From: riburr@shentel.net   
      
   mimus wrote:   
      
   > Frederick Burroughs wrote:   
   >   
   >>The weather has been dry most of the summer.  Mushrooms have been as   
   >>scarce as I've ever seen.  We did get almost 2" rain from a thunderstorm   
   >>recently, which brought up the Ringless Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria   
   >>tabescens) in my backyard.  Still, they remain small due to dryness.  I   
   >>pick a couple cups worth of caps.  Their size was generally small   
   >>change; dimes, nickels and a few quarters.   
   >>   
   >>I sauteed the whole caps in olive oil on moderately high heat, adding   
   >>dried seaweed and diced onion.  I added rice to the pan, and soy sauce   
   >>and maple syrup.   
   >>   
   >>I ate the concoction hot, right out of the skillet.  The mushrooms were   
   >>delightfully chewy.  The meal was a delicious, slightly sweet, spicy,   
   >>pure vegetarian treat.   
   >>   
   >>There are plenty more mushrooms to be had from the yard.  But, I need   
   >>more rice.  The maple syrup was a gift from someone who had been to Vermont.   
   >   
   >   
   > I was with you until the maple syrup . . . .   
   >   
   > The related biggie around here, in the upper-middle Ohio River Valley, but   
   > more in Fall, is _Armillariella mellea_, a tree-stump-lover if there ever   
   > was one, easy to ID, heavily-fruiting, and as good as store-bought   
   > _Agaricus bisporus_ in any dish (according to IIRC Miller, they're   
   > aggressive enough to attack and fruit on railroad ties, although I suspect   
   > that means _old_ railroad ties, and even then I wouldn't be surprised to   
   > find 'em tasting of creosote or worse).   
   >   
   > This year has sucked for 'shrooms around here as well.   
   >   
      
   I recently received the (Vermont) maple syrup as a gift.  Thought I'd   
   try a little, just for kicks.  Turned out very good.  Used just enough   
   to be detectable.  Plus, it caramelized a little, adding more variety to   
   the dish.  Hell, I'm gonna make more right now!   
      
   We get A. mellea in addition to the A. tabescens.  Sometimes there's so   
   much of either, both, it can get scary.  We just had a week of rain, so   
   things are starting to look real good out there.  Found a small Calvatia   
   puffball today.  Workmates had ordered pizza for lunch, so I crumbled   
   the firm raw puffball on my slice, and ate it.  It added a mild earthy   
   flavor.  Saw what looked like some kind of Agaricus coming up in a fairy   
   ring in a manicured park lawn.  Almost stopped my car to get out and   
   pick them, or at least give a closer look, but had 2nd thoughts while   
   thinking about what chemicals might have been applied to the lawn.   
      
   If I wasn't going to visit my sister and family at the beach in North   
   Caroline tomorrow, I'd be filling baskets with mushrooms from the   
   surrounding forest.   
      
      
   --   
   I can tell your future just look what's in your hand...   
      
   - Robert Hunter   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)