Its Puffball Season

[t-pain]

always get upset when someone says 'no mushrooms' on a sandwhich.

humans have eaten mushrooms since the dawn of time. we lost thousands of men and women eating every kind of mushroom we could get our hands on. we taught our kids to look out for bad mushrooms. generation to generation. over and over and over again. 

 

we hunted these mushrooms to the ends of the earth. even dug to find mushrooms that grow underground! who was the first fool to dig up a mushroom? did he/she watch a squirrel dig for it?

 

so the next time you say no mushrooms, think of all those people who died for your right to eat these delicious fungi fruits.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffball

 

nabbed one of these in the backyard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_giant_puffball

 

delicious.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2014 by t-pain

[fabio1949]

I just love frying those up in butter, garlic, sweet vermouth, cilatro, salt and pepper

[Wild Bill]

We don't usually get puffballs around here until fall. Sometimes I find Shaggy Manes and Chicken of the Woods in summer though.

[zachw]

I just love frying those up in butter, garlic, sweet vermouth, cilatro, salt and pepper

 

Basically you are taking a flavorless spongy substance and using it to eat butter, garlic, vermouth, cilantro, salt & pepper.

 

[jointedone]

T-PAIN! I have found 4 of these strange fungi in the woods! I kicked one and spores that were like dust came out,I had to get away because I could feel my lungs inhaling them. I can't even believe how many different mushrooms there can be,we have all kinds that are strange looking. Wild Bill please tell me where to go to find info on Michigan fungi. Found another that looked like dog puke,so I hosed it down. That one ALSO released this brown dust-like substance as soon as the water hit it. and I could also smell them.

[keylan]

_{Jealous - I don't get any puffballs until fall. Fried in butter and onions - yum.}

[t-pain]

oh yeah i found one of those funguses that throws spores when you put water on it.

it grew on my garden because i put down a lot of woodchip mulch i suspect.


i really want to try some of that chicken of the woods. so many mushrooms to try, so little time.

heres a michigan edible/poisonous mushroom guide.

http://www.michiganmorels.com/funtalk/showthread.php?t=7617

http://web.archive.org/web/20120904055926/https://www.msu.edu/user/hallenhe/E-2777.pdf

Edited June 16, 2014 by t-pain

[jointedone]

Thanks! Yes,I do agree,it's in the mulch. Usually we get a load dumped,but last year Mike bought bags of cypress mulch.Cypress is good for controlling bad bugs and keep the good ones. The bags were damp on the inside,and even the mulch exposed to the sun all day doesn't kill this stuff. I don't want and cannot use poison. We have a well and animals. But I don't even want to touch this stuff,I even sprayed BLEACH on it. It's on the bottom of one of the porch spindles,next to a very old Peony bush. I thought it would be gone from our harsh winter,but now I see it growing again. Have any of you seen the flouresent mushrooms? I think they would look so cool in the most shady part of the garden around the pond. They need no light at all. I am so tempted to add them,I love exotic and weird plants.

[Wild Bill]

It would be best to take a class before you start getting too adventuresome, most mushroom toxins are neurological and not generally reversible. There is a fairly decent online class here.

 

youtube.com/watch?v=IlKhBX-cmhs

 

They even provide the class handouts on Google Drive.
 
There are some that don't resemble anything else and are a pretty safe bet.
 
The Foolproof Four
 
My personal favorite is Chicken of the Woods. It used to grow on a tree near where worked. (sadly they kill the host plant)

 

If you can get to them before the ants arrive you can fill up two 1 quart ziploc bags with diced Chicken of the Woods.