Tiny Bubbles

I'm pretty sure that the USDA home canning website would NOT approve of the "funghi trifolati" recipe that I received a while back from another mushroom forager.  Last December, after picking a small amount of chanterelles & blewits, I decided I wanted to try my hand at it.

First - here's the recipe as I received it:

With all the chantrelles you have, I thought I would pass on my favorite way to store them.  I learned this from my Italian friend's mom. It is a variation of funghi trifolati.  This stuff goes fast!

You need basic glass jar canning supplies.

Ingredients:

• A LOT of rough-chopped chanterelles (or other mushrooms--honey mushrooms, porcini and oyster are great).  It is cool when you get little ones to leave them as whole as possible.
• thinly sliced garlic
• chopped flat-leaf parsley
• chopped thyme
• a lot of good olive oil
• pickling brine:
  Fill a very large stock pot (big enough to accommodate this brine and a good quantity of your mushrooms) about half-full of water. Add enough quality salt so it tastes about like sea water (saltier than you think). Add quality cider or white wine vinegar to equal about half the volume of the water. Add bay leaf, peppercorns and whatever else you like to taste.
  
  Method:

1. Sterilize jars.
2. Bring brine to a strong simmer.
3. Add mushrooms and let them cook for two minutes after the brine comes back to a strong simmer. Strain the mushrooms from the brine as you jar them (you want them hot). Keep the brine, it is awesome in salad dressings.
4. With a sterilized slotted spoon or tongs add a layer of mushrooms, straight from the hot brine, to the bottom of a jar.
5. Add a layer of your chopped herbs and garlic.
6. Then add a layer of olive oil. repeat this process until you are about half-inch fro the top of the jar and fill this space with olive oil.
7. Tap the jars on a hard surface to try and coax excess air to the top.
8. Put the lid on the jar and store for at least a couple of weeks in a cool, dark place.

The mushrooms take on an amazing, oily-crunchy texture after time and all the flavors blend. the stored mushrooms are beautiful, in layers of gold and green. I have kept them like this for over a year. Some people worry about the addition of raw herbs and garlic and blanch them.

After reading a bunch of recipes, looking at the Ball Blue Book for canning mushrooms, this is basically what I did:

1. Prepare brine of vinegar & salt with spices, bring to a boil.
2. Add peeled & coarsely chopped garlic to brine, return to simmer for several minutes
3. Once garlic is soft, add mushrooms and simmer til liquid seems to be released from the mushrooms (several minutes).
4. Strain mushrooms & layer mushrooms in sterilized quart jar with steam blanched chopped green herbs (parsley, oregano, rosemary) and olive oil.  Cover with olive oil.

I let the jars sit on the counter for about 6 weeks, opening them up to try them in late January - delicious!  I shared some with other friends, the mushrooms were delicious and nobody suffered any ill effects. Two nights ago, when I opened the jar the lid made a slight "pop" like there was a build up of gases when I opened the chanterelles and it made a slight pop when I opened the jar.  My friend and I ate some anyway and they tasted good, we didn't get sick.

Today when I was cleaning in the kitchen, I noticed that the gas had built up again in the chanterelles.  I also noticed some very tiny tiny bubbles coming up, continuously, through the top layer of olive oil which had turned  a darker color.

On closer inspection (and in daylight, not like two nights ago), I noticed that there was some milky white sediment in the bottom.  There also seemed to be a LOT of air bubbles, pea size and bigger.  I had carefully used a butter knife to remove air bubbles and a fork/spoon to press down the contents when I filled the jars.

I pulled out a bamboo chopstick to explore and release some bubbles and noticed some of the larger pieces of garlic felt a bit firm and when I pushed on them - they released  alot of milky goo.    I also noticed, much to my surprise, that the bottom 2-3" of the jar was not olive oil but liquid (brine? juice?). 

Not wanting to risk botulism, I chucked just over 1/2 jar each of chanterelle & blewit pickle. Very sad.

Has this ever happened to you with this process?  What did I do wrong?  Was I wrong to chuck the mushrooms?  Is this an issue with the garlic? 

I had a similar experience with some tomato sauce I made last fall -- unlike the previous 20 years, I decided to put in some herbs and garlic.  The sauce cooked at a simmer for over 12 hours - it was damned hot!  I canned it in a hot water bath for 30 minutes.  However, when I opened the jars from that batch - there were tiny rising continuous bubbles in the sauce.  I reheated the sauce and simmered it for over an hour, after it cooled - it still had these weird bubbles (so I chucked it).

What's up with the carbonation?  Any canning mavens out there got any ideas?

Roasted Parsnip & Escarole Salad

After 4 weeks of 100% raw, I have started reintroducing cooked foods - and decided I want to stay more "high raw" for the next 3 months.   I picked up a Mystery Box from Mariquita last week - had some incredible Castelfranco & Treviso radicchio, and two large heads of escarole.  I made a great big romaine & radicchio salad last night - but it only reminded me how much I dearly love seared or grilled radicchio (and other bitter greens).

So, for tonight's dinner - I roasted the ginormous parsnip that came in the box and put together a delicious salad, inspired by a recipe provided by Julia in the newsletter, but modified (as always).  Feel free to take inspiration and make your own version!

Roasted Parsnip & Escarole Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 large parsnip, scrubbed, chopped into 1" pieces (remove fibrous center near large end if necessary)
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1 small handful of parsley (enough for 1/4-1/3 chopped)
• 2 tsp mustard
• 2 Tb white wine vinegar
• 1.5 c sourdough croutons (stale sourdough bread cut into 1.5" chunks works, too!)
• 1 cup small cremini or shitaki mushrooms, halved
• 1/4 c small capers
• 3-4 stems of green garlic
• 1 bunch of chinese garlic
• 1 large head of escarole, coarsely chopped, washed & spun dry, 4-6 leaves escarole (also coarse chopped)
• 1/3 c kalamata olives - or - grapes - halved
• 1/3 c pine nuts
  
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

1.  Toss the parsnip pieces with olive oil to coat, sprinkle with salt & pepper, toss, arrange in single layer on cookie sheet or large cast iron skillet and roast at 400 till tender & chewy.  Remove from heat when done.
2. In cuisinart or blender, combine parsley, lemon, mustard, vinegar and 2-3 Tb of olive oil (take it easy here because there's plenty of olive oil coming up!)  - reserve in a dish or measuring cup once fully blended & thickened.
3. In a large cast iron skillet, toss the croutons to coat with olive oil and toast well.  Put aside.
4. Add mushrooms to hot skillet and sear - don't let them get too soft!  Add capers, green garlic & chinese garlic.  Once the garlic & parsnips have gotten bright grene, add parsnips and toss to warm - transfer to another dish and reserve.
5. Put your chopped escarole in the skillet, drizzle with olive oil, a pinch of salt & pepper.  Cook on high heat -- keep it moving by tossing gently with wooden spoons - just to wilting.
6. Toss escarole, reserved veggies, dressing, pine nuts, croutons and olives/grapes (depending on whether you are in a salty/sweet mood).

Yum!

Millennium Winter Mushroom Cooking Class 2011

If you have never attended a cooking class at Millennium - or even at all - I highly recommend getting behind the counter at Millennium with Chef Eric Tucker for his annual Winter Mushroom Cooking class.  There's usually a pre-class foraging trip in addition to the pre-class Farmer's Market trip.


Winter Mushroom Cooking Class
Sunday January 9, 2011
10am-4pm (ish)
$155/person
Join Eric Tucker for a hands on cooking class in the Millennium kitchen. Spend the second Sunday of the new year creating multiple mushroom filled courses that you will then have the opportunity to sit down and enjoy family style. You will be working with mushrooms that Eric has foraged locally and you will have the opportunity to join Eric for a guided tour through the Ferry Building Farmers' Market on Saturday, January 8 at 10am.
Space is limited, please call Alison for a reservation 415.345.3900x13

Evergreen Rd Morels!

Last week, a last minute invitation was extended to head to the Sierras and go find some morels.  I hopped in my friend's Zipcar, along with another of her friends and we went up to the Stanislaus National Forest to see what the MSSF folks left behind after their 2010 morel foray.

From the moment we got to our camp - we hit the jackpot.  Keith spotted something growing next to the fire pit and plucked up a somewhat darking black morel and ran off to show it to Kathryn before I caught a proper glimpse.  Looking down - I noticed a second morel growing right there!  Two morels right at the fire ring?  Incredible!

A walk around our camp to the other fire rings proved futile as the other fire rings were all in to frequent or recent use, but on the way back to our somewhat remote site - I found several morels growing right on the side of the driveway in the campground!  Walking around in the woods on the residential property of Peachgrowers Grove, I found several gorgeous puffballs as well.

As soon as we put up our gear, we headed off to stomp the woods before sunset - between the three of us, we found at least a couple pounds of morels.  Mostly small morels -  remember - they are the same color as the dirt:

I found a pretty healthy tree frog - and Keith uncovered a gorgeous salamander:

The next morning, we were up and stomping around the woods again - every time we thought we'd notice a pattern, we'd find mushrooms in another kind of spot.  Sometimes they were on the west face of a slope or pile of woodchips that had some fire damage and disturbed earth, sometimes they were just growing in the pine needles next to some trees - and lots of times they were growing right on the side of the paved road!  Here are some photos of morels in their natural spots and of our haul - we all got an average of 3lbs each:

The result of 3 the tramping in the woods of 3 people!

Where should you go look for morels?  They like pine trees and disturbed soil; any place that you find burn areas - whether a wild fire or a customary spot for burning brush & plant debris for fire management.  Some current reports are that the morels are happening but moving north and to higher elevations pretty quickly.  I have heard one report of a friend near Bear Valley who has pulled over 120 lbs already!  

Last August's burn in Yuba County interests me - I want to check on the elevations of those burned areas for a target in early June.  Failing that - Mt Shasta & Lassen may be good candidates for the second week of June.  Are you with me?

Jenn & the Giant Chanterelles

The fallen oak branches protected these beauties on the periphery of the woods. I often find nice little flushes by this tree - very large mushrooms that are firm and integral. The one in my right is a mere 18 oz to the 22 oz in my left. I am standing up straight - it's the location that is crooked!

Mushrooming - January 24 - Ladies Field Day!

Kathryn & Alexis joined me for a productive day of mushrooming in the Oakland Hills!  Kathryn is an avid forager but Alexis had never gone out before!



Kathryn was VERY happy!

Gorgeous view of Mt Diablo!

Happy mushrooming ladies!

More cow plop cultivated mushrooms!

Oyster mushroom tree!

Mushrooming - January 17

Something tiny growing on a cow plop:

A salamander under a mushroom (fire salamander?)

Oh - and lots and loads of chanterelles:

Not just a table, a bench and two chairs -

But the other table, too!

And some biggies!

Thanks to Cassia for documenting - she was quick enough to grab my camera while I was busy cleaning up!

Mushrooming - cleaning up!

The next morning - I still had a tub FULL of chanterelles

Some more biggies - they taste just the same!

A 14 oz chanterelle in a stainless steel bowl (sorry for the flash!)

Mushrooming - January 10

A few tiny blewets!

Some of the chanterelles have their own zip codes!

Some are in the bag -

But here are the biggies I found:

One with my hand for scale:

Red & pretty - but not edible!

Another monster chanterelle:

They just don't stop!

Round 2, same day, with Eric & Veronika.  When I told them about the flush I found - and that we could each pick as much as we could carry - Eric was skeptical.  "I don't like to pick an area clean - it's not good for the ecosystem!"  But when we got there -  he was surprised and even said "They don't let up!  It's  just like pulling weeds!"  I'm pretty sure this is his happy face here!

Fancy deformities - all ripply and flesh like...

Something we found on the way out:

Examining & recording:

Mushrooming - January 9

Hardly finding any blewets - this beat up old looking thing was all alone:

Loads of candy caps - they just seem to be everywhere! I picked 3# of candy cap!

 

Beautiful but not edible amanitas....

 

Gold!

 

The haul - well - what I kept, anyway:

Thirty pounds for a local chef:

Mushrooming - December 19

Another December mushrooming trip with Scott!

 

Using my new gloves for the first time - I feel so prepared! No more blackberry thorns in my fingers! No more mud under my nails!

 

 Traversing a very steep hillside!

  

Elbow-Deep in Mushrooms

ONE DAY of hard rain seemed to be a blessing.  Scotty and I explored an area of steep uphill above a creek in a nice canyon and found saucer sized oysters and piles of chanterelles.  The forest claimed my pocket knife - but we came home with 2.75# of oyster mushrooms, and 7.25# of chanterelles.  Some of our recent "favorite" spots seem to have suffered some trampling and cutting down of branches by local authorities.  We also suspect in one area that it is a bit cooler due to the direction the hillside faces - cutting down on the blooms of the chanterelles.

Meanwhile, I'm still cleaning chanterelles and haven't started on cutting lemons for chutney - woe is me!!

Mushrooming - December 9

Growing in a stump!

This one is very round!

Some nice fawn colored oyster mushrooms

And some pearl grey oysters growing on a rotting log:

Corcorra-ish but not...

More oysters:

Scotty finds some chanterelles

More chanterelles!

More oysters

Corcorra!

Our chanterelle harvest for Decemember 9, 2009: