I spend a good chunk of the fall foraging for wild mushrooms, specifically chanterelles, around the forests of the Pacific Northwest. As I’ve gotten better, my harvests have gotten bigger and bigger – leaving me with the dilemma of how to process and preserve so many in a short period of time. After years of experimentation, I finally discovered the perfect preservation method: roasting, then freezing
Preserving Chanterelle Mushrooms
This fall I spent more time hunting chanterelle mushrooms in the woods than I spent in our own garden. The combination of foraging for wild food, hiking for hours and simply being outside among torrential rains and giant trees made me feel more than alive at an otherwise sleepy time of year. I ended up with baskets full of mushrooms – more than our family could eat fresh –
Hunting Chanterelles
The end of the garden season signals the beginning of the mushroom season, which certainly takes the edge off of the end-of-season gardening blues. Wild chanterelles begin growing all over the Pacific Northwest in September and continue through November. They are a great “beginner mushroom” because they are very distinct looking, so you can’t confuse them easily with another non-edible mushroom. We have had an
First Mushroom Foray
I enjoyed my first foray into the world of mushroom hunting recently. Mushroom hunting has been on my “to-do” list for a few years now, but I can never afford the fancy, all weekend workshops that happen around the NW. Some day I will take those great classes, but for now I’m riding on the coattails of a few good friends. My friend Colin has
Post Thanksgiving Recap
I’m a little behind, only now posting about how my awesome Thanksgiving was. I enjoyed a long, relaxing morning of cooking. Friends came over and brought delicious food. We drank a lot of wine – a lot. And, aside from a little school work that morning, I focused on being present in my life. It was wonderful, but then I had to jump back into
Mushroom Festival
This weekend I made it over to the Mount Pisgah Arboretum‘s annual Mushroom Festival. The main attraction was the large variety of edible, unknown and posionous mushrooms they had on display in the main covered area. I went fairly early and snaked around the lines with a crowd of people to look at the natural wonders and read the little signs. I met up with
These Jars Need Filling
Winter waits for no one as I make a mad dash to fill these remaining canning jars. Sure there is school work, freelance work, writing projects, travel plans, Halloween costumes… But the canning season comes to an abrupt halt and I can’t bear to see those jars sit there empty all winter. I’m busy canning some questionable tomatoes this morning. I bought them from the