Making kombucha, fermenting kimchi, or cultivating mushrooms: they are all DIY growing projects that involve bizarre, somewhat gnarly ingredients for their production.
by Anna Monette Roberts
Making kombucha, fermenting kimchi, or cultivating mushrooms: they are all DIY growing projects that involve bizarre, somewhat gnarly ingredients for their production. My studio apartment, which is notorious for smelling like fish for weeks only after one pan-seared sole dinner, is no place for stinky, fermented projects. However, I recently became the proud owner of an Oyster Mushroom MiniFarm from Far West Fungi California Mushrooms, and so far, it has been the weirdest thing I've ever "grown" at home.
The mushroom kit was gifted to me by a fellow culinary friend who offered me a heavy, white brick (the supposed mushroom farm) in a clear plastic bag and gushed, "Oh, I hope you like it!" My first thought was, "Will I accidentally make poisonous mushrooms and breathe in the spores at night?" But memories of earthy, sautéed oyster mushrooms eased my paranoia, and I propped the "plant" near a sunny window. After carefully following the instructions, my mushroom farm has dozens of little sprouts, a sign that my efforts have been working. In a few weeks, I think I'll have big meaty mushrooms to feast on and can bypass the mushroom bins at the grocery all together.
While many are apt to leave the weird stuff to the pros, there is something incredibly satisfying about trying to rear a crop of oyster mushrooms, brew a batch of beer, cultivate an herb garden, or transform raw cabbage into fermented sauerkraut in the comfort of your home. What's the weirdest thing you've fermented, cultivated, or grown at home?
A word to the wise: if your boyfriend's mom makes you dinner, eat up, tasty or not. Luckily, I have no need to fake smiles through gummy pasta and dried-out pound cake; one of the best cooks I know just happens to have brought up my sweetie. 
She introduced to me these robust feta-studded herbed biscuits, which I had no problem scarfing down (I may have eaten two, despite their large size). These biscuits have enough verve and spunk to enjoy unadorned, but I'd imagine that they'd make for a decadent breakfast sandwich, split in half and layered with fried egg, bacon, and a slice of gooey mild cheese like fontina.
