It helps if you like mushrooms....Morels are the filet mignon of mushrooms; meaty, wonderful earthy taste, sauteed in butter there's nothing better. I'm having some in the morning in an omelette, local fresh eggs, local bacon, and the mushrooms. Cheese is just a distraction in these wonderful dishes.
I'm not sure about the rest of the US, but the mountains of the west have a lot of them. In many places it's become quite a commercial, competitive endevour. They only grow wild, attempts at growing them haven't been successful, to my knowledge. They are only found in late spring, early summer, and really like areas that have recently burned, as in forest fires.
Oh, what a harvest of Morels! We hunted them every spring back in Indiana. They are rare here. We miss that wonderful taste. And that barbecue smells great!!
The guys who gave me this apparently hit the motherlode somewhere near here, where a wildfire was last summer. They have nearly 100 pounds of them in their garage, doling them out to friends.
Beautiful mushrooms, Mike! As a public service, I should mention this variety should only be consumed AFTER cooking --heat neutralizes their toxins. To eat them raw would be imprudent, possibly im-morel too.
So NOW, you're telling me....after 50 years of stuffing the large ones with anything from shrimp to pork, sometimes with cream cheese and avacado, you're telling me they are poison.
Sorry Mike, I didn't mean to be an alarmist. Toxins would be hydrazine (or lead from morels growing in old orchards) thermolabile toxins. They must always be cooked. Otherwise you can get a tummy ache, but nothing worse (unless allergic}.
The first time i had them was around '75, in Alaska. My wife Cary found some near a lake we had hike around, and somehow knew exactly what they were. She cooked them up and I tried them, wondering if they were poison.
I don't think I've ever had a morel but I have an Indiana born and raised wife who raves about them and just told me her mother used to go out in the woods hunting them and come back with half a bushel.
They're usually only available late spring, early summer. and I'll buy one pint box of them from the Hmong farmers at the farmer's market here. For 16 bucks. This was the largest amount I've every had, and had three meals with them with the third that I kept. And they are delicious.
I know very little about them....tell me more
ReplyDeleteIt helps if you like mushrooms....Morels are the filet mignon of mushrooms; meaty, wonderful earthy taste, sauteed in butter there's nothing better. I'm having some in the morning in an omelette, local fresh eggs, local bacon, and the mushrooms. Cheese is just a distraction in these wonderful dishes.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly look like morels to me. Did you find them at your local farmer's market? And I thought they only grew in France.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the rest of the US, but the mountains of the west have a lot of them. In many places it's become quite a commercial, competitive endevour. They only grow wild, attempts at growing them haven't been successful, to my knowledge. They are only found in late spring, early summer, and really like areas that have recently burned, as in forest fires.
DeleteOh, what a harvest of Morels! We hunted them every spring back in Indiana.
ReplyDeleteThey are rare here. We miss that wonderful taste.
And that barbecue smells great!!
The guys who gave me this apparently hit the motherlode somewhere near here, where a wildfire was last summer. They have nearly 100 pounds of them in their garage, doling them out to friends.
DeleteBeautiful mushrooms, Mike! As a public service, I should mention this variety should only be consumed AFTER cooking --heat neutralizes their toxins. To eat them raw would be imprudent, possibly im-morel too.
ReplyDeleteSo NOW, you're telling me....after 50 years of stuffing the large ones with anything from shrimp to pork, sometimes with cream cheese and avacado, you're telling me they are poison.
DeleteSorry Mike, I didn't mean to be an alarmist. Toxins would be hydrazine (or lead from morels growing in old orchards) thermolabile toxins. They must always be cooked. Otherwise you can get a tummy ache, but nothing worse (unless allergic}.
DeleteWas just kidding, Geo. I've been eating them (when I could get them) for decades, but never raw. Hope you're doing well.
DeleteI wasn't very good at finding them
ReplyDeletebut occasionally traded a few item from my creel for something equally yummy out of their sack...:)
The first time i had them was around '75, in Alaska. My wife Cary found some near a lake we had hike around, and somehow knew exactly what they were. She cooked them up and I tried them, wondering if they were poison.
DeleteI don't think I've ever had a morel but I have an Indiana born and raised wife who raves about them and just told me her mother used to go out in the woods hunting them and come back with half a bushel.
ReplyDeleteThey're usually only available late spring, early summer. and I'll buy one pint box of them from the Hmong farmers at the farmer's market here. For 16 bucks. This was the largest amount I've every had, and had three meals with them with the third that I kept. And they are delicious.
DeleteI've always wanted to hunt for those.
ReplyDelete