Mad about Mushrooms . . .

An early Christmas gift from the forest floor

The drizzly, cold weather of the past few days has faded away, and we couldn't resist a walk back into the refuge to see what's happening. The underbrush has pretty much died down, the patches of bracken ferns are but brown reminders of summer's greenery, and everything is moist from last night's all-encompassing fog.

The freezing temperatures that plagued us earlier this week have changed the forest floor.  The chanterelles are mostly absent, replaced by a generous smattering of freshly fruited hedgehogs.  Mycologically known as the Hydnum repandum, this delicate mushroom seems to pop up with intensity after the first freeze in the refuge.  The locals like to call it "Sweet Tooth."  Whatever you call it, it's an amazing mushroom with no poisonous lookalikes (always a blessing for beginners and experienced mushroomers alike), and it preserves very well in the dehydrator.  The other day I added a handful of dehydrated hedgehogs to our split pea soup that I had prepared with turkey broth made from the carcass our Thanksgiving turkey.

These oysters quickly vanished when the temperatures dropped.

Mushrooms, Mushrooms, everywhere!

Stop the car!

I learned long ago not to question my bride before executing a command like that.  It usually means, "I've spotted mushrooms."

And so she had.  Winding their way up and around a couple of Red Alders growing a little ways back in the woods along the road that leads down to our gate was one of the larger and more impressive colonies of Oyster mushrooms we've seen in years, and they were fresh and choice.

Oysters are a lovely find any time of the year. 

December 2013's Recipe of the Month: White Chanterelle Soup with Seaweed, Ginger, Carrots and Seeds

Perfect!  Sometimes there is nothing more perfect than finding a bowl of soup simmering on the stove when you return home from a foray on a cool, damp December day. 

This month's recipe may just be the mushroom soup recipe that you've been waiting for:  mushrooms folded into a broth bubbling with exotic flavors and aromas.  The ingredients may be a little bit surprising for a mushroom soup but nonetheless we find them perfect companions to the substantial white chanterelles that are highlighted in the recipe.  We particularly enjoy the novelty of seaweed and the 4 types of seeds which lift the recipe out of the "ordinary" category into the "sublime."  And, we're especially fond of the sweet scent of cardamon that arises from every spoonful and teases our senses.

Sunsets come early in December.