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Monday, May 18, 2009

Ain't These Beautiful?


I'm not much of a cook, but sometimes my hand is forced. Lorna was occupied, so I made an omelet for our late Sunday breakfast. It was really an excuse to eat morels, so I just put in what we had, some cheese, spinach, broccoli, sweet onion, garlic, and of course fresh morels. Damn  can I cook!

The golden age of Midwest morels is waning. Locally they grow on the roots of dead American Elms. When Dutch Elm swept through, they were all over - some years more than you could pick.  The morels fruit for up to 30 years after the tree dies. There are a handful of Elms here and there, so there will always be a few mushrooms around, but our glory time is running out.

7 comments:

rockandrollcannibal said...

gorgeous.

Old Toad said...

Sorry I missed breakfast last Sunday. Looks like you had some beautiful morels for that scramble (and a damn good cook, of course). We toads do enjoy mushrooms -- scrambled or not -- every now and then, especially when someone else is cookin'.

Gunnar Berg said...

Toad,
Had more tonite. Stop by, we'll feed your habit.

Old Toad said...

I would have stopped by but the distance from Oregon to Minnesota is a bit of a stretch for me to navigate in my old age. So, eat 'em all up yourself (unless you have some local toads in that big pond next to your house that you can invite in for a snack).

Tom said...

A couple of summers ago I made the best meal I ever made: rotini in a cream sauce with roasted red peppers, roasted garlic and fresh morels. My honey and I dined in the open air, on our upstairs patio, with a bottle of Cono Sur cabernet. Thanks for reminding me -- I'll keep an eye out at the farmers' markets.

Gunnar Berg said...

We have three varieties, possibly species or subspecies, in the Midwest. There are golden, gray, and rarely inky black. West Coast Morels, which are gray and more pointy, grow on conifers, often triggered by forest fires. They are very good, with a slight evergreenie favor that ours don't have. They don't have the same sweet, nutty favor of the Midwest Morels, but I'd eat'em in a heartbeat. Numm.

Cycle Jerk said...

It seems we have a few common interests.

http://cyclejerk.blogspot.com/2009/04/wildlife-tuesday.html

Washington DC is not as good as the midwest for shroom hunting but I bet they taste just as good. :)