It don't think growing mushrooms is as easy as that. Keeping it moist might be a challenge in a sunny veggie garden site. Search mushroom growing websites for more information and let us know.

I agree with the rehydration idea, just water for an hour or so will be sufficient if they are anything like my dried morels, and definitely use the liquid for soup or gravy, it will have a lot of the flavor. I borrowed an idea from Eric Villegas, he dries mushrooms, grinds them to powder in a blender, coffee grinder or by hand and mixes the powder with sea salt to get a morel flavored salt. It's very nice: Morel Mushroom Salt (Show #203N) From Show #203N - Pan Seared Buffalo Steaks With A Michigan Morel, Fiddlehead & Ramp Salsa Ingredients: 6 tablespoons dried morel mushrooms 2 teaspoons sea salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest, finely chopped Directions: Place the dried the morels in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely ground. Add the sea salt, pepper, thyme, and lemon zest. Pulse until fine. Transfer to a small airtight container. Keeps up to 1 month I have some portobellos that need to be used, so I'm going to make some mushroom and barley soup, the recipe is from Eating Well. I never have sherry or marsala, so I just use an extra bit of chicken broth. Mushroom Barley Soup Makes 2 servings, 2 cups each Ingredients 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 1 small onion, finely chopped 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup Marsala or cream sherry (see Note) 1 14-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 cup water 1/4 cup quick-cooking barley Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, carrot, celery, onion, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables release some of their juices, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add Marsala (or sherry) and cook, stirring, until reduced, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, water and barley; bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables and barley are tender, about 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Note: Marsala and cream sherry, fortified wines, are flavorful and economical additions to many sauces. Store opened bottles in a cool, dry place for months. Per serving: 208 calories; 8 g fat (2 g sat, 4 g mono); 5 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 5 g fiber; 577 mg sodium; 730 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (120% daily value), Potassium (21% dv), Vitamin C (15% dv). Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 vegetables, 1 1/2 fat 2 Carbohydrate Servings I also make the Mushroom Tart with phyllo and mixed mushrooms from Eating Well: Rustic Mushroom Tart Makes 12 servings 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese 1/2 cup soft goat cheese (2 ounces) 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary Freshly ground pepper to taste 1 tablespoon butter 4 cups mixed wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped 1 large leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and thoroughly washed 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup white wine 10 sheets (14x18-inch) or 20 sheets (9x14-inch) thawed phyllo dough (see Timing Tip) 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs Combine ricotta, goat cheese, rosemary and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside. 2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, leek and salt and cook, stirring, until the leek starts to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, about 3 minutes. Pour in wine and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Set aside. 3. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet (approximately 12 by 17 inches) with parchment paper. Lay one large sheet of phyllo on the prepared pan. (If using the smaller size, slightly overlap two sheets to form a rectangle.) Keep the remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap or wax paper and a damp kitchen towel. 4. Lightly coat the phyllo with oil using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs. Repeat this step, layering the remaining phyllo on top. Carefully roll about 3/4 inch of each side toward the center to form the outer rim of the tart. 5. Spread the reserved cheese mixture evenly over the phyllo. Top with the reserved mushroom mixture. 6. Bake the tart until the crust is brown and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. To serve, lift the parchment paper and slide the tart onto a cutting board or large platter. Serve warm. Timing Tip: Thaw frozen phyllo (in its package) at room temperature for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight before preparing the recipe. Per serving: 234 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono); 10 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 1 g fiber; 364 mg sodium; 117 mg potassium. 2 Carbohydrate Servings Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 fat Yum, I just love mushrooms, nearly any kind. Well, except the poisonous ones that LindaC mentioned, LOL. Annie

This is sort of a cross between soup and gumbo. I hope it's the last cold weather dish I have to make for awhile, but it's definitely going into my keeper file for next winter because everybody liked it a lot. We added hot sauce at the table, and I made a note to increase the creole seasoning a good bit next time. But we all like things really spicy. As written, it's very mild for a Cajun dish, but also very flavorful. CHICKEN GUMBO SOUP 1-1/3 c. raw white rice 1 (3-4 lb.) chicken (I used a whole one, but cut up is ok) 7 c. chicken broth 1 c. chopped celery 1 c. chopped onion 1 c. chopped ham (cooked) 3 T. hot sauce 1 tsp. creole seasoning 3/4 tsp. pepper 1/2 c. butter 3/4 c. a-p flour 4 c. milk 3/4 c. white wine Put chicken in a large pot; add broth. Bring liquid to a boil over high heat; then reduce heat and allow to simmer for approximately 40 minutes, until chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken to a plate, reserving the stock. When cool enough to handle, chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, begin cooking rice according to package directions, but remove from heat 15 minutes before the recommended cooking time has expired. Drain off any remaining liquid, and set rice aside. In large pot over moderate heat, saute celery and onion in 1 tablespoon of butter for 5 minutes. Add chopped ham; cover. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until all ingredients are tender. Add all the reserved broth and the partially-cooked rice to the pot. Stir in hot sauce, creole seasoning and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt remaining 7 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Gradually add flour, whisking constantly, until all flour is incorporated and mixture is smooth. Continue cooking and stirring an additional minute. Gradually add milk, continuing to whisk constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Add some of the stock mixture to the milk mixture, continuing to stir. (This part was very fuzzy. It didn't give any reason, but I assume some sort of tempering process was needed. With no clear instructions, I added about 1/2 cup stock and stirred for a couple of minutes.) Then add milk mixture to stock mixture. Stir in chopped chicken and wine, simmering about 15 additional minutes. A bit time-consuming and a bunch of dirty pots, but we liked it a lot more than plain chicken soup. Wonderful with fresh, hot bread and a salad! sm

Well, it's all mush to me, ground corn cooked with whatever to a gloppy consistency. Grandma used to chill cornmeal mush in a loaf pan, slice it after it was cold and fry it in butter, served with maple syrup. I could eat it that way, but no other way. Imagine my surprise when I found a "roll" of polenta in the grocery store and realized that it was just cold mush, meant to be sliced and fried or grilled, with instructions right on the package. Because I was certain that polenta must be different than the detested childhood mush, I made some. Yup, it was mush. So I bought different cornmeal and made some more. Still mush. I bought extra-special-ground-just-for-polenta cornmeal. Um, yeah. It was mush. LOL So, make it however you want and put whatever in it or on it. Fry it or grill it or eat it in a bowl, but underneath all the fancy additives, it's still mush. As for grits, well, you can probably guess that they just remind me of mush, no matter the color. I'd eat the mushroom sauce, though, if that helps. (grin) Annie