Sunday, May 3, 2009

Mushrooming Around



This past Friday, my husband and parents found their first morel mushrooms of the season. It is always right about now, when the lilac bushes start to bloom, that they start to pop up around dead trees and under "May Apple" plants in the deepest parts of the woods. People in other parts of the country enjoy wild ramps and fiddlehead ferns this time of year... in the MO/IA/IL area, we have morels!


Morel mushrooms are considered a delicacy in even the most high-end restaurants. But during the wet weather and warmer days of mid-Spring, they begin to pop up for the experienced or novice hunter to gather. The more moisture and heat there is, the better the find! They are usually only around for a few weeks every year, so it is almost as much sport as anything to look for them. They often favor the ground around long-dead Elm trees, and they often come back in the same spots, year after year. When you find a large patch, you keep the location secret so you can check it out again next year ☺ Many people will sell their finds to others, sometimes at up to $30/lb...or more! My BIL said yesterday he has heard of them selling at times for $80/lb...unreal.


Last night as my husband was mowing the new grass and I was getting ready to cook supper, I decided to try out my new net-sharing cam and make my first "blog video" to share with you. I hope it can be a bit informational to my net-friends who aren't familar with wild morel mushrooms ☺


Part One: Preparing the mushrooms for cooking.


Part Two: Cooking the mushrooms.

I cannot stress enough that you should NEVER eat anything wild unless you are positively certain of what it is!!!

4 comments:

Jenny S said...

Those mushrooms look yummy, but I'm pretty sure if I picked wild ones it would all go terribly wrong... eek!

Great videos and it was nice to hear your voice after all our 'chats'. Don't that sound odd? hee hee

mamahasspoken said...

You've inspired me! Not to go hunt mushrooms, remember what I told you the Ky history book said? Instead I am going to give the movie feature on my camera a try!

SquishyCuteStuff said...

Bonnie, do! I thought this was a decent opprotunity to share a little about where I come from and my knowledge...AND play with my net-cam! LOL I can't think of anything else that might be interesting to make a video of... feel free, anyone, to make G-rated suggestions ;-)

Mytutorlist.com said...

Oh, these mushrooms have been popping up in the yard lately. I was wondering what they were. They look exactly the same as yours, but I can't be sure they are not some kind of poisonous copycat so I won't eat them.