leading me into the kitchen. Under her sink was the biggest glass jar
I have ever seen. It was crammed full of gnarled, fleshy, brain-like
structures I soon learned were mushrooms. In the summer around Nar'yan
Mar the tundra fills with fungus. Any housewitch worth her salt can
tell the good from the poisonous. "They say you're not supposed to do
this thing (bottle them), but I just can't help it. I love them so much.
And I need them in the winter, also." A few weeks later she cracked
that jar open and feasted. I had two but the jar was empty within hours.
A few years ago while visiting my sisters in Portland Oregon, we hiked
around Mount Hood. We were just past mushroom season so all we found
were the neatly sliced off stems of morels and chanterelles.
Occasionally we found red spotted fairytale toadstools, but nothing
edible.
This week my little sister went mushroom hunting, and yesterday I
received a mushroom lovers ultimate paradise: a box filled with creamy
gold chanterelles and aromatic porcini.
The only dish I could think to make was a mushroom tart, so JE and I
ran to our neighborhood market to pick up some half and half. The sky
was cloudy and cool, perfect baking weather. We baked listening to Rick Bayless on KCRW's guest DJ project. http://www.kcrw.com/music/kcrw-guest-dj-project
My house has the smell of an eccentric forest dwelling creature:
butter, mushrooms, onions, gingerbread. Yum. Mushrooms have the
essence of the earth in them, and somehow when they are cooked in butter,
that earthiness becomes heavenly.
This afternoon we spent some time in the pool. Purely play. No laps allowed. This should be fun. All of this. I don't want to forget why I am doing this. It's easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of a thing and loose the joy in it.
Therefore, no "Foodwise" today, I mostly behaved. Let today be a play day.
Yummmmmmm.....
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