5 August 2008 Mushroom Eyes

Thanks to a field trip with Jon and Rose, Paul and I are getting our mushroom eyes.

Last evening I went for a little walk and run around the neighborhood. I found a large bolete (in the center of the photo) before I even left the yard. The next one, slightly smaller, presented itself half way through the outing.

This evening, we biked home from work through Bicentennial Park. Within a 100 yards of leaving the paved trails, Paul spotted some mushrooms. Half our harvest came from that spot. The rest of the ride was slow -- we were either watching the sides of the trail for more boletes or scanning the creek banks for bears.

Not all of these beauties made it into the saute pan. I found a few maggots in the trimming and cutting. And one turned blue so we threw it out.

We had another delightful dinner composed mostly of local foods -- mushrooms with herbs from the garden and a spinach salad from the garden with cucumber & radish from a Palmer farm. This meal was delicious, though not the exquisite feast that Jon prepared. Again, the satisfaction was increased knowing that we had gathered and grown much of it ourselves.