Fall threw me into a bit of a funk this year. It’s my first fall in Seattle and I just didn’t expect it to come so quickly. I’ve been raised on Indian Summers that last through October, sunshine that stretches into November. I’m not used to rain and cold and days that shorten so it’s suddenly dark before dinnertime. It’s all new to me.
As I said, it threw me into a bit of a funk.
I decided to make a list. I titled it: Fun Things to do in Seattle in the Fall. I had to do something, the funk was threatening to spread. Fun is the thing that battles funk, that balances and smoothes it all out.
Pretty high on my list was mushroom picking. Specifically, chanterelle picking.
I’ve never been chanterelle picking. This is closely related to never having spent a fall in Seattle. While it is true that chanterelles grow in Northern California, it’s also true that I’m super busy when I’m down there and often don’t have time to head for the woods. This fall, in Seattle, I wanted to make sure that I did.
I am lucky to have met Naomi Bishop this past year. Naomi is a fountain of food information and advice, both in person and on her blog The Gastrognome (I’m loving her recent post on good Mexican food on the I-5 corridor). The nicest thing about Naomi is that she is generous with her knowledge. So generous she let me come with her to her favorite chanterelle picking spot.
One recent fall day we piled into the car, along with Naomi’s sweet dog Rodger who promptly curled up on my lap (only because it was the closest spot he could get to Naomi; his loyalties are clear). After a bit of a drive we headed into the woods. We each had a basket for picking mushrooms (the open weave lets any spores fall out of the bottom), and Naomi brought a knife to cut the mushroom clean (I forgot mine). You want to leave the stubs in place, because they might regrow more chanterelles.
We headed into the forest, deep under the trees, where it was damp and misty.
Lucky for me, Naomi knew where to look for the mushrooms. After a little walking we had reached one of the patches. And it wasn’t a minute or two later that I saw it: my first chanterelle. It’s quite a rush to find the first, like fungal pot of gold.
You have to have pretty sharp eyes. Naomi and I felt silent, our gaze down on the ground amongst the ferns. Of course there are always yellow leaves that look just like chanterelles.
Mushroom foragers seem to develop a slightly bent over posture, eyes glued to the forest floor as we pick our way through leaf litter and foliage. We’re not on trails either, we’re stalking the wild mushroom in its native habitat.
You’ve got to keep a sharp eye out. Because sometimes that small flash of yellow…
If you just brush the dirt and pine needles away, turns out to be a mushroom…
Or even two.
But mushroom foraging is a funny thing. You might not find anything at all. You have to be okay with that. You have to be the sort of person who is happy just to spend a day rambling around in the woods. Because it really is a wonderfully lovely way to pass the time.
Going home with a basket of mushrooms is just icing on the autumnal cake.
Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you what I did with my mushroom booty. And hey, there are more mushrooms to hunt. How would you use up a basket of chanterelles? I’m looking for inspiration.
Hope you are having a lovely fall (except those of you heading into spring, of course). I’m thinking perhaps fall in the Northwest isn’t so bad after all. Not if there are mushrooms to be had.
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ah yes, mushroom madness!
This is what I would do with them..
http://amouseunderthecooker.blogspot.com/2008/05/mushroom-crostini.html
That looks so good!
I love the idea of making a seasonal activity to-do list in an attempt to embrace what for some might be unwelcome seasonal changes. I must try this!
I seem to make lists for most of the seasons–to cheer me up and also to make sure I make the most of it. Here’s my summer version: http://www.teaandcookiesblog.com/2011/08/the-summer-list.html
I know this might sounds like your biggest nightmare–but man, your posts are so inspiring and make me dream of spending a week with you up in Seattle, following you around on your adventures! Mushroom foraging! I’ve always wanted to do that (but of course would never dare to do it on my own, in fear of poisonous ones). Love this, Tea!
Wow, it looks like you found a lot to bring home! I’m not sure what I would do with them. I think the fun for me would be finding them and then I’d just want to look at them!
What a bounty! They look absolutely perfect. I made a mushroom farro soup yesterday with some chanterelles that someone else foraged and it was DELICIOUS. Can’t wait to see what you’ve done with yours.
That does sound delicious. I think I would like a bowl of that for dinner tonight!
What a wonderful post to wake up to! I have a few mushroom posts on my blog: my personal first thing to do with chantarelles: http://www.thegastrognome.com/2010/09/13/chanterelles-with-rosemary-a-foraged-feast/ and the comments on this post have a number of ideas: http://www.thegastrognome.com/2010/10/08/mushroom-festival-and-a-75-giveaway-contest-about-mushrooms/
I haven’t had the chance to go out mushroom picking but it looks like a wonderful Fall activity. Certainly a bonus on a rambling hike through the woods!
I’m a little timid when it comes to cooking with anything but button mushrooms, but greatly looking forward to what you have prepared. Perhaps it will give me a boost of confidence to go out and try this myself! :
Good for you and welcome to Seattle! There is nothing better than simply tearing those shrooms in two, cooking them gently in butter, adding some heavy organic cream (let it thicken a bit), and spooning it on to toasted, rustic bread. Seriously, just put the pan on the table and get after it!
I have been thinking about wild mushroom risotto. This would be lovely. Or the pork chops I made a couple weeks ago, lots of mushrooms. Mmmm……..
I just found your blog today. What a lovely find! You are very much deserving of the awards you have gotten. I’ve been working my way up from a long bout of depression – oh so slowly – and just reading your words and looking at your pictures has made me feel more positive. Thank you!
My best friend since childhood lives in the Seattle area – Shoreline right now, but moving to the Capitol Hill area this month; she’s lived there 21 years and says she’s still not used to the abrupt departure of autumn!
Thanks so much for the kind words. I’m glad you’re finding the site to be a positive thing. I know how hard crawling back from something like that can be. I hope the path lies easily for you.
Yes, the abrupt seasonal changes are a bit of a smack in the face! Your friend is exactly right
In one of the Greens cookbooks, there’s a wonderful recipe for potatoes and chanterelles baked in cream. It’s chanterelle season in Oregon, too, and it’s on my list of things to make next week.
Oh my, that does sound good!
Chanterelles tartines: http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2011/07/recipes-gluten-free-white-nectarines.html
Love this post Tara! That type of scenery would brighten anyone’s feelings!
I love baking chanterelles with Humboldt Fog cheese. It super easy and very tasty!
Congrats on the chanterelle haul! My friend went picking last week and brought a whole bag in for me. I was so excited I could hardly decide what to do with them. I had to come up with something worthy! I ended up taking my inspiration from a fantastic meal we’d had recently at a local bistro. Chicken breast stuffed with leeks and mushrooms with mashed yukon gold potatoes and sauteed chanterelles in a pan sauce. A comforting, PNW fall meal.
Dang it, now I want to go find more and do it all over again. Enjoy your bounty!
This post has me wanting to go out right away to go mushroom hunting! I have never thought of it, and am am so excited to do it someday! Thank you!
Oh you should! It’s like a walk in the woods with a treasure hunt thrown in–and the possibility of a yummy dinner. How could you go wrong?
Chantrelle tart! It is perfect with a glass of orvieto!
I like the way you think.
What a wonderful way to spend a few hours…truly magical.
I’ve seen many mushrooms on my walks but I’m always a little wary to pick any.
I think I need a reference book or better still like you an experienced friend to join me.
I’ve often wondered why people always seemed to take a basket when mushroom picking {I just thought it looked good} but thanks to your post I now know its for a very good reason
I know, I thought the baskets were just for charm as well. And I agree, a knowledgeable guide is the best. Chanterelles and morels are really the two mushrooms I feel comfortable identifying. Might have to take a class to learn more.
The only mushrooms that we get in India are button mushrooms & you went mushroom picking in the wild. I would love to go do the same sometime. Looking forward to the dishes you cook & hope I can use them on button mushrooms as well.
I am sure you could use button mushrooms, Rituparna. I imagine the Indian climate is not the best for wild mushrooms. But you have so many lovely things we can’t grow (mangoes!). Wish I could trade you some wild mushrooms for some tropical fruit!
Lets trade. What a wonderful idea.
Wow! You reminded me my younger years when growing up in Czech Republic. Picking up mushrooms is a very popular hobby there
I enjoyed picking them, but I’m not a fan of eating them. Have a great Thursday!
I think my love of mushrooms might go back to my Eastern European ancestors. That and really strong rye bread, sour cream, and dill. Can one have genetic taste preferences?
Total kismet with asking for a chanterelle recipe! I JUST read Shana’s Thanksgiving post (you might’ve just read it, too, yes?), and she shared her Wild Rice recipe that looks divine: http://glutenfreegirl.com/wild-rice-salad-gluten-free-and-vegan/
I did read it–but years ago and I’d forgotten. Thanks for the reminder! I love kismet
Ooooh! I miss so much going mushroom hunting with my dad! in northern Spain is one of our favorite ways to spend fall weekends! I love them in an omelette!
Good idea! I hadn’t thought of that. So yummy. And I’m glad to bring back memories for you. Your mushroom hunting sounds wonderful.
I live on the coast of BC, and there are lots of people around here who go foraging (and lots of places to go foraging) for mushrooms. Some friends had a ton of luck on a hike last year and gave us a good two pounds of chanterelles. I made couple of delicious omelettes with them. This year, however, I’m on a very restricted diet (till my gallbladder gets removed in a week), so as much as I’d love to try mushroom hunting, it just seems like a bittersweet thing to do; after all, what I really love to do with chanterelles is cook them in butter. I could always sell them to the mushroom buyers, I suppose, but I’d rather take them home and use them. Maybe after the procedure I’ll be allowed to use butter again.
Coastal BC mushroom hunting sounds wonderful! I’ll be thinking about you with your surgery this week. Hoping for a speedy recovery.
Recent (half-hearted) chanterelle foraging in Inverness yielded nothing, but I hope to go again … it was a dry fall, so I don’t know if that affected things. Still, I need no excuse to get out into the woods! And the my friend the black lab is always up for a walk.