July 26, 2010 6:34 am
This is the first time I’ve seen mushrooms in any kind of volume since May.
Mushroom identification is important. In this case, the mushroom may be Boletus bicolor, or it may be Boletus sensibilis. Most mycologists agree that the first is a choice edible and the second is likely to cause stomach upset. My friends and fellow mycologist/foragers Joe and Kathy Brandt are convinced that Boletus sensibilis is perfectly fine to eat.
The two mushrooms are very hard to tell apart. One of the identifying characteristics is whether the mushroom stains blue slowly or quickly. Boletus bicolor stains slowly; Boletus sensibilis turns blue instantly.
I took these photos while the mushroom turned blue:
(more…)
July 17, 2010 11:24 pm
This part of New York’s Hudson Valley has been so dry that I have not found any fungi, even in places I have seen them before. The day was not wasted, since I found other wild edibles, although not in great quantity.
Even the tiniest milkweed pods are maturing rapidly.
I gathered enough to add to ratatouille.
I also found evening primrose blossoms, which are a great trail snack. I have not yet tried to combine them in any recipe.
(more…)
July 11, 2010 8:37 pm
It finally rained yesterday for half the day. It helps a bit, but many of the plants were burned to a crisp in the heat wave. I headed for a shady trail. It’s not as hot as it was, but I want to be out before the summer sun has a chance to heat up the trail.
I did not expect to find mushrooms. But I did find grape leaves.
I chose several different sizes and shades of green. What I learned is that the lighter green leaves were still tender. The darker green leaves, having endured the extreme heat, were tough and chewy. One source I consulted suggested foragers count down three leaves from the new growth at the end of the vine and pick the next 2-3 leaves. Do not pick more than three from each stem.
I only gathered a few leaves, because I knew this was an experiment. Now that I know what to look for, I’m motivated to make stuffed grape leaves again.
July 9, 2010 8:52 am
This is one of the few local areas that has had no rain – yet. I hope the scorched earth gets some relief. Mushrooms are nowhere to be found. They depend on moisture to fruit. The recently ripe, succulent berries are becoming dry and hard – not like dried fruit – more like pebbles.
Just before this heat wave I tried to transplant Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). I don’t know if this drought will wipe out all the water I had given them before the thermometer outside my window read 40-degrees Celsius, (104-degrees Farenheit). I don’t remember any day getting as hot as that since I arrived on the planet.
Meanwhile a Cooper’s Hawk is teaching her fledglings to hunt. The blue jay is tormenting the motionless hawk by pointing out its location to all the other birds.
(more…)
June 26, 2010 6:58 am
This is what I see when I walk into my yard.
In a couple of hours I’ll be leading a mushroom walk.
I cannot get a decent photograph of the spherical spider-web in the rain barrel on my deck. There’s about an inch of water in the barrel and above it, this glimmering globe of silky fiber woven into a geodesic dome, with a beautiful spider in the center. It’s really magical.
I spent last night watching day give way to night as fireflies glimmered and katydids sang on a perfect summer night. A light breeze kept the biting insects at bay. I like the way the gray values of the sky and the leaves change, like watching a painting come to life.
As night gave way to this morning, accompanied by the wake-up songs of robins, cardinals and avian summer visitors, the shadows revealed each individual leaf and the ashes, maples and oaks became distinct again. Vibrant day-lilies reach toward the sky and nestled in the thorny brush, those little wild berry jewels glisten in sunlight.
If I eat roadkill at this time of year, I have to watch the animal get hit. I had such an opportunity two days ago. A fat, but not quite fast enough woodchuck got caught in the wheels of a mommy-mobile. (more…)
May 11, 2010 5:06 pm
If I’m standing in grove of ash trees or tulip trees, or elms, why do the morels fruit near only one tree and not the others in the grove? One theory is that the mycelia travel underground until they hit an obstacle, which causes them to fruit and bypass the obstacle by spreading spores.
That seems plausible. For me, the hunt for morels is really more fun than eating them, although I have learned that rehydrated dried morels have more intense flavor than fresh ones.
This year, I notice “twin” morels fruiting in several places. I don’t remember noticing that in past years. This year, the morels fruited two weeks earlier than last year, but until a few days ago, I had not found enough for one meal.
I typically do not find large communities of morels. But even finding one here and a few there can add up.
So imagine my surprise when I came home from a recent hike with enough morels to dry and to share. No one has ever said that morels are associated with sweet gum trees, but that seemed to be the dominant tree in this morel-rich location.
I’m not hunting morels for competition or to sell, so looking for them becomes a kind of meditation. Also, it seems the more I share, the more I find.
May 7, 2010 9:19 pm
A friend gifted me some pokeweed shoots (Phytolacca americana). I’ve never found it early enough to harvest. I’m putting it through my test for wild edibles. So far, so good.
I’ve also harvested the ingredients for wild flower blossom salad, these blooms are almost past peak; I gathered these at the end of May last year.
I’m saving the milkweed shoots, nettles and mushrooms I found for another meal.
I’m also testing “Wildman” Steve Brill’s technique of preserving black locust flower blossoms by freezing them. With luck, I’ll have a sweet treat during the cold winter months.
March 20, 2010 5:44 pm
This year, COMA‘s Mushroom University is designed to help students see details of fungi that would be easy to overlook in the field. While our focus is on non-gilled basidiomycetes – chanterelles, jelly fungi, coral fungi, toothed fungi and gasteromycetes – many of the lessons we are learning apply to all kinds of mushrooms.
Most of us will be in the field somewhere, collecting and observing members of the fungi family. We will have two questions about everything we find:
What is this mushroom? and Can I eat it? (more…)
March 14, 2010 7:55 am
I am not immune from falling into the trap that humans have some kind of superiority as a species. We’ve spent tens of thousands of years manipulating and cultivating other species. Just when I thought we’d succeeded in driving certain species of plants to extinction, the plants have written their own chapter in this story.
Without any corporate investment, amaranth has become resistant to RoundUp. Take that – Monsanto.
Back to humans, Michael Pollan believes that the Center for Food Safety has the necessary scientific evidence that will help farmers and the rest of us fight back against Monsanto. Our elected officials will not do it for us, so we’ll have to do it ourselves.
Shakespeare had it right. What fools we mortals be.
March 7, 2010 7:01 am
I’m completing our CSA farm application and finalizing the COMA walk schedule for this season.
While everyone else is focused on the Oscars, I’m watching a documentary that I doubt would be nominated, not because of the production values, but because of the content.
What’s wrong with GMO’s – genetically modified organisms? Decide for yourself. This film is free online: The World According to Monsanto. (more…)
