June brings firefly skies, fawn footprints, blooming gardens and the first flush of Chanterelle mushrooms. It is a magical time in Cincinnati and this year it’s extra special because Rich Life Farm & Fungi is celebrating 5 years of business! In this newsletter you can read our story, meet a partner restaurant who is growing in ways of their own, and a summer fungi recipe. ⬇️🍄

We’re turning 5!

Rich Life Farm & Fungi has hit the milestone of turning 5 years old! Here’s how the story goes.

It began in April of 2020 when Pete and Emalee acquired the property and saw the vision of converting an pole barn into their mushroom production facility. The covid pandemic shortly followed, which made construction contracts more difficult to get. If you want something done, you got to do it yourself, right? So Pete, Emalee, and their team of skilled family members and friends pulled together to do the framing, electric work, painting, dry-walling, walk-in refrigerator build out, insulation, etc.. A lot of work, put simply.

Later that summer in June 2020 they got the official paper declaring Rich Life Farm & Fungi as a legitimate business. The dream became a reality.

Once the construction and paperwork wrapped up, the fun began. In December, they took the first steps of mushroom cultivation—expanded mushroom cultures and made spawn. The next month, they made substrate, and the first mushrooms fruited in February. But it wasn’t until March that they had the required Ohio Department of Agriculture inspection and were officially allowed to sell them to wholesale customers.

Now, Rich Life Farm & Fungi is selling at three farmer’s market weekly, providing several local restaurants with mushrooms and a few retail shops as well. We have added mushroom tinctures and mushroom merchandise to our offerings with a farm store in the works.

And you know what? Rich Life Farm & Fungi couldn’t be here without your support. Huge thank you to all you fungi fans out there who visit us at the markets every week. There’s nothing better then spreading the good word to your friends and family.

And big congrats to Pete and Emalee for making their dream happen. They have put so much work into their business that brightens our community. Cheers to that work ethic and many more years of success for Rich Life Farm & Fungi.

Market Raffle

The Northside Farmer’ Market is fundraising for our friends at CAIN through June. Help us expand food access in our community. Donate to the Freestore Foodbank Hunger walk team, link here, to be entered to win a bunch of goodies from the market and vendors, including:

Mushroom of the Month: Shiitake

Rich. Buttery. Drool-worthy. Savory. Umami. These are some words that describe the Shiitake mushroom. Shiitake, Lentinus edodes, is back into our mix of mushroom offerings by popular demand.

Shiitakes range in size from palm-sized caps perfect for grilling to smaller ones ideal for stir-fries and sautés. Whether roasted whole, sliced into risottos, or simmered in broths, shiitakes add richness and complexity that is hard to beat.

Beyond flavor, shiitakes offer impressive health benefits. Used for over 1,000s of years in Chinese medicine to support longevity and vitality; Shiitake stands out from other medicinal mushrooms because it contains lentinan, which bolsters the immune system, and eritadenine, which may help lower cholesterol by influencing how the liver processes fats. Eating shiitakes isn’t just delicious, it’s nourishing on a deeper level.

Shiitakes are a difficult mushroom to grow along with the wide varieties of other mushrooms we grow. Shiitakes require more time to grow, more care in the fruiting room and more attention during harvest. That means there’s a whole lot of time for us to put our love into it!

When you pick up a bag of our shiitakes, you're getting nourishing mushrooms grown with intention and care that will burst with flavor. From our farm to your kitchen, thank you for being part of the journey!

Recipe: Grilled Shiitake Skewers

Light your charcoal, it’s grillin’ time. This marinated mushroom recipe is super simple and easy. Shiitake skewers make for a perfect vegetarian option, but also a great main course or side dish for anyone.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 medium bag of Shiitake mushrooms from Rich Life Farm

• 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt

• 1/2 cup of soy sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• Juice 1 lemon

Here’s how:

1. Prepare the mushrooms: Skewer the mushrooms on the diagonal, so they'll lay flat on the grill, then put in a shallow dish. Lightly salt with the kosher salt. Whisk the soy sauce, olive oil and lemon juice together, then pour over the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms marinate while the grill preheats.

2. Prepare the grill: Set the grill up cooking on direct medium-high heat.

3. Cook the mushrooms: Put the mushroom skewers on the grill over the direct medium-high heat, and grill until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the skewers and grill on the other side until browned, another 3 minutes. Put them back in the dish with the marinade and turn once or twice to add another layer of the marinade. Put the skewers on a serving platter and serve.

Simple, smoky and delicious!

Partner Spotlight: St. Francis Apizza

St Francis Apizza might be the collective favorite pizza in Cincinnati of our farm team. They make great pizza from scratch every day, using lots of local ingredients, including Blue Oyster mushrooms from us (see the New Richmond pizza).

Alex Plattner, owner of St Francis Apizza, is a friend and one of Rich Life Farm’s first customers ever. He celebrated four years of business in February and has successfully created a team of passionate pizza makers. The team even closes the restaurant to take trips and sometimes, they go on farm tours to find out where the ingredients are from. How wholesome is that?

Their original spot is a take-out only restaurant on Erie, but they have just announced another location in Oakley at 3200 Madison Road (former Boca and Red Feather). This location will focus on dine-in.

This restaurant is near and dear to our hearts. We encourage you to check them out. And if you’re coming to the Hyde Park Farmer’s Market, you can grab a frozen pizza to take home and enjoy. Or get frozen dough to make your own. Can you have too much pizza? We vote no.

Farm Fun

At the end of each newsletter we save a little fun fact for you and this month it’s that I, Kelley, got to visit Croatia. Two of my great grandparents grew up there in small villages, Tici and Radosevici, to be exact. And what better excuse to visit another country than to connect with your roots?! I traveled with my boyfriend and aunt all across Croatia, hitting Zagreb, the villages, Split, Vis and Trogir. The most fascinating thing to me was seeing ancient buildings, like Diocletian’s palace. Not only is it still standing, but it serves a purpose and is used by locals for business or housing. I will not soon forget the beautifully bright blue water of the Adriatic sea. It truly was an experience of a lifetime.

Thanks for tuning in!

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