Mushrooms and Mae West?

Water.  I know. Again?  When I took another photo of Retired Mountain Man's Oyster Mushroom Project this morning, I started thinking about it again. 

Rain, snow, water.

The mushrooms are struggling to grow because of a lack of moisture.  He is misting them more often and keeping the door to the pantry closed.   Our wood heat has a special warmth, but the downside is that it makes the air very dry.  

Mushrooms like moisture.

 

This photo shows the mushroom project on the right and on the left, my last bag of dried oyster mushrooms from 2010. 
According to our neighbor, Neil, 2010 was the Year of the Mushroom. 

Yes it was. We had rain.  Rain, rain and more rain. 

Mushrooms were everywhere, even the varieties we see very few of such as the King Boletes and Chanterelles.  The 2010 Mushroom Saga.



On the other hand, 2011 was a bust as far as mushrooms go. That means making it through this winter with what dried mushrooms I have in my pantry.  The cupboards are not bare yet.

 

But, as you can see, the jars are half full.

 The Club Mushrooms have a sweet taste and are great sauteed in butter and then added to a recipe such as spring rolls or a risotto. 

 Chanterelles, the most golden, delicate mushroom of all.


Each wild mushroom has it's own unique taste and texture.  It takes some experimenting to figure out which mushroom is best in a recipe, but it's worth the time. 

Ah, 2010.  "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!"  A little quote from Mae West. Do you remember her? I don't think she was talking about mushrooms, but...

Temperature:  26.4 degrees.  Four inches of snow on the ground - snowing lightly. 

It's that time again.  More coffee.