I never really thought it would happen to me. I'm so careful. But it did happen, and I'd like to share some thoughts about mushroom poisoning with you.
The day started off like any other vacation day. We were enjoying ourselves at a cool little B&B on the southern Washington coast. The facility was cute and well-appointed, and it featured a mushroom-themed dinner on the second night of our visit.
Like other guests at the B&B, we spent our day exploring the sights of the area. We took camera in hand to snap shots of the various fungi we would discover along Highway 101 and its intersecting back roads. It had been years since we'd visited this area, and we really enjoyed it. The old growth woods were certainly inviting, lush and relatively free of litter, and it was a spectacularly clear and beautiful day. Although the mushrooms weren't abundant (thanks to a lack of significant rainfall), there was enough variety to hold our interest even to the point of foregoing lunch and relying on dinner to satisfy our appetite for the day.
That night we were treated to a delectable 4 course meal that featured 2 mushroom appetizers (one of which included slices of raw Matsutake), a salad topped with mixed, lightly sauteed Chanterelle and Bolete mushrooms, an entree of braised beef short ribs and giant sea scallops with Porcini mushrooms, and finished with a mushroom-free but scrumptious frozen chocolate mousse with salted caramel, chantilly and hazelnuts dessert. What could be nicer, we asked ourselves as we tucked ourselves in between the layers of our luxurious bed.
A Bolete is offering a feast to those who dine here in the forest.
Our original flavored butter combined mushroom powder.