I woke up this morning to find out that our cooking prep for Christmas day had to be delayed due to a supposed gas leak in the kitchen. I was originally concerned because I knew I was the last person to use the stove, and I was pretty certain I checked the stove to make sure everything was fully off before we went to bed this morning at 2am. I went on with my mincing of all the dumpling ingredients and just stayed away from the stove and oven for a few hours.

As I am mincing up the shiitake mushroom caps, Chris’s mom is standing across the counter from me, watching me do my prep work, and asking if I could smell the gas. I told her I couldn’t smell anything gas-like, and maybe it was because my nose was slightly stuffed. I had left the mushrooms out on the counter to re-hydrate and soak overnight. She then puts her nose closer to the mushrooms for a sniff and exclaims, “I think these mushrooms are emitting that smell!” She calls Tony over, and Tony runs up to the mushrooms, takes a whiff, and declares these silly mushrooms to be the culprit. He calls the gas company to let them know it was a false alarm, but they let him know that someone is already on the way, and it’s better to be safe and check anyway. A dispatcher comes, does his thorough check, and declares the mushrooms as the cause of the smell. I never would have guessed that these little mushrooms could cause so much drama. Who would have ever thought that these shiitakes could be thought to be gaseous?