Wild About Mushrooms

catapault

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Time for a new thread, I think, so we don't have to comb through all of what's for dinner to find the mushrooms. I'll go first.

I forage for mushrooms. I'm what the local mushroom society folks call a pot hunter. Locally I find chanterelles, also chicken of the woods which is Laetiporus sulphureus, and hen of the woods which is Grifola frondosa. The places where I find the different kinds of mushrooms are the same from year to year, but each year's yield is always a variable. Remember that the "mushrooms" I collect are the fruiting bodies of the thread-like underground mycellium.

Here are two images from September of 2018. Chicken of the woods in situ, and
Mushrooms_2018-09_Laetiporus on log.jpg

my lunch: an omelet, buckwheat noodles, sugar snap peas and - tah da! - sauteed chicken of the woods. Tasted as good as it looks.
Mushrooms_2018-09_lunch.jpg
 
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neely

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I'm not nearly as adventurous a forager as you but my favorite mushrooms are shiitake, (primarily cooked not raw). I like to cook them with broccoli, soba noodles, a little olive oil, lemon and pepper. :yummy:
 

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I'm currently reading a memoir about a woman who finds mushrooming a way to cope with her grief over her husband's sudden death. It's called The Way Through The Woods". The book has been translated from Norwegian to English. There's lots of info about mushrooms in the book (with a section on "magic" ones) and how the same mushroom can be labelled as edible by one country but as non-edible by another. There are some recipes in the book but they're kind of vague (no measurements or cooking times). I recommend reading it :read:


An author interview:


Here are some mushrooms the local grocery store often has:


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The picture below is my favorite :biggrin:

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catapault

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How fortunate you are LTS3 LTS3 to have such a wonderful diversity of fresh mushrooms available. Yes, the look expensive, if you go by price per pound. But mushrooms are not dense. Even a 1/4 pound will embellish a meal. Go for it!
 
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catapault

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I've grown shiitake mushrooms, learning to inoculate a log at a NJ Mycological Association workshop. They grew very well!
Shiitake Mushrooms_2016-09_mushrooms on log.jpg
 

Rylka

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Wow, LTS3 LTS3 I'm very jealous of that mushroom selection! During the winter my favorite soup to make is pork and kimchi with enoki and shitaki mushrooms. Very warming for body and mind

I've never considered foraging for my own mushrooms, that's an amazing skill to have.
 
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catapault

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Rylka Rylka I had a friend very expert in foraging for mushrooms. She taught me. All I look for are the handful that I know are definitely safe and also delicious. Chanterelles, chicken of the woods, hen of the woods - delicious. I'm a pot hunter, you see. Puffballs are edible but not especially tasty as far as I'm concerned. So I pass them by. Ditto dryad's saddle. Only found morels once. And people who know where to find them may share the mushrooms but never the site.

And anything I do not recognize, I ignore. Do Not eat unknown mushrooms
 

LTS3

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There are mycological associations around the world that offer classes and such for people who are interested in foraging for mushrooms safely. The web sites generally have tons of info, too. Here's the one for North America:


Individual states / provinces have their own clubs.

Today's selection of mushrooms at the grocery store:

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I have a recipe for a slow cooker 5 spiced chicken with mushrooms. I used the Chef's Sampler mushrooms in the picture above and some baby portabella mushrooms. It came out pretty good :yummy:

I've seen those cardboard box kits that you can just add water to and watch mushrooms grow. It seems pretty cool.
 

furmonster mom

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Paul Stamets has a lot to say on the subject of mycelium and mushrooms.
He has a couple research projects; one on how certain mushrooms can help with breast cancer treatment, another on how mushrooms can help bees fight off mites. Kinda cool stuff.
Plus, he has an online store... Fungi Perfecti
 
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catapault

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I was on tenterhooks - should this go here or should it go in the Instant Pot thread? Mushrooms won.
Instant Pot book review_2019-12_creamy mushroom barley soup-ingredients.jpg
It's creamy mushroom barley soup from The Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook for Two. Recipe calls for vegetable broth but I used turkey broth (made in the Instant Pot I hasten to add.) Very nice, very easy. Next time I will add more than 2 cups broth as the 1/2 cup of barley absorbed a fair amount. And I used half-and-half to finish, rather than the heavy whipping cream recipe called for. It was very good on a damp December day.

So you see the mushrooms do not always have to be exotic to make a delicious dish.
 

LTS3

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I have a recipe from one of the Half Baked Harvest cookbooks (the Super Simple one I think) I want to try:

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What kind of mushrooms would work best and not turn into mush after 40 minutes or so of cooking?
 

furmonster mom

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white button mushrooms
shiitake mushrooms
oyster mushrooms
baby portebellas

Most mushrooms are pretty sturdy, and will stand up to lengthy cooking times (and they actually should be cooked). Just don't chop them too thin or into tiny bits.

I find that the asian market seems to have the best selection of commercially available mushrooms.
 
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catapault

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Have you made any other recipes from this cookbook? If yes, and you liked it / them, then maybe try this recipe. If not, I'd look for a rice and mushroom pilaf recipe on line, then compare the two. I know. I'm opinionated. Nonetheless, LTS3 LTS3 here are my comments on this recipe.

1) I would not use a "wild rice blend" because the cooking time for wild rice and white rice is significantly different. Use one or the other or cook them separately then combine when done. And I'm not sure what canned beans are going to add that improves the dish.

2) Ditto "mixed wild mushrooms" because this recipe won't enhance their unique flavors. furmonster mom furmonster mom suggestions of baby portabello or white button mushrooms would do very nicely. Or cremini would also be a good choice.

3) 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of wine? Yes, yes, I know. "I cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food." Consider using broth instead of water. And for wine my go-to would be white vermouth. I usually keep both white and red vermouth for cooking. They are good for cooking, keep well, don't need refrigerator space, and leave more wine for me to imbibe.

4) This is certainly accurately named "Herby" - 1/2 cup of basil is the same as 8 TABLESPOONS. Plus 2 Tblsp thyme and 1 Tblsp chopped sage. Very generous amount of herbs.
 

Mia6

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I love morels. A family member has 40 acres of woods and we are welcome to hunt for them as for some
reason they grow well there. One of my nephews came home with 2 buckets filled with them but it's
a long process as the woods are dark even in the daylight.
 

LTS3

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Have you made any other recipes from this cookbook? If yes, and you liked it / them, then maybe try this recipe.
Yes, I have made one other recipe from the book so far, a Thai Basil Beef.


No idea why the preview text shows a different post :headscratch:

1) I would not use a "wild rice blend" because the cooking time for wild rice and white rice is significantly different. Use one or the other or cook them separately then combine when done. And I'm not sure what canned beans are going to add that improves the dish.
I've made wild rice before. It takes soo long to cook 😵 Good for a weekend dinner but not so much for the work week when I just want to get dinner done quickly.

I think the canned beans add protein.


2) Ditto "mixed wild mushrooms" because this recipe won't enhance their unique flavors. furmonster mom furmonster mom suggestions of baby portabello or white button mushrooms would do very nicely. Or cremini would also be a good choice.
Yeah, I don't want to buy an expensive "fancy" mushroom and not be able to taste it at all. Shiitake mushrooms would work well, too.


3) 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of wine? Yes, yes, I know. "I cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food." Consider using broth instead of water. And for wine my go-to would be white vermouth. I usually keep both white and red vermouth for cooking. They are good for cooking, keep well, don't need refrigerator space, and leave more wine for me to imbibe.
I don't drink wine / alcohol anyways. Any time a recipe calls for those I use chicken broth instead.
 
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