It's so nice to take a break from work and the computer to go out mushroom hunting! Wild edibles are the best edibles there is because it's completely grown by nature in all the right ways. Wild mushrooms are perfectly seasonal; they bloom only when the conditions are just right.
This year has been dry so we were a big concerned about mushroom harvest. That's it with gardening and eating with nature. Some years some things are more plentiful than others. Luckily, this is a good chanterelle year. The characteristic yellow/orange color is hard to miss in the bed of mosses. We go on our hands and knees for gourmet wild mushrooms. :) It's so much fun and really meditative looking for mushrooms.
Here at Rawganique. we hold lobster mushrooms in the highest regards, not only because lobster mushrooms are delicious but because they yield the most beautiful natural organic mordant-free dyes in pinks, yellows, and purples. Vegan and organic cuisine can really replicate some seafood dishes with the help of lobster mushrooms, which aren't technically mushrooms but parasites that live off mushrooms. They are a joy to behold and often grow on hillsides. We love to dye our organic cotton, linen, and hemp fibers with natural lobster mushroom dyes.
Now on to the fluted helvellas, which is often known as elfin saddle or slate blue saddle. They tops are edible and much sought after by gourmands. At first we thought they were related to morels, but they are in fact a thing of their own.
Now we look forward to several more weeks of mushroom deliciousness.