I have never been fond of mushrooms. There’s just something about eating fungi that doesn’t appeal to me. It’s not particularly the taste, it’s mostly the texture…kind of like chewing a piece of rubber band if you know what I mean. Not to mention, my momma always told me they were poisonous.
Delicate mushrooms along the trail.
I suppose any mushroom connoisseurs out there who are reading this may beg to differ, so feel free. I don’t mind.
I was especially soured on mushrooms a number of years ago, when I fell terribly ill after eating a pizza topped with “the works“. It could have been any one of the toppings that disagreed with me, but I still blame it on the mushrooms. Now, whenever my family and I have one of those pizzas delivered, I simply pick off the extra-big mushroom slices.
Mushrooms grow on the underside of a log.
Come to think of it, there is one place that comes to mind where eating mushrooms is a mouth-watering experience. It is Copeland’s of New Orleans. Their stuffed mushroom appetizers are so doggoned tasty, I wish I could get on a jet plane and get some right now. Their mushroom caps are packed with perfectly seasoned crab meat and browned to perfection. You can hardly tell you’re eating a mushroom. Dipped in Copeland’s tiger sauce – they are so good.
What I do enjoy about mushrooms is looking at them. Ever since I went to a mushroom seminar several years ago, I have been intrigued by their very nature. I frequently find myself looking for them alongside trails and checking out their unique shapes and colors as I walk by.
Mushrooms grow out of a nurse log.
The mushroom seminar was taught by an interesting man who looked like a hippie. He seemed a carefree sort and I wondered if his knowledge of mushrooms grew from his experience with magic shrooms.
He took the group out into the woods and taught us how to identify different types of mushrooms – for survival and medicinal purposes. It was kind of tough spotting many of the spore-bearing fungus, as it was spring and there was still snow on the ground. He found enough for a lesson though, and taught us about the edible Witches Butter and about the moss that hangs from trees that can be used as a band-aid in an emergency.
I also learned about wild morels. Mushroom hunters love morels as they are considered a delicacy. Many of the group shook their heads in agreement when the talk turned to how scrumptious morels are when sauteed in butter.
A prized Morel mushroom.
Fresh morels sell for about $25 to $50 dollars a pound. It was discussed that if you knew how to tell the difference between a real morel and a false morel, and where to find them, you could make some extra money by selling them.
I think I know how to identify a morel now, but it still seems like risky business to eat and sell them. I think I’ll stick to taking pictures.
Mushrooms look like tiny umbrellas.
As I said, Momma always told me mushrooms are poisonous.
Till next time,
Marlene
