There are many ways to have a well-stocked pantry. Grow your own vegetables and preserve the harvest or buy pre-packaged freeze-dried foods and keep them on hand. Another way to fill your pantry is to take advantage of the foods that you can find free in the woods!
This past weekend my husband and I took part in a mushroom foray. What is a mushroom foray? When people who love wild mushrooms say “foray”, they’re talking abut organizing a group to go into the forest to look for fungi. The purpose of a foray can be to hunt for edibles, collect for scientific study or look at the beauty and diversity of mushrooms. Forays can last from an hour or two, to a multi-day overnight trip. On an overnight forays some of the plunder is typically cooked in delicious dishes for all to share.
While you are out on the field, everything we found was identified. We discussed where to look for various mushrooms as they usually are found near a particular tree. Morels in this area love elm and ash trees.
My husband and I are new to mushrooms but are interested in learning more. This particular foray was an overnight and was lead by Chris Matherly, also know as The Mushroom Hunter. We met in Brattleboro, VT and spent a day and a half searching for the elusive morels. Unfortunately its been a late spring in VT and we were several weeks too early and only found a few baby morels, too small to pick. However we did find numerous wild Ramps, Fiddleheads and Stinging Nettles. These were all used in creating a delicious meal on Saturday night.
Although we did not find any morels it was a fascinating weekend. There were several young ladies in the group who were very knowledgeable about the various plants growing in the woods and which ones were safe to eat or had medicinal value. Another man was very informative about the various newts, salamanders and snakes we found. We did find some beautiful Scarlet Cups on Sunday, which are edible and are often used to add color to a soup.
The highlight of the weekend was the delicious meal we all enjoyed Saturday night. One of the women on the foray lives locally and opened up her house for the meal. We enjoyed Stinging Nettle Quesadillas, Stuffed Mushrooms, Dandelion Fritters, Fried Morels (Chris had an abundance that he had collected elsewhere earlier in the week) and Sautéed Fiddleheads.
It was a fun weekend and we’ve already decided to take part in another weekend in the fall. Apparently in the fall there is a real diversity in the mushrooms you will find. Want to find your local mycological society? Check this link for a directory of local chapters. If you don’t join a mycological group, check around your local colleges and universities to see if there are mycologists in the Biology departments who are willing to inspect any mushrooms you collect for you. Some mycological groups allow you to email them a photograph of a mushroom you have collected for identification. I think my husband and I have caught the bug, we can’t wait to go on another foray! Linked To: HomesteadBarnHop, CleverChicksBlogHop, What’DYouDoThisWeekend, FatTuesday, TheBackyardFarmingConection, TuesdaysWithATwist
Nancy on the Home Front 