Monday 14 October 2013

Mushrooms For Thanksgiving


Mushrooms have been pushing up through the moss and dirt all over our property.





We took advantage of a foraging workshop at the community centre last Saturday. Turns out we have nothing edible. After an hour in the classroom we headed out into the forest. Under the guidance of the instructor we brought home chanterelles

Sauted and eaten that night
and lobster mushrooms. The lobsters went straight into the stuffing for our Thanksgiving turkey.

I'm not a girl of expensive tastes and much preferred the lobster mushrooms to the chanterelles. The lobsters are much easier to find. Today we went into the forest behind our property and picked up a bag full.


They are destined for breakfast tomorrow, fried up with some thick slices of bacon. Oh yum.

It was a simple task to give genuine thanks for the forest bounty on our Thanksgiving plates. 
Happy Thanksgiving Canada.

17 comments:

  1. What a wonderful bounty you have collected. My husband is the mushroom picker in our family as it was part of his youth. However, I only feel safe with the ones I buy in stores.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I had a greater depth of knowledge. I'm only going to pick the three types we learned about.

      Delete
  2. Happy Thanksgiving to you!! Now those are just awesome! How fantastic to go out and find them for picking right out your back door! I have never had lobster mushrooms but I am a huge fan of mushrooms of any kind. And the health benefits are outstanding. That first shot looks like it is straight out of a magical forest!! WOW! Happy breakfast to you all tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm eating a lot more mushrooms and not just because I can get them for free. As you say they are so nutritious I feel good about every mouthful.

      Delete
  3. Dear Susan,
    Here in German they call Chanterelles 'Pfifferlings'. It is just coming up to the Pfifferling season here and soon they will be everywhere: on sale in shops, on the menu in restaurants and cafes, and at home in various dishes we make!
    I hope you enjoying the week!
    Kirk

    ReplyDelete
  4. So interesting to read you can pick edible mushrooms just behind your property. I should not dare to pick mushrooms in our surroundings, I think they are all poisenous, so for safety I buy them in the stores. Lobster mushrooms with bacon for breakfast sounds delicious and it looks like if somebody took a bite out of the fairy mushroom on the first photo, haha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mushroom was whole before I went to get the camera. I hope the poor little creature is o.k. as those mushrooms are poisonous.

      Delete
  5. Very interesting. I've never tried these types of mushrooms, but lobster mushroom sounds good! And, of course, everything tastes good with bacon! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We rarely have bacon but I needed some for a recipe and made sure there would be plenty of leftovers.

      Delete
  6. Best wishes for your Thanksgiving! I love mushrooms but don't have the confidence to pick the right ones in the wild. I need to go on a foraging workshop or course, too. I'm glad you found some lovely mushrooms to pick.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I lived in England we had some delicious mushrooms growing in the field behind the house. They had a deep rich flavour and were the size of a saucer.

      Delete
  7. I have so many mushrooms popping up - but I don't know if they're edible or not. The only ones I can spot for sure are young puffballs. I will have to dig out my mushrooming book and go out and do some research. Fried mushrooms and bacon for breakfast sounds wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a mushroom book. The first thing it says is never pick mushrooms without the aid of a trained mycologist! Who has a mycologist at their beck and call? I hope you find something you can safely eat because the taste is delightful.

      Delete
  8. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.. Your mushrooms look beautiful and I want to come north for breakfast!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A breakfast get together sounds wonderful. Then I'll come to yours for a dip in the new pool.

      Delete
  9. I would love to take the class. I know mushroom picking is a big thing around our town. I hear the prices at the buyers is down because the crop is so good this year. - Margy

    ReplyDelete