Mushrooms - The Wild Kind

It's almost that time of year again. That time of year where I must make the time to go strolling through the woods looking for the prime spot to find the incredible delectable morel. But, many times these walks do not lead me to any "edible" mushrooms. Last year I took pictures to share of the other types of mushrooms I found. Of course, I can't find all of these photo's now, but did find some to share.

Leading the photo show, is the top dog. The one. The only. The Morel.

This guy is not one I will sink my teeth into. 

Gyromitra Esculenta, I was shocked to learn that people do eat this.

Pheasant Back. While very edible, and enjoyed by many, I don't have the nerve. It breaks one my mushroom rule. 

1.) If Gram didn't pick it wild and eat it, I'm not going to either.

I really have no idea what these are besides pretty.

 These area a fairly common site for me. They remind me of jelly fish. 

Do you forage for any wild mushrooms? Where did you learn what's ok and what's not?

It's the Morel Time of Year

We had some snow showers over night and this morning, so I thought my plans to go find some morel mushrooms would be cancelled. I don't really know how much snow or when it happened, as it was melted by the time I was up and moving. No, I wasn't sleeping in that late, fortunately it melted that fast! When I saw the picture of my neighbors truck covered in snow, 

I was glad I slept through it all!

I did go to my parents for a visit. As close as they are, they escaped the winter precip. My dad and I went out for a tour of the projects he has been working on, and while out we did check for the tasty little morels. I have honestly never looked for mushrooms while wearing a stocking cap and gloves, but guess what?? We found a few! Definitely not enough for a meal, but I am not one to turn down a taste of these little guys!

Do you hunt morels?  What's your favorite way to prepare them?

Here is a favorite recipe from last year, Morel Asparagus Frittata

And, here is a tasty recipe we need to try from my friend Shabnam at Flavor N' Spice for 

Spiced Cauliflower with Morels and Basmati Rice Pilaf.

Morel & Asparagus Frittata

If you've been reading here for a while now, you must remember my love of morel mushrooms. I've enjoyed the spring time hunts for this mushroom as far back as I can remember. Thankfully, every where I have lived, morels grow. There have been years where I just didn't make it out to get any. And, when we lived in the Twin Cities, you had to fight to get to the spots before the bazillion other morel hunters got there. In certain stores you are able to buy them, but they cost more than a pretty penny!

This year our weather is not ideal for morels. They are growing, and we are finding them, but they definitely are not as plentiful as other years. I still have enough though, especially since Truckin' Man does not enjoy them with me. 

As soon as my friend Anne, from A Salad For All Seasons, had posted her recipe for Herbed Ricotta, Spring Pea & Mushroom Frittata, I knew I would have to twist her recipe to fit what we were picking fresh on the farm, and this would be what I would make when my parents came over for Mother's Day.

This was my first time ever making a frittata. It was so delicious and easy to prepare! 

A perfect way to enjoy what's in season.

Morel & Asparagus Frittata

8 eggs (farm fresh if you can)

1/4 cup half and half

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped

8 ounces fresh asparagus, cut into 1" - 2" pieces

8 ounces fresh morel mushroom, cut in half lengthwise

3 Tbsp shallots, diced

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

salt and pepper

Additional chives for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In medium bowl, whisk eggs and half and half. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. In separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chives, and salt and pepper; set aside.

Heat 10 inch ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Heat olive oil and butter. Add shallots, stirring often until softened.  Add mushrooms, saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add asparagus, saute another 5 minutes until all liquid is evaporated from mushrooms and asparagus is crisp-tender. 

Add egg mixture to skillet, and lower heat to medium. Spoon 6 dollops of the seasoned ricotta evenly around the frittata.  Cook without stirring for about 5 minutes. Once edges of frittata are set, transfer skillet to oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes until center is set.

Garnish with additional chives.

Enjoy:)

Adapted from: A Salad For All Seasons

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Cooking with Morels

I have struggled with how to write a post on cooking with morel mushrooms. Why? First off, because I am stingy with them. They are such a treat, and they were hard for us to find this year, which makes me pull in the reigns even tighter. If the season is good, I am more liberal with them, and willing to take chances. Not the case this year.

But. I did go for a walk one night. Not intending to find any morels. I was just out for the fun of looking. And I found some. I hardly ever find more than two or three on our own land. I was thrilled! But, still stingy with the mushrooms when cooking. Even though I don't have any fancy recipes for you, I will tell you what I like to do.

I clean the mushrooms by soaking them in some water. 15 minutes should be sufficient. My main purpose is just to get any bugs out. After the soak, lay them on a towel for a while, and pat gently.

I trim the stems of the morels to get rid of any blemished or discolored stem. Then, cut them in half lengthwise.

Honestly, I LOVE them in the simplest form. Just sauteed. A couple tablespoons of butter. Or half butter, half olive oil. I do it both ways. I like them just when they are starting to crisp a little bit.

My next favorite way to prepare them is breaded. Beat a couple of eggs in a shallow bowl. Crush some saltines, and put the cracker crumbs in another bowl. Melt several tablespoons of butter in skillet. Dip morel in eggs, then roll gently in crushed crackers. Fry until golden, then turn and fry on other side until golden. Mmmmm.....

You can also just give a cleaned mushroom a light toss in some flour, and then saute in butter.

I did make an oven baked omelet this year with some morels, it was quite tasty. But, in the end, I prefer the mushrooms to be on their own so I can enjoy their flavor alone, and savor every bit of their goodness.

If you would like to try some fun and delicious recipes with your morels, I highly recommend this one from Sumptuous Spoonfuls for her Morel Mushroom, Havarti & Chive Souffle.  This recipe is what inspired my baked omelet.  It also inspired my friend to make Morels and onion sauteed with bacon, butter and Havarti Cheese over pasta.

Here is a link to Midwest Living for a collection of 19 recipes with morels.  http://www.midwestliving.com/food/fruits-veggies/morel-mushroom-recipes/?page=14

If you try any of them, I would love to hear what you think of them. Or do you prefer them alone, to just savor every last morsel?

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Hunting Morels

Hunting for Morel Mushrooms in the woods is something I have been doing as long as I can remember. I am pretty sure my parents had my sister and I out hunting, as soon as we were able to handle the terrain of the woods.

A special shout out on this post to my friend Carla, from The River. I hope that this might help you and your family find some morels in your neck of the woods!

You have to be patient when you are on the hunt.

A good place to look is by old elm trees. 

Not sure if it's an elm tree? Better off to just look around it and be sure.

(Be sure to look under those Mayapples)

My grandpa says that the elm tree needs to still have bark on it for it to be an elm hot spot.

 You have to keep your eyes open and be careful where you step. 

They can be hidden by old leaves, pieces of bark, and many other pieces of nature.

Morels are not always in the deep cover of the woods. They can be in a grassy meadow.

Do you see it?

 By the end of your trek, be it 30 minutes, or 3 hours as it was this day, I hope you have some delicious morels to take to the kitchen!

While you are looking for the ever elusive morel, 

you are sure to see many other exciting signs of spring.

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Morel Mushroom

Tis the season...  The season that I look forward to all year. Morel Mushroom Season.  Those delectable little mushrooms that, with a little time and effort, you can pick out in nature. Or if you are super lucky, like my aunt, they grow in your yard... in town!  Yeah.. she is just to cool! 

I have been a morel girl for as long as I can remember.  I remember "hunting" them with my parents probably starting about 4 years old. We would head out to the woods every spring. Some elderly neighbors also let us hunt in their woods.  We would bring 'em home, Mom would clean them, then fry them up.  This was a yearly event.  Years later, living in the cities, I had better things to do with my time (yeah right). But, my parents still went out to the state parks that were nearby, and fought the hundreds of other city dwellers, and found the morels. 

Now that I am living back in the sticks, I have plenty of land to for hunt them. I am learning the spots here that produce better than others.

To buy these lil' guys in the store, it is insanely expensive.  For a package of dried morels, the price is around $20 for a small ounce package.  The website I just checked for current pricing was $39 for 2 ounces dried! Ouch! I can pick a pound easy, most years,
in one hike through the woods.  This year is going to be a little more challenging with the
dry weather we have been having. 

The standard way of cooking Morel's is to slice them in half. Dip into an egg wash. Roll in crushed cracker crumbs, then fry in obscene amounts of butter.  In searching for other recipes to use them in, I found that they eat them using similar cooking methods in Turkey.

They were featured on this Turkish Blog last year.

I made it out yesterday for my second hunt of the season, and they are growing. Hopefully the biggest and best morels of the season yet to come. 

Thanks to Pinterest, I have lots of new recipes I can't wait to try them in!