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Each month we'll be highlighting one mushroom that can be found in WNC during that current month. This is in an attempt to help members or guests learn our local mushrooms. It will also be noted whether the mushroom is edible, ill advised, or poisonous.
May Musings
The end of the morel season has passed and we are again in the season of fungal famine. For some unknown reason the time period after morels and just before chanterelles is for the mycophogists among us fungally fruitless. Of course there are numerous woody polypores and the very occasional giant Stropharia (thankfully), but for the most part (without planning) the faithful fungiphiles are foiled.
Our edible plants foray provided some distraction for our wild food fanatics. Greens for the salad and herbs for the pot are quite abundant and widely spread. Those with only a little knowledge can usually gather a meal. Planting a garden helps to appease the forager in me, but I NEED MY FUNGI FOOD!!!
It is this time of year that a little planning ahead can get you through to the summer season. Do a little online research into mushroom cultivation. Oysters (Pleurotus) are easy and can even be cultivated on straw. The aforementioned May-fruiting Stropharia can be successfully cultivated in your yard. The oak logs that I inoculated 15 months ago are now covered with beautiful, big, brown shiitake caps.
So, what if you don’t have room to grow your own? Learn to preserve especially when your favorites fruit in abundance. I grew up in a time when “we would eat all we can and can all we can’t”. We either grew or foraged for a significant portion of our diet. Anything that couldn’t be consumed fresh was preserved for later use by drying, pressure canning, freezing, pickling, brining, candying (jelly, jam or fruit butter), and smoking. Just use your imagination, dry morels, can chanterelles, pickle meadow mushrooms, smoke and dry L. volemus, freeze oyster duxelles.
Just think how special one of those “planned ahead” treats would be right now!
Steve
Steve Peek, field mycologist and long standing member of the Asheville Mushroom Club
Steve's alliterative May mushroom musings inspired me to turn to several of the AMC cookbook's recipes featuring preserved mushrooms. There are many additional interesting recipes featuring dried, pickled, canned and smoked mushrooms throughout the cookbook ...enjoy discovering and trying them!
By the way, mushroom cooks will be glad to hear that Cooking with the Asheville Mushroom Club is now being reprinted and we expect to have copies for sale in July.
Ginger Fisher
Pickled Lobsters and Honeys (Arleen Bessette, Cooking with the Asheville Mushroom Club, p. 147)
2 c. lobster mushrooms, cleaned and chopped to 1 - 2 inch sizes
1 c. honey mushrooms, prepared the same way
1 bottle champagne salad dressing (or your favorite)
Place mushrooms in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for not more than 5 minutes. Drain and place in a jar. Cover with dressing and cool. Place top on jar and refrigerate. Will keep up to 2 - 3 weeks.
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Dried Leccinum "Bacon" (George Lowe and Suzanne Pell, Cooking with the Asheville Mushroom Club, p. 52)
Leccinum ponderosum, Leccinum manzanitae (or local boletes)
salt to taste
oil for frying
Slice mushrooms in uniform slices about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thin and dry until crispy. When ready to prepare, soak mushrooms in warm water or favorite stock until flexible but not fully imbibed (about 1 minute). Pat surfaces dry with a towel. Sprinkle with a little salt. Fry in hot oil until brown while holding flat with a spatula for uniform browning. Serve hot.
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Smoked Morels and Sauerkraut Casserole (AMC Collection, Cooking with the Asheville Mushroom Club, p. 110)
2 c. half and half
7 large smoke-dried morels, broken into small pieces
1 1/2 c. sauerkraut
1 med. onion
5 eggs, beaten
1/3 c. medium-aged Gouda or other cheese
salt and pepper to taste
dash nutmeg
Heat the half and half in a pan until hot but not bubbling. Remove from heat and add morels. Steep for 20 - 30 minutes. Rinse sauerkraut, place in a pan, and cover with water. Boil for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain very well. Mix all ingredients. Place in a buttered baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Serves 4.
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