More mushrooms...

I thought I'd share a few more mushroom pictures....

Shaggy Manes grow to about 12" tall, the cap being close to 8"

Charles' haul of Chanterelles. He's got the ju-ju.

Cleaned, cut, drying. This is hours of work...

....For what turns out to be one frying pan full of mushrooms (ask me what I ended up doing with these), ...

...And one and half mason jars of dried. Worth it.

This is my beau, Eben's place on Pender Island. Built amongst cedar and arbutus trees, without nails, or electricity in 1976. Guess what there are a lot of here?

 

Shrimp mushrooms, Hedgehogs, and Fluted Black Elfin Saddle's. A delicious saute, enjoyed with our exclusive Pender Island pasta supper.

What I did with the sauteed Chanterelles:

If you've heard of a Duxelle before, you'll know it is the creamy filling that is prepared and added to Beef Wellington. I sauteed the mushrooms, added a few fresh herbs, shallot, and cream. 

Once finished, I cooled it and froze it so I can make cream of mushroom soup or nice sauce with it in the future. I know, cream doesn't freeze well, this I discovered after.

More on Pender Island:

The property on Pender Island is in virgin forest. part of it is protected because of old growth moss covering, of which is stunning to see. Everything on this property lives and grows. It is gorgeous, and so peaceful. During the building of the 3 structures that stand on the land, there were no vehicles or electricity used. All the stone for the foundations were dragged into place with the blood, sweat and tears of those involved. All the joints of the structure are connected using dowels, and holes hand drilled using manual drills (pardon my lack of terminology). Best of all, the walls are made of clear lexan, so there is little between you and the forest when inside. It is bright inside, and because few trees were felled during the building, old cedars sit mere inches away from you when inside. One truly feels amongst nature when visiting. 

In addition to Mr. King's architectural delight, there happen to be millions of mushrooms there. In fact, the interesting Lobster mushroom, grows rampantly here, along with the others photo'd above. The neat thing about Lobster mushrooms is that they are actually a parasite that engulfs another mushroom and grows a hard, red outer surface, that remind us of lobsters. I admit, being a novice, I wasn't completely sure that what I was looking at was what I thought it was, so I didn't eat any. Kicking myself now, the seasons over.