A Sweet Surprise! May 17, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: fawn, morels, Spring rain
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I got out today after work for a bit (no! ) looking for more morels. It was raining, not heavily, but as I crawled around in dense thickets of honeysuckle and briers I got plenty wet, and much muddier than one might aim for in an ideal world. But hey, the “real world” compensates the curious with showers and washing machines, so it’s all good.
And in addition to a basket of nice big morels for my trouble, I also got a snoot-full of the beautiful essences of Spring, rich earth and clean greenery and the delicate perfume of nearby lilacs.
Oh, and there was one more Spring delight to top off my roadside stop – this little beauty, lying still exactly where it’s mother had left it:
They do that, you know, leave their fawns for a while with strict orders not to move, a survival skill far more valuable than flight for such delicate creatures. I was exactly that close and could easily have pet it, but didn’t – instead I walked in a broad circle around it, hoping to keep the mother at a distance, then beat feet back to my car to get my camera. I was back in ten minutes, and this little sweetie hadn’t moved more than an eyelash.
As the gentle rain pattered on the leaves unfurling overhead, I felt blessed.
Thank you, Mother Earth. Thank you, Father Sky.
Dinner With TCR! May 15, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Dinner with TCR.Tags: asparagus, mascarpone, morels, prosciutto
2 comments
Yes, I know, it’s been a long time.
Not since I’ve made diner, mind you, but since I’ve bothered to photograph it.
And as it turns out, that wasn’t such a bad move, as this photograph testifies:
Despite being butt-ugly (a decidedly dispositive attribute for food,) this meal was as delectable as any I’ve eaten in recent memory – fresh-picked morels stuffed with prosciutto and mascarpone, accompanied by a mahogany rice and fiddlehead risotto and asparagus from our garden.
Since the star ingredients were foraged/free, the price of this meal was a plus, and through welders’ goggles it looked pretty good!
😉
There’s GOLD In Them Thar Hills! May 13, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Dinner with TCR.Tags: morels
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…In the form of free food of the most delectable kind – morels!
This evening on the way home from work I stopped at a roadside spot where I’d found morels some years back, and… voila!
There they were, camouflaged among last year’s leaves to the point of near invisibility, at least until I saw one, and then they were everywhere!
I picked a bunch, like a BUNCH, of varying sizes and took them home:
The biggest dozen will be stuffed for tomorrow night’s dinner; those needing trimming got sauteed in butter and eaten tonight, accompanied by a soundtrack of yumming and ummmmimg, courtesy of moi. The rest are drying in the oven on low heat, to be stored in the freezer for reconstitution as my hedonistic desires dictate.
This is the best haul I’ve had in several years.
Thank you, Mother Earth. Thank you, Father Sky!
May Bounty! May 20, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Dinner with TCR.Tags: 100 yard diet, morels, stuffed rigatoni, white sauce
8 comments
In addition to the last of the fiddleheads and ramps, May brings us New Englanders our first fresh mushrooms.
And Boy, the opening act is gonna be hard to follow:
White morels. I’ve had good years with these, and years without any. So any is good, and many is amazing!
Here are a few which are doomed, DOOMED I say…
…to be sauteed in butter and white wine, then simmered in a garlic and cream sauce with a few drops of white truffle oil:
…and served over fresh ricotta-stuffed rigatoni:
with a modest organic side salad.
Spring is good to us Roadside Grazers!
Little Bang Theory 