After a dry summer/fall, recent rains and warm spells have brought on a widespread mushroom fruiting here in the Champlain Valley. For those interested in gathering and eating wild shrooms it’s a great time of year. For beginners there are two tasty ones currently fruiting that are particularly easy to identify, quite distinctive in appearance, and safe/good to eat, as well as many others.
Mushrooms? It seems that I’ve cooked with the little button mushrooms found in most grocery stores forever and enjoyed them raw in tossed salads. About 12 years ago, I was introduced to the Portobello mushroom by my son-in-law, David, who cooked them on his charcoal grill. They were delicious!
As September slips away, summer releases its warm grip. Days begin to cool off, and the Canada geese fly with joy for their migration. Gray squirrels scamper across the forest floor, picking through the white and red acorns and the occasional hickory or butternut. The leaves begin to show the promise of fall as they turn miraculous shades of gold and red, draping canopies over the backroads.