For years the copper brittlegill (Russula decolorans) was not on my radar, mainly because I don’t love the firm, almost crunchy sautéed texture of other Russula species I’ve tried. But this year it called to me—and in September we found the motherlode, copper brittlegills … [Read more...]
Hawks Wings Mushrooms – Free Download
I find and eat a lot of hawk's wings mushrooms (Sarcodon imbricatus) in the Colorado high country, and they have already started flushing this year. I've eaten them marinated and grilled, dried and reconstituted and sauteed with sauerkraut like my Polish grandmother used to do … [Read more...]
Stuffballs on the Menu
This has been quite a season for puffballs—both large and small—in the Colorado high country. Though the season for giant puffballs is upon us, I wanted to first share a preparation we’ve been enjoying with small puffballs, which are still out there fruiting like crazy too. I … [Read more...]
Old Places, New Head Spaces
Yesterday we revisited one of our old, favorite hikes on the shoulder of Pennsylvania Mountain above Fairplay, Colorado. We must have done a variation of that hike—sometimes ducking into the forest on game trails to encounter still-open mine holes and long-abandoned cabins, … [Read more...]
Whistling Suillus
For years I steered clear of the edible mushroom Suillus tomentosus—not because it was difficult to identify, but because it wasn’t supposed to be very good. "Suillus tomentosus has a reputation for being a second-class edible and is best when very young,” Vera Stucky Evenson … [Read more...]
