What to do when the fungus is among us...

[Sebaste]

So my wonderful girlfriend returned from work last night holding these delectable morsels she found in the woods.


What to do.... Pizza? How bout chantrelle, pepperoni, and prosciutto. Yum

We cleaned and dry sauteed the shrooms.


and then topped the pizza and baked. Here is the results.


Looks like shroom season in Fort Bragg has officially begun

Dave

[Bob Ballew]

hope your mushroom i.d. expert in on top of things...some species can kill you...sure looks good on pizza!! now, I am inspired to open my old can of mushrooms and make some pizza....

[ApneaAddict]

YUM! I'm going to have to do chanterelle pizza soon, that looks great!

Originally Posted by Bob Ballew

hope your mushroom i.d. expert in on top of things...some species can kill you...

Lol. Few wild mushrooms are as distinctive as chanterelles. If you poison yourself picking chanterelles, that's just darwinism at work.

[Sparkie]

Originally Posted by ApneaAddict

If you poison yourself picking chanterelles, that's just darwinism at work.

Dave were those chanterelles logged with water?

[ocean_314]

Originally Posted by Sparkie

Dave were those chanterelles logged with water?

You can dry saute the water out of any mushroom to intensify the flavor. All mushrooms are around 80 to 90% water.

[deckhandmike]

Still waiting for them to spout locally, looks awsome.

[Sparkie]

Originally Posted by ocean_314

You can dry saute the water out of any mushroom to intensify the flavor. All mushrooms are around 80 to 90% water.

Already knew that. We've been prepping our mushrooms that way all season up here. I was inquiring as to whether the chanterelles down there had soaked up a ton of water from the recent storm cell or not.

[Sebaste]

Sam,
The shrooms very firm and not soggy at all. They must have just popped with this last rain

Dave

[ocean_314]

Shrooms dont soak up water, thats a wives tale. They will get old and start to rot in a few days in rainy weather.

We are seeing a lot of lobster mushrooms around here from the rain. Thats a shroom that gets attacked by another fungus, it look pretty gross but some people love them.

[ApneaAddict]

Originally Posted by ocean_314

Shrooms dont soak up water, thats a wives tale. They will get old and start to rot in a few days in rainy weather

How about doing a little experiment to test this one out Ocean. Take a firm, dry chanterelle and when you go to rinse the dirt off it, leave it under the water for an extra 30 seconds. I'll bet you $50 that it becomes so wet that you can squeeze water out of it.

I'm not saying they are or aren't necessarily soggier when picked in the rain, but they are sure as hell capable of soaking up a LOT of h2o.

[ralphthehalibut]

PLease take his bet 314. It's your wife's money, she can afford it, and carter can probably put the 50 buck to better use than you can.

Edi: To the OP... your wife works in the woods? Anyways, I'm jealous as hell..... I need to find some good mushroom spots in San Diego. I've heard they exist, but I don't know where. One of the things I miss mos about the N. Coast is the wild edibles....

[ApneaAddict]

Originally Posted by ralphthehalibut

I need to find some good mushroom spots in San Diego. I've heard they exist, but I don't know where. One of the things I miss mos about the N. Coast is the wild edibles....

Somebody (I forget who) posted a bunch of photos of the jumbo-sized black morels they were finding in San Diego last spring. It was the craziest thing. I seem to remember him saying he found a big crop of them growing at Sea World! All the mushroom aficionados agreed that Sea World must have bought some mulch that came from the upper Sierras.

If you shoot a PM to ScienceMike, he might be able to help you find some Chicken of the Woods (aka Sulfur Shelf Mushroom). He said they're fruiting all over LA right now.

[Sebaste]

Originally Posted by ralphthehalibut

your wife works in the woods?

We both work for a timber company, I do Fisheries/ Hydrology work and she does forest inventory. Were fortunate to have the access to the property and be able to work in our respective fields.

[beanmop]

Originally Posted by deckhandmike

Still waiting for them to spout locally, looks awsome.

I've found them recently in the hills around MDO/Diablo but they're don't seem to be out in full force yet. Hopefully we see more with this weeks weather.

[Brandiego]

I hit the woods around Julian yesterday and found only LBM's. In the yard here in Bonsall we have found tons of meadow mushrooms. My four year old is becoming a champion mushroom spotter.