Let's talk mushrooms. anything--just bring it!

[Dawgluver]

Hen of the Woods, only in the Fall. A friend brought it over, from under a dying oak tree. It was almost the size of my beagle, and I dried, froze, cooked, and froze some more. Fantastic texture.

 

[vitauta]

Hen of the Woods, only in the Fall. A friend brought it over, from under a dying oak tree. It was almost the size of my beagle, and I dried, froze, cooked, and froze some more. Fantastic texture.

that's what i'm talking about - dog sized mushrooms and for free! did you need to secure it with a leash?

 

[Dawgluver]

that's what i'm talking about - dog sized mushrooms and for free! did you need to secure it with a leash?

Vit, you have to try it! Like a steak texture! Leash didn't fit.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

If you check these out, you will even find a recipe for Mushroom Ice cream...

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-lpbeier-70772.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-princessfiona60-70509.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-goodweed-of-the-north-70788.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-davesomd-70686.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-kathleen-70510.html

 

[vitauta]

If you check these out, you will even find a recipe for Mushroom Ice cream...

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-lpbeier-70772.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-princessfiona60-70509.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-goodweed-of-the-north-70788.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-davesomd-70686.html

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f123/gcc-mushroom-kathleen-70510.html

oh wow, you guys. wow. these mushroom entries are spectacular! one after another, they blew me away! it must have been very difficult to judge this contest. i couldn't have done it. i sure would have loved to be there tasting each and every dish though. that would have been mushroom nirvana right there....

 

[tinlizzie]

This thread brings to mind visiting in-laws in southern Ohio in the 60's - BIL had gathered morels from the woods, and SIL dredged slices in flour with s&p, then fried them. Absolutely heavenly. I haven't had them since, but remember well how unique and delicious the flavor was.

Just a couple of years ago, daughter and her boyfriend, who was a chef, gathered wild chanterelles in the woods when we were living in Charlotte NC. He made a nice sauce with them (while we tried our best to be confident in his shroom knowledge).

I'm one of the many here who were bowled over by that wonderful gratin recipe.

 

[Barbara L]

I'm drooling just reading this thread! I love mushrooms! To be honest I have only had wild mushrooms once and I didn't like them, but I think that can be attributed to the fact I was 8 or 9 years old and they were totally different from anything I had tried. As an adult I have not met a mushroom I haven't loved!

 

[ChocolateFrosting]

Everything about mushrooms is amazing!! I love garlic mushroom with a fry up, mushroom soup, mushrooms in or on all italian food, raw mushrooms in salad, stuffed mushrooms... Yu-ummy!!!

 

[CWS4322]

I am hoping the morel season was good this year in MN. I always manage to find room in my luggage to take a couple of jars of dried morels home from my father's stash...if I can't bring walleye, maybe I can bring morels. I really have to start planning my trips to MN around the time my favorite foods are plentiful...

I investigated buying morel plugs so I could grow them here on the farm...just didn't get around to it this year. Maybe next year, since I finally got the chickens this year, two apricot trees, and more blueberry plants. Other things that have been on my "add to the farm" list. I'm holding firm against a dairy cow...don't think I can handle milking twice/day and figuring out what to do with all that milk. Not to mention all the fencing we'd have to do to have secure pasture areas...and, cows probably like company, so two would be in order...maybe a couple of dairy goats would be a better idea...

 

[Zereh]

i just heard, again, that raw mushrooms should never be eaten. is it really never? i love the taste of raw mushrooms and in salads....

Mushrooms need to be cooked to get any nutritional value from them.

 

[CWS4322]

Mushrooms need to be cooked to get any nutritional value from them.

Is that the only reason, nutritional value? (I guess I could go to Google U--but I'm on a deadline and need to refocus on tomorrow's deadlines).

 

[GrillingFool]

I can blame my love of mushrooms directly on my party days in college.
HATED the things until one day when I got the munchies, and all that
was available was a friend's roommate's spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove
He hadn't added the mushrooms yet, so I grudgingly used one to scoop some sauce..
BAM! loved them ever since. So at least one good thing came from all those nights of
irresponsible youth.....

 

[vitauta]

I am hoping the morel season was good this year in MN. I always manage to find room in my luggage to take a couple of jars of dried morels home from my father's stash...if I can't bring walleye, maybe I can bring morels. I really have to start planning my trips to MN around the time my favorite foods are plentiful...

I investigated buying morel plugs so I could grow them here on the farm...just didn't get around to it this year. Maybe next year, since I finally got the chickens this year, two apricot trees, and more blueberry plants. Other things that have been on my "add to the farm" list. I'm holding firm against a dairy cow...don't think I can handle milking twice/day and figuring out what to do with all that milk. Not to mention all the fencing we'd have to do to have secure pasture areas...and, cows probably like company, so two would be in order...maybe a couple of dairy goats would be a better idea...

yes definitely, make plenty of room in your suitcases for those stowaway morels, cws. how do you cook them? you think i could grow mushrooms under my bed?

 

[Zereh]

Is that the only reason, nutritional value? (I guess I could go to Google U--but I'm on a deadline and need to refocus on tomorrow's deadlines).

I'm not even sure, to be honest.

I heard Aida Mollenkamp say something on her Cooking Channel show about mushrooms needing to be cooked for the nutrients to be absorbed so I did just a little bit of research. Of course she was right! I was just surprised because I had never ever heard that before.

She didn't say not to eat them raw; I have never heard anyone say that it was bad to do so. So that's new to me as well but not anything I've done any reading about.

I will put some raw mushrooms on a salad as well but that's the only place I ever use them.

 

[vitauta]

I can blame my love of mushrooms directly on my party days in college.
HATED the things until one day when I got the munchies, and all that
was available was a friend's roommate's spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove
He hadn't added the mushrooms yet, so I grudgingly used one to scoop some sauce..
BAM! loved them ever since. So at least one good thing came from all those nights of
irresponsible youth.....

you mean give CREDIT for your love of mushrooms on your party days in college, don't you gf? cherished memories and a life that has mushrooms in it - i'd say college wasn't wasted on you, gf....

 

[LPBeier]

This thread brings to mind visiting in-laws in southern Ohio in the 60's - BIL had gathered morels from the woods, and SIL dredged slices in flour with s&p, then fried them. Absolutely heavenly. I haven't had them since, but remember well how unique and delicious the flavor was.

Just a couple of years ago, daughter and her boyfriend, who was a chef, gathered wild chanterelles in the woods when we were living in Charlotte NC. He made a nice sauce with them (while we tried our best to be confident in his shroom knowledge).

I'm one of the many here who were bowled over by that wonderful gratin recipe.

Awww, thanks, TL! I am absolutely amazed how that one has gone over....it was so simple.

I love morels and chanterelles!

 

[CWS4322]

yes definitely, make plenty of room in your suitcases for those stowaway morels, cws. how do you cook them? you think i could grow mushrooms under my bed?

Because the morels are dried, I rehydrate them and add them to things--roast beef, beef stew, stroganoff, wild rice. I mostly add them to things that are beef-based. Except the wild rice. They add a "meaty" flavor. I did like to nibble on them dried, but then read one was never supposed to do that...I didn't die.

Bringing back walleye and morels is why I'm debating driving--or taking Amtrak from NY. I always used to drive, but now that my "canine shotgun" passenger is no longer with me, I don't have that excuse. Another reason I drove was the 2 days on the road let me get ready for the emotional roller coaster and decompress from the same on the way home. And, I got to listen to some great audio books.

I usually bring an over-sized suitcase and bring the minimum of clothes--I can do laundry there. It is the shoes that kill me. And the computer. I have to bring my notebook(s) so I can work and stay connected. That's a pain.

 

[sparrowgrass]

I took an Extension class this spring where we made our own shiitake log. It takes a year for the plugs to grow into the log enough to make mushrooms, but it is a simple process.

I am a mushroom hunter--I love oyster mushrooms in particular, and much prefer them to morels. They are very easy to find, they grow only on wood, and there is nothing dangerous to confuse them with.

I have half a dozen mushroom ID books, and I use them all when I find a new species. And 99.9% sure of ID is not good enough--those get tossed. Most mushrooms won't kill you, but some will, and some will just make you wish you were dead--liver and kidney damage is not worth it!!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I love mushrooms, in Europe chemist shops in the mushroom picking area's will give you a free poster of the one's that kill you

 

[vitauta]

i just came across a container of dried wild mushrooms that is stamped "best used by 7-01-2011." oops. mushrooms expiring in my house? how did that happen? i must have been saving them for a too-good-for-this-world occasion that never materialized. and what is with these best used by dates anyway? are these mushrooms still good, but not as good as they were before the first of july? i will find out soon enough. if i remember right, the rehydrating liquid will provide me with a rich, mushroomy broth that should be nice even if not "best" in my (sale) beef pot roast....i think i thought these mushrooms would be good forever when i bought them....