This same tree, and this same farmer shared their bounty with me last fall. I recall that my hands were very cold when I pulled the mushrooms from the tree last fall; today, I was feeling springtime fresh. We just had a week or so of hot, rainy weather, followed by two days of sunny heat. TREASURE!!!
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| I saw them driving by... |
Though I admit that I stopped by his farm, Mr. Unnamed Farmer wasn't home yesterday, and I didn't trespass. I went back this evening.
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| There they are. Same tree, different season. |
They were a day or so past prime. A small price to pay to maintain my integrity. The farmer was still willing to give them up, despite my praise of last year's crop, though he did welcome my "payment" of milk and eggs, due on Sunday. A fair price, at my insistence. He was willing to just give them up. Nice farmer.
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| After cleaning, a short soak; they were a bit dry on the edges. |
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| Note the gills that travel right up the stem, which is minimal. And they smell so good! |
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They typically grow on hardwood. The tree these are on is WAY DEAD, but I'll ask Mr. Farmer
what it was when I see him on Sunday. |
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| Recipes and storage tips to follow... |
Life's good. Bb.
This is so fascinating to me. I have tons of those on the dead trees out in the pasture, and I would never think to do anything with them other than take pictures!
ReplyDeleteTeresa, make sure they're oysters before you harvest them...but once you're sure, go for it! One give-away is the gills that run all the way down the (minimal) stem. You can freeze them, too. I cut them in 1/2" chunks and lightly saute them, they lay them out on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a day. Bag them and tag them, and they last for months in the freeer!
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