Chanterelle Utopia

It all began with one line in an email from a friend…”chanterelles are in season”.  Within the hour I was  in the woods huntin’ wild mushrooms.  The season for chanterells is late summer to late fall.  They appear more abundantly after a rainfall.  There are some distinguishing characteristics such it’s unique golden color, trumpet like stem and an aroma similar to that of apricots.  We went huntin’ in the back woods of North Vancouver guided by our chanterell experts.  It took awhile to find them at first, they are the same color as the wet cedar as well as the golden leaves that have recently fallen.  Also, there is a sneaky little mushroom that looks like a chanterell, a wolf in sheeps clothing if you will.  I imagine this mushroom ( the jack-o-lantern) would like nothing more than to be picked,  seduce us, and then poisonous us…all the while thinking “Ha, those fools…thinking I am a chanterell” .  Anyways, the further we got into the woods, the more we found.  They grow as singletons, not attached to others.  We saw many chanterell that was all on it’s own poking up from the moss and pine needles.

My kids were of course the first to spot them.  Although they want nothing to do with eating them, their child like eagle eyes were exactly what was needed on a trip like this!

I have now cleaned the chanterells.  There is much debate over the right way, either brush them off with an old toothbrush and painstakingly go through all the gills so they do not get wet.  The other way is to rinse them, get them wet and is way less time and way easier.  What did I do?  I rinsed the little suckers.  I went from not having chanterells this morning to a whole pile of them, I am sure I will manage if they get wet.  Now what to do with this golden treasure of mushrooms?  I can’t just squander them, but I cant wait too long to decide.  Risotto seems like the most fitting for this kingly mushroom but then I heard they are very good in scrambled eggs.  But are eggs beneath them?  Hmmmm, I will keep you posted on what i decide.

Technorati Tags: chanterells, mushrooms, risotto