Monday, 21 August 2017

Mushroom season has begun!



Mushrooms - my absolute favourite thing to forage for - have finally appeared. At least the types I pick; I know there always are some mushrooms out there, but I don't pick anything I don't recognise. 

I already have two tubs full of sliced mushrooms in the freezer, and a third one about half full. And it's just the beginning!

My latest find is the beautiful large porcini mushroom pictured below - found it yesterday 5min from my house. S pointed out to me today that a certain gourmet online store sells them for £17 a piece!! Now that's a saving, I got it completely free :-)

I also stumbled upon a big patch of lovely chanterelles in the same spot a couple of days ago. I adore them - they make such wonderful sauce! They weighed in at 250g, I wonder how much that would have cost to buy!

I can't wait to go for a proper ''hunt'' to a large forest - maybe this weekend!



Porcini


Chantarelles


Chantarelles


Birch boletes


Bay bolete

Monday, 14 August 2017

Autumn state of mind


It's the middle of August, everything in the garden is lush, green and abundant - and as a gardener, this is what I had been waiting for all those months. But today's cold, rainy and windy weather brought on a sudden longing for Autumn coziness. 

When I sat in my chair today, in my warm jumper and with a hot cup of tea warming my hands, I remembered how much I love long October evenings, the cliché-yet-delightful pairing of hot drinks and good books, gentle sound of rain and flickering candles. 

Also, I have found a few mushrooms this month. The picture above is of the lovely birch boletes I found on my way home from work last week. To me, this means Autumn is just around the corner and I will soon be picking basketfulls of mushrooms every weekend! That's another thing I really look forward to: long walks in the forest, foraging for all those wonderful fungi.

As much as I want to be in the moment and enjoy the summer while it lasts, on a day like this I just can't help but think about the coming months... It really does feel like mid-October today. Stay warm everyone!