width="235" height="235" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35128/image-3_235x235.jpg" alt="Image 3 (7)"/> Celeste when she was a baby with her grandmother and mother. ‘Button Jar Stories’ is a digital interactive storytelling website. Think of it as your personal PRIVATE diary where every day you log in to your private page and journal memories and events from your life prompted by a specific question opening pathways to those memories. There is no timeframe. No judgement. Once completed, your stories can be edited before printed and bound into a beautiful leather book delivered to your door. It becomes a priceless affordable keepsake of you. I created Button Jar Stories as a simple way for individuals or families to journal the stories now of that person whose memories you treasure and don’t want forgotten. It’s a private way to express emotions, feelings and events that are not always easy to talk about in person. ‘Button Jar Stories’ is being used by people with early onset dementia as well as those who have faced battles in their life and need a way to express that journey in private and begin to heal. The beauty with ‘Button Jar Stories’ is that the site is loaded with lots of questions that will bring all the important stories and events together. It’s that simple.Journal one memory at a time guided by that question.It’s a lifetime of memories written in your own words. A priceless book of words and photos compared to being saved on someone’s cherry red memory stick. Let me tell you more. Come visit my website today – not tomorrow – at <a href="http://buttonjarstories.com/" target="_blank">Button Jar Stories</a>. Thank you for reading my story. Let me help you tell yours.

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