Mushrooms & Manure

This is what my Sunday looked like: chanterelle hunting, shoveling horse manure, and American Gothic redux. My co-worker Evan offered to take me out mushroom hunting if I'd help him load up the bed of his parents truck with manure for his garden beds. I'm no fool, so of course I said yes. When Evan's mom handed me a cloth grocery bag for collecting I never could have imagined that I'd be filling it nearly full. And for the record- I really did help shovel horse shit, not just hop around taking pictures all afternoon. Really. I have filthy boots and gloves to prove it.

Events: August 20th & 21st- Arts in Nature Festival & September 2nd through 5th- Radical Mycology Convergence

I'm a little late on this post- as Arts in Nature Festival starts in less than twelve hours- but I do love last minute plans.

"This experiential performing-arts based event which includes a wide variety of live music performances, dance troupes, aerial & fire performances, interactive arts activities, illuminaria, and sound & visual installations in 8 of the rustic cabins creating a Museum of Sound that festival attendees can explore and interact with.  Some of this year’s festival artists include: Trimpin, The Moondoggies, The Legandary Oaks, Lelavision, The Cabiri, Christian Swenson, Caspar Babypants, and The Early Music Guild to name a few.  The event is free with a suggested $10 donation.  It is also a waste-free event with food served on reusable plates and cloth napkins." 

More information can be found here!

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The Radical Mycology Convergence is happening over Labor Day weekend and is going to be a weird and awesome weekend full of weird and awesome mushroomy things. I am almost a little embarrassed about how excited I am about this.

"A free, volunteer-run gathering of mycologists, hobbyists, and Earth healers coming together to share skills and information related to  the benefits of the fungal kingdom in terms of remediative properties as well as human uses. This weekend-long event will culminate in a remediation project to put theory to practice and will also be a unique chance to build community with like-minded mycophiles (aka mushroom lovers) from around North America."

More information can be found here, and please do note that you need to RSVP to attend. I will be leaving from Seattle that Saturday mid-afternoon and have room in my tiny car for another two people. Shoot me an email at renai.marie@areyoumyghost.com if you're interested in carpooling! Car is FULL!

Dinner

It's not the easiest thing in the world to take a decent picture of steaming food. I have no patience.

Purple jasmine rice, fresh caught Pacific NW halibut, green garlic, fresh ginger, miso broth, oyster mushrooms, and kale. I could eat you forever.

Book Review & Giveaway: Pacific Feast- A Cook's Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine

"An intimate guide to the food at our feet, Pacific Feast shares expert advice on how to identify the good eats, harvest responsibly, and create delicious meals." - Pacific Feast

Far more than just a field guide or collection of recipes- this book includes a section of full-color photographs, recipes from chefs including Christina Choi (!) and Tom Douglas, harvesting calendars and beautiful introductions to each species covering area history and the Authors personal experiences.

Recipes range from Sea Urchin Gazpacho to Maple Blossom Fritters to a Spotted Owl (Nettle Martini), and Jennifer perfectly explains how and where to harvest your goods. Her experiences have taken her from California to Alaska and British Columbia and she doesn't seem to overlook a single worthwhile edible.

Among the stack of books that makes up my current reading list- this is the only one that bounces around my living room and kitchen constantly. I find myself reading through recipes at random on an almost nightly basis. My copy was a gift from a dear friend- and I'm thrilled to be able to offer a copy to one of my dear readers! Read on for details!

There are four (!) ways for you to enter to win your very own copy:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite wild food is. If you don't have one- just tell me what's on your mind.

2. "Like" Skipstone Books on Facebook and leave a separate comment here telling me that you have.

3. Sign up for the Skipstone Books Newsletter and leave a separate comment here telling me that you have.

4. Follow Skipstone Books on Twitter and again- leave a separate comment here telling me that you have.

The contest will run for one week- ending April 13th at 9 PM Washington time. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted soon after. Please be sure to include a way to contact you in each of your entries. Good luck and happy foraging!

Reading List:

Top to bottom:

1. Edible Stories: A Novel in Sixteen Parts, Mark Kurlansky. I just started reading this. It gets mixed reviews, but I'm enjoying it so far. Many of the characters and themes are carried throughout the book and the short story format works really well for bus reading.

2. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver. My absolute, all-time favorite book. I re-read it about three times yearly. It's a quick and easy read, but I just love it more every time I finish it.

3. Pacific Feast: A Cook's Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine, Jennifer Hahn. This beautiful book was a gift from my love Becca. The guides and recipes cover everything from weedy greens to shellfish to edible trees. I'm quite smitten with it.

4. Take a Walk: 100 Walks Through Natural Places in the Puget Sound Region, Sue Muller Hacking. While this book covers a lot of smaller, more urban parks and trails- it also offers up some really great options for easy day hikes and beaches. I'm excited to use it for new weekend running routes.

5. The Last Fish Tale, Mark Kurlansky.  "...provides a delightful, intimate history and contemporary portrait of the quintessential northeastern coastal fishing town: Gloucester, Mass., on Cape Anne. Illustrated with his own beautifully executed drawings, Kurlansky's book vividly depicts the contemporary tension between the traditional fishing trade and modern commerce..."

6. All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms, David Arora.  This guide is eccentric, if not extremely informative. David Arora has a reputation for being a little bit nutty- and while the cover of this book is on the odd side, the full color photographs and serious details within make it well worth checking out.

7. The Blue Bear: A True Story of Friendship and Discovery in the Alaskan Wild, Lynn Schooler. "Schooler, who has worked for many years as a guide in the unpredictable waters of the Alaska Panhandle, has distilled a life of unusual intensity into his first book. The story centers on the renowned nature photographer Michio Hoshino, a client who became a friend, and the two men's ongoing search for the elusive glacier bear, a blue variant of the North American black bear."

 8. Bradt Travel Guide: Iceland, Andrew Evans. Spring of 2012! This guide is the best I've found so far- and does a really great job of covering a lot of what I hope to experience.

Kombucha Homebrew

Finally! This has to be the one post that I've talked about, started writing, and thought about more than any other. And I really have no excuses- as it's incredibly simple and straight forward.

I started brewing my own kombucha about a year ago and have since been more or less unable to enjoy the store-bought stuff.  As it turns out- I like my kombucha extra vinegary and herby, and I also get some sort of strange joy out of creeping people out by brewing it on my kitchen counter.  It really isn't the prettiest thing to look at.  For some more information about what kombucha is and why I drink it- this is a good source, if not a little woo-woo.  Fact of the matter is- I love the taste, and I feel great when I drink it.

Mmmmm

What you need to begin:

- Large pot (at least 4 1/2 quart)

- Large glass jar (a sun tea jar is perfect)

- 4 quarts of water

- 1 cup sugar

- 4 tea bags (green, black, or white, not herbal or decaffeinated!)

- Cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel to cover your brew with

- Kombucha SCOBY (mother) and 1/2 cup starter liquid*

*You can grow your own SCOBY by following this guide which has you start with a bottle of the store-bought stuff.  This is how I grew mine originally, and it has never let me down. Starter liquid is basically already brewed kombucha, and if you do grow your own SCOBY you'll already have some ready to go.  If you live in the Seattle area I have quite a few extra SCOBY's right now- and I'd be more than happy to pass them along. Just leave me a comment and we can coordinate an exchange.

How to brew:

- Start by either filtering or boiling your water for ten minutes to get rid of any existing bacteria and other funky stuff that could mess up your brewing process.  If using the boiling method- add an extra half cup of water, as you will lose some volume via steam.

- Add sugar to your boiling water, and stir until fully dissolved.  Remove from heat, add tea bags, and allow to brew for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags, and allow mixture to cool until room temperature.  This is a good time to sterilize your large jar (running it through the dishwasher is great, as is "rinsing" it with boiling water).

- Carefully pour tea mixture into sterilized jar, using a funnel if needed (you really don't want sugary tea all over your kitchen counters). Gently pour SCOBY and starter liquid into your jar with tea, cover with cheesecloth or towel, using a rubber band or string to hold it on.

- I allow mine to brew on the kitchen counter, as it's fairly warm and can sit undisturbed until it's ready to drink. Taste your brew after the first week and decide if it's the strength that you'd prefer. I've left mine to brew for up to 3 weeks for a very strong, vinegary brew. Once it's your desired strength- remove your SCOBY and 1/2 to 1 cup of your liquid, and set aside for your next batch. Brewed kombucha should be stored in the fridge, and will keep for a long time- you'll most likely drink it all before you ever have to worry about it going bad.

Once you're comfortable with the brewing process- feel free to try experimenting with flavored teas, and different types of sweeteners (honey, agave).  Just be sure to always use caffeinated tea, and not ever use sugar substitutes as your kombucha culture won't be able to grow and ferment without caffeine and sugar present.

Most of all- have fun, gross out your friends, and feel awesome because you no longer have to spend $4 every time you want to get your hippie on.

Mushroom Hunting Field Trip With the Puget Sound Mycological Society

I already posted a few pictures from our mushroom hunting adventure on Saturday, but I promised that there would be more!

My good friend Shana recently joined the Puget Sound Mycological Society and invited Amy and I along on their last field trip of the season, this past Saturday.  We drove an hour and a half to a small state park, where we met up with a large group of mushroom hunters.  Some people had years and years of experience, while others (like us) were brand new.  A handful of people made out with baskets full of gorgeous chantarelles and other edibles- but as such newbies we stuck to finding as many different species as we could- mostly poisonous.  We spent nearly four very wet hours working our way around a 2 mile loop trail, stopping whenever we'd spot something new. 

As much as I love the idea of hunting solely for edibles- we had an absolute blast poking, smelling, picking, and photographing everything that we could.  I truly had never noticed that there is such diversity between species, and we learned some really neat mushroomy facts.

Have you ever gone mushroom hunting?  What did you find?