The Poisonous Amanita muscaria
Without a doubt it's been a very wet Spring in most of the Country. We've avoided a lot of the floods here in Colorado, that other parts of the Country have had. We have however had our share of wet and a much cooler Spring this year. While it makes for some really soggy hiking trails, its a good thing for a lot of crops, especially wild Mushrooms.
A local mushroom expert has just published a book about Colorado Mushrooms as detailed in this article by the Denver Post.
I was thinking of this article on the way to the Farmer's Market this morning. I had the opportunity to read the article this weekend while waiting to have my snow tires taken off my car (Finally!). Sure enough there were some wild mushrooms at the market. I picked up an assorted 1/2 Lb bag for $6 that included at least 4 different varieties like Giant Puff Balls, and Baby Portabellas.
I couldn't resist having a taste on the drive home.
Edible Assortment of Wild Colorado Mushrooms
Mushroom hunting is one of those things I would love to do but for obvious reasons at this stage I think I will leave it up to the experts to sort through which ones are edible and which ones are poisonous. My only decision left in today's market find it what to make with them. They have already adorned a veggie humus wrap for lunch, and I'm sure will make a great entree very soon.
As always eating in Season means you need to take advantage of what's fresh and ready NOW. Worry about the recipes later. You will always find a recipe for your special ingredient and sometimes that hunt can be just as much fun as finding the ingredient!
