Last Saturday we took the opportunity while the rain stopped, to get into the back country and go mushroom hunting! New to this as we are, Alex and I packed up a lunch, the dogs and followed some friends who have been lifetime mushroom foragers up the logging roads and into the peaceful wilderness south of town.
We were rewarded a couple of hours later when on a lengthy portage route we began to encounter fungi of all shapes and sizes.
We were primarily on the hunt for chanterelles which where we live on British Columbia’s west coast are yellow in colour. However we also picked angel wings and admirable boletes.
The chanterelles and Angel wings were destined for the saute pan with butter, garlic, and onion. The boletes were more of a, “lets pick it and see, since they’re edible.” It turns out that a great way to use the boletes is to dehydrate them and make a powder that can be added to gravies and stews. Slicing them was a surprise, the underside of the mushroom is foamy and covered with tiny holes, but when sliced, the gills were revealed to be a delicate forest of yellow under the plump purple and white caps.
Between the two of us we picked 1lb 12oz of mushrooms. The chanterelles and angel wings cooked down to a mere 3 cups which can be frozen and taken out as needed for pastas and risottos.
We had an incredible day and came home feeling reenergized and like we had enjoyed a proper day off. No cell service, no interruptions just good friends, happy dogs and lots of mushrooms! Here’s a snapshot of the day:
I’m incredibly grateful for the freedom to be able to grow my own food and the space to do so. I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on the Tla’amin Nation territories. I am also grateful to God for bringing me to this beautiful place and blessing me with the abundance of this garden.
Grow – Eat – Repeat!
Moon Snail Microstead 