Mushroom Obsession

What could be better than a spooky Halloween breakfast made from some choice edible mushrooms that you’ve probably never even seen in the supers!

Counterclockwise from the “low-fat sausage patty” … Black Western Elfin Saddles cooked in butter, garlic, salt and pepper (left); Wood Hedgehogs sauteed with shallots and garlic in olive oil, salt and pepper (bottom, my very favorite!), and scrambled eggs with Irish (Kerrygold) cheddar. Yummm.

During weekend forays this Fall we collected a wide variety of highly unusual, sometimes even downright creepy-looking, but nevertheless fine tasting mushrooms.

This is Clavaria globospora. It is a form of club or coral mushroom. Most coral mushroom is edible (even though not choice, by any means), though some of the 100+ varieties can cause a bit of digestive distress. I wouldn’t touch this one with a 10-foot-pole simply because it looks like fingers coming up from the dead!

This one is much prettier … “Apricot Jelly.” Like some other jellies (such as the ghostly White Jelly) it is considered edible. I heard about a recipe for making wine from this mushroom, so I’m giving it a try as we speak (I collected maybe a pint of these unusual, rubbery specimens) and will report back.

Boletes can also be pretty weird-looking. Here is a large and small example. I believe both are edible “Fat Jacks.” Boletes have tubules which look like foam rubber on the bottom, rather than gills. Some (like the notorious vomit-inducer, “Satan’s Bolete” are definitely not edible!

Finally, let’s close this Halloween post with a (supposedly) edible fungus … “Witch’s Butter.” For some reason, I’ve never had the guts to try it …

Stay safe out there, and have a Happy Halloween!