IT'S MUSHROOM TIME

I've been waiting patiently for mushrooms to appear in our yard and woods and with all the rainfall we've been having it seemed they were slow to come.  Each year there are certain places where different kinds return, sometimes as early as June.

We've sampled several of them and this evening I captured photos of a few different mushrooms near our cabin that I've tasted through the years.  Perhaps it was a bit too late in the day as my photos are not the best.  Some of these mushrooms that I have eaten, I won't bother trying again, but one kind in particular is just delightful.  Please don't try eating any of these mushrooms based on my photos and words.  Make sure you know what you are doing and have someone who has experience show you in person what can be eaten before attempting to eat any of them.

These little gems pictured above we call "Horn of Plenty" and are a member of the chantrelle family.  Horns are tan to chocolate brown in color and are trumpet or horn shaped.  When fried up with butter they turn black and have a delicious typical mushroom flavor.  These can also be dried and stored in the freezer and added to soups.  I split them in half and the hollow stems are easy to rinse off.  There are four places in our shady yard where they come back each year but today only one spot sports them so far.

Purple lactarius mushrooms are just beginning to appear.  This mushroom is tasty and very plentiful later in summer.  The one pictured below is still quite small.  My sister has been known to pick an ice cream bucket full of purple lactarius in her yard in a very short time.

I've eaten coral mushrooms once, found them a bit blah, and don't go out of my way to pick them.  These grow not far from the cabin door right along our driveway in the mossy area of the yard.   It's easy to see how they resemble coral growing in the ocean.

This delicate plant in the photo below, we call "Indian pipe".  This plant reminds me of my cousin and our adventures in the woods when we were young.  We always marvelled at the site of Indian pipes when we first found them each summer and were fascinated by how delicate they appeared.  When touched, the stems will turn black, and on rare occasion the plant will have a beautiful pink cast to it.  I have never eaten Indian pipes and don't think they are edible.  Besides they are too pretty to pick and eat!

There are many different mushrooms that have not popped out yet.  I will keep looking more intently now and will especially be ready for ones called "sweet tooth".  They are my hubby and my favorite mushrooms to throw in the frying pan.  I'll snap a photo of them for you as soon as they appear.  It won't be long now.