Pasta with creamy Morel sauce

So, here's a fairly straightforward dish that's sure to please the mushroom lovers! This hearty, creamy dish serves 3-4.

pasta (I used about 2/3 lb. of linquine)
Lots of Morels (or whatever shrooms you can find) - I used about 1.5 quarts of chopped Morels
1 T flour
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 C dry white wine
1 C broth of your choosing
3/4 C heavy cream
1 1/2 T butter
olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
kosher or sea salt
1 medium tomato per person (I used Kumato), sliced into wedges

1. Heat pan over medium-low. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the butter.

2. Once butter is melted, add shallots and stir. Season with salt, cooking until softened.

3. Sprinkle flour over pan and stir (this will help to thicken the sauce). Raise heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and stir, seasoning with salt.

4. Once mushrooms are cooked through (about 5-6 minutes), add wine. Cook until almost all liquid is absorbed.

5. Add broth. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

6. Slowly stir in cream. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, start boiling the pasta.

7. Once sauce coats the back of a spoon, it's ready! If it is too thin, continue cooking (or mix a little corn starch and cold water, adding very small amounts while stirring). If it's too thick, add more broth (or better yet, pasta water). Add freshly ground black pepper and season with salt, if desired.

8. Drain pasta. While pasta is draining, drizzle olive oil over tomatoes and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

9. Toss pasta in sauce, turning to coat.

10. Remove pan from heat, serve pasta with mushrooms and sauce spooned over the top. Garnish with tomatoes. You may also choose to add some chopped fresh herbs, as well! Sprinkle with Parmasean or Romano cheese, if desired.

Let the wild food feast begin!

I had a few hours to spare yesterday and took a nice walk in the woods. The cold weather has silenced the Spring Peepers, but I'm sure their songs will fill the air soon enough.
With reports of Morel finds throughout Ohio, I had high hopes of finding a few, but it just didn't pan out. I did, however, come across several False Morels, which means that the edible varieties will be on their way soon!
Luckily, my foraging attempt wasn't completely unproductive. I did manage to collect a handful of fiddleheads and a serving or two of stinging nettle. Fiddleheads are a tasty treat, with a string-bean/sweet pea flavor, and I usually either steam or blanch them very quickly, then finish them with a little butter, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Nettle has a very earthy, hemp-like flavor, and I like to do a quick sauté in a little butter and olive oil, simply seasoned with salt and pepper. These wild edibles have such unique and distinct flavors, so I try to keep the seasoning very simple to let the natural flavors come through.
Take care when harvesting fiddleheads that you only take a few from each plant, or else you will likely end up killing it! Remember that not all ferns are edible, so avoid any with a wooly fiber coating, which will not only taste terrible, but will most likely make you sick, as well. As always, consult a reputable field guide before consuming any wild food!

Spring Has Almost Sprung (or is it "Sprang"?)

Well, it's been a long Winter here in Ohio.  It hasn't been a particularly harsh one (as I'm sure this year's mosquito population will support), but for anyone that hunts wild foods, every Winter is excruciatingly long!
I did see some local message boards purporting finds of Winter Oyster Mushrooms, but, alas, my few hunts were unproductive in the fungal realm.  I did manage to get a little exercise, although that is something I rarely seek as it's own end.
But with the rash of violet and crocus blooms, with the daffodils not far behind, my thoughts now turn toward the coming bounty of Spring edibles.  Soon, wild-food enthusiasts the world over will be harvesting (hopefully in a sustainable manner) Ramps, Fiddleheads, Cattail shoots, and a plethora of gourmet mushrooms.  If we have the type of rainfall that Mother Nature blessed us with last year, we should see another bountiful year for Morels, Pheasant-backs, Crown-tipped Corals and others.
If you are new to wild food hunting, I would suggest that your first hunt include a few reference guides, so that you do so in a safe and sustainable manner. 
My go-to text for mushrooms has always been The National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms ( at Amazon.com ).  This comprehensive guide provides a wealth of information about hundreds of mushrooms, and includes nearly 800 full color photographs, plus detailed descriptions of the most common North American varieties.  You may also track down more specific guides detailing only the shrooms native to your state or region.
For all non-fungal edibles, I highly recommend The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer ( also at Amazon.com ).  This expertly written book is fairly narrow it's scope (providing info on about two dozen plants), but it not only provides detailed instructions on the finding, identification and harvesting of wild edibles, but also recipes and preservation techniques.
Although I would not recommend relying solely on information gleaned from the internet, you will also find very valuable and useful information at various websites and, of course, on youtube.  I have several youtube tutorials that may help to supplement these field guides. A few that may be of some interest...
Hunting Yellow Morels
click to watch


Hunting Ramps (Wild Leeks or Spring Leeks)
click to watch


Hunting Crown-tipped Coral Mushrooms
click to watch

It's Chestnut season!

Well, I was walking through a park today, looking for Maitake mushrooms (of which I found several pounds!), and I remembered a spot where a friend and I found a bunch of chestnuts last year.  I moseyed on over to that hillside, and what perfect timing!  The ground was littered with these golden brown bundles of flavor!  I was literally dodging the falling nuts (a little painful) and burrs (extremely painful) as I was collecting their fallen brethren.
The tricky thing about chestnuts is that you need to get to them before the squirrels do.  You have a very small window to do this, so when it's about mid-September, it's time to start checking your secret chestnut spots!  It seemed that there were quite a few still clinging to the trees, so I might check back again tomorrow.
My favorite way to enjoy chestnuts is fresh, right out of the shell.  They have a slightly sweet, mild, nutty flavor and are very crisp.  I remember as a kid, I would gather a pocketful of nuts while waiting for the bus, and snack on them on the way to and from school.  I usually bite the nut in half (the shell is more leathery than hard), peel and eat.  The only downside with fresh nuts is that the inner skin, or pellicle, is almost impossible to remove from the nut.  It has a slightly fuzzy texture, which might turn some people off.  To ensure that the skin is removable, the nuts will have to be cooked.
Now, I've seen lots of recipes for cooked chestnuts, from boiling to roasting to broiling to grilling, and even dry cooking in a saucepan on the stove.  These all produce slightly different results, so you might need to experiment to find your favorite technique.  I prefer a combination of a quick simmer, followed by roasting in the oven.
Regardless of the cooking method, it is imperative that the shells be cut to ensure that the nut doesn't explode while cooking.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to cut through the shell with a serrated knife (smooth-edged knives might tend to slip off the smooth shell, which can be quite dangerous). Try not to cut into the nut itself if possible.
Next, I simmer the nuts in salted water for a few minutes.  This not only produces a slightly more tender result, but the extra moisture works itself under the inner skin, making it much easier to remove.
I then drain the nuts and transfer them to a baking dish or pan, arranged in a single layer.  They will roast in a 425 degree oven for 10-20 minutes, depending on their size.  At this point, they will begin to burst slightly out of their shell.  I try to rotate or stir them halfway through, if I can remember.
At this point, they are transferred to a bowl and covered with a towel so they can steam as they cool down.  About ten to fifteen minutes later, they are cooled enough and are ready to be peeled.  If you want the inner skins to slide off without trouble, you'll want to peel them as soon as they have cooled enough to safely handle!
So, if you happen upon a chestnut tree, or can find them in your local market, give them a try...you'll be glad you did!

Launching TheMushroomHunter.com!!!

Well, I finally launched my mushroom website!  Check out http://www.themushroomhunter.com when you have a chance!

We are finally seeing some of the great Fall mushrooms here in Northeast Ohio!  I have found over 20 pounds of Maitake in the last two weeks or so, and have been enjoying them nearly every night.  Last night, I made a wonderful risotto with chopped Maitake, and the broth that I used was made from Turkey Tails, False Turkey Tails and Shiitake stems.  I topped it with a little chopped tomato and sweet basil chiffonade, plucked from my garden!

Chanterelle season is coming to an end, but I'm still finding a few here and there.  They are barely peeking out from underneath the newly fallen leaves.  Puffballs are abound, and I've been collecting lots of pear-shaped, purple-spored, gem-studded and even a few giants!

Oh, and I forgot to mention the best thing about Fall mushroom hunting...fewer biting insects!  There are still a few pesky mosquitoes and biting flies around, but their numbers will dwindle in the coming weeks...

As always, good luck and happy hunting!

Hunting for Ramps (Wild or Spring Leeks)

Just to get you warmed up to what I'm all about, I'm an artist, musician and lover of all things wild.  I've been chomping at the bit all winter long, just waiting for that first real glimpse of spring.  Today, the tulips are ankle-high to a Hobbit, and I heard my daughter yell, "We have a lake again!".  I can almost smell the chanterelle risotto now... But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...

We'll talk about chanterelles later on in the summer.  Now we can look forward to the elusive morel, and that other Springtime treat, wild leeks.

Wild leeks (Allium tricoccum), or ramps as they're called throughout most of the midwest, are curiously strong member of the onion family, and have a flavor and odor that's a cross between garlic and scallions.  I usually stumble upon ramps when hunting for morels, and you can usually smell them before you see them.  Early in the Spring, when the leaves are still bright green, the entire plant is edible.  Later, the leaves will turn yellowish, and then the bulb and part of the stalk are the only parts you can eat.  You should also pay attention to the plants that are producing the tall shoots that contain the seeds, and try to leave those behind to propagate the following year.

Ramps can be used in place of garlic or onions in just about any recipe.  I usually can't help but to eat a few raw as I pick them, which inevitably causes extreme heartburn, but that never stops me...

They should be used very sparingly due to their strong flavor, and those of you that suffer a reaction from onions or garlic should be especially cautious. 

Usually ramps are found in sandy soil, and almost always near a water source.  Look on hillsides near rivers and streams, for example, and should eventually come across a patch or two.

In the meantime, check out this video I made about ramp foraging and gathering, and happy hunting!

Click here to watch my video!

Spring Approacheth

As the last traces of snow melt into the earth on this dreary mid-March morning, I can almost taste the imminent approach of the coming mushroom season.  This will last until I see snow gather once again next Fall, and that is a comforting thought...

I've always had a fondness for mushrooms, but my experience of them never went further than my local grocery store.  That all changed several years back when I received, as a gift,The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms..  My life would never be the same.

The following Summer I nearly tripped over several enormous Horse Mushrooms (Agaricus arvensis) growing in my yard.  After a positive identification provided by my new book, I sauteed and savored what would be the first of many wild harvested mushrooms.  What happened next was no fly-by-night fling or casual encounter, but a full blown love affair with all things mycological.

Each season I would add another species or two to my growing internal database of edible wild mushrooms, and my obsession with finding newer and rarer varieties flourished.  Just last year I began the study of using mushrooms medicinally through the use of teas and tinctures, which widened my experience of these natural wonders once again.

So now I patiently sit, waiting for those first few warm April nights that will trigger the beginning of Morel season here in Ohio.  I envy my brothers and sisters in the southern states that may already be stumbling upon those little gifts, but I'm secure in the fact that I will soon be trekking through the unmannered cathedral that is the open forest, and that someday soon I will look down to see a natural gem poking it's way through last year's carpet of Fall leaves.