My wife and I both enjoy mushrooms not only for the taste (sautéed in olive oil with onions, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika), but for the health benefits as well. “Researchers found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms weekly may have 50 percent reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment.” – sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190312103702.htm
Once we cook up mushrooms we keep them in the refrigerator and add them to omelets, burgers, tacos, or toasted cheese sandwiches. These are so much better than my introduction to mushrooms years ago.
As a young child I remember my mother opening a can of mushroom gravy and serving it over rice. The rice was probably Uncle Ben’s. There was perhaps a piece of over-cooked steak with it, but I mostly just recall the mushrooms. They were just little tiny pieces . . . with no flavor. They were usually eaten last.
Locally the Golden Chanterelle is a prized find. Two years ago I was videotaping nearly everyday at the waste water treatment plant between DuPont and Steilacoom. One of the crew there lived out near Mt. Rainier and had a friend who picked them. I bought several pounds for $3.00 a pound. At the same time they were available at Metro Market for $20.00 dollars a pound more.
These mushrooms are fairly distinctive, but there is a poison mushroom that looks similar, so be careful if you go mushroom picking on your own.
- “flesh is firm, yellowish, does not change color when bruised.
- stem is solid, orange tinted, tapering slightly to the base.
- grows alone or in groups on the ground, but is not clustered at base of trees, and never grows from wood.
- appears in the summer and fall.”
For more details on chanterelles visit online – northernbushcraft.com/topic.php?name=golden+chanterelle®ion=pnw&ctgy=edible_mushrooms
He can’t always get them, but Bruno of Bruno’s European Restaurant in Lakewood likes to offer chanterelle mushroom dishes in September. Circle that on your calendar and note this web address – brunoseuropeanrestaurant.com
Every chance my wife, Peg and I dine at Pacific Grill in downtown Tacoma, Peg usually orders the Weathervane Scallops and I order the filet mignon . . . with three scallops. I share bites of the steak of course. I love a perfectly cooked steak served with mushrooms and a wine reduction. I can’t afford to eat them frequently, but mushrooms go nicely with cheaper cuts of meat, and dishes like chicken Marsala, also.
Peg likes sautéed mushrooms on a toasted English muffin. They go well with everything, except maybe her breakfast of Greek yogurt and fruit.
Hey…my wife and I belong to a mushroom club out of Olympia called South Sound Mushroom Club (SSMC). They meet every THIRD TUESDAY of the month for the months SEP thru MAY….if anyone is interested in learning more about mushrooms and going on club-sponsored forays, we urge you to attend at least one meeting.
SSMC Meetings are held ON THE THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH, from 7-9PM at this location:
Capital Vision Christian Church
1775 Yew Ave NE
Olympia, WA 98506
Meetings consist of first addressing club business, followed by a couple of short ‘shroom-interest presentations, then a 30 minute break to eat foodstuffs members bring in (my soups are famous at the meetings), and then a presentation by a Mushroom-Expert Guest Speaker.
By the way, my wife, grandson, and I found wild Oyster mushrooms as well as both white and yellow Chanterelles at our favorite ‘shroom hunting place last week.
We were actually looking for ANY kind of ‘shroom because the SSMC has joined a nation-wide effort called the MYCOFLORA PROJECT to find and accurately identify as many mushrooms as possible. Our club is covering King, Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, and Mason counties.
So if you like mushrooms…for any reason…please join our club!
Here is their website:
https://www.southsoundmushroomclub.com/
PS…they can also be found on Facebook
Eric,
I’m jealous. Thanks for the information. I will repost your comment and the details to see if we can get you some more shroom lover visitors.
Thanks for sharing.
Don
A friend of mine came home from work one evening and found a pot of fresh soup simmering on the stove. His wife had gone to a meeting. A couple of mushrooms were on the counter right by the soup. He sliced the mushrooms and threw them in the soup. They were delicious. When his wife came home she asked where the mushrooms were. My friend said he put them in the soup. She explained that she found them in the woods, and had planned to check them out the next day to see if they were edible. By then my friend was already feeling a little weird, and was soon bouncing off the ceiling. He decided that his wife was the sexiest looking woman on the planet, and that he was a great lover, but she held him off with a broom. Then she told him to go outside and get some fresh air. When he stepped out onto the porch, she locked the door behind him. Later on, when he calmed down a little, he slept in the barn with the horses.
True story.
So be careful of your ‘shrooms, especially if you don’t have a nice barn to sleep in.
Larry,
Thanks for the chuckle. So, the moral of the story is “Always check your barn door?”
Thanks for reading and sharing . . . even though you are buddies with Joe Boyle.
Don
Thanks for the great read and the kind words Don!
Gordon,
It’s always good to hear from you. We are still sitting on a hundred dollar gift certificate . . . just haven’t gotten downtown lately for your excellent food at Pacific Grill.
Don