When im not making jewellery im usually working, out walking peoples dogs.
I've got my pooch Minnie, who comes on most of the walks with me. The last couple of years, around September/October i began noticing more and more the numerous fungi growing all over my dog walking routes. Last year i finally decided to start learning about them.
I got a couple of books online and started spending my evenings learning about the different genus' of fungi, there are a lot of species, over 15,000 in the UK alone. The best way to learn i have found is to pick 1 or 2 specimens of a species i come across and take them home for studying and identifying. One thing i have never done is eat something straight after picking it, now im still a beginner in the mushroom foraging world but the best advice i have been given is simply;
'All Mushrooms are edible, some only once'
With this in mind i am very very cautious when deciding what is safe to eat, im sure ive thrown away some perfectly good edibles but i am still alive and there are always more so im ok with that!
Heres something i have found more times than i can remember as they are very common locally to me, arent they beautiful!
These are Field Blewits. The are identified by the violet/purple stipe (stem) and brown cap.
Ive collected these alot, as they pop up after the first frost and there isnt much else about. Delicious when fried with some garlic in butter! Normally i find small clusters of them each being small enough to fit in my hand. This is the biggest one ive found, it was huge!
Another species that is abundant locally to me is the Waxcap, i believe its generally said you shouldnt pick waxcaps as they arent very big but the spot i find them in is packed with them. More than enough for a meal.
This particular haul includes Scarlet and Meadow Waxcaps
I made a lovely Mushroom Stroganoff with these. Interestingly they lose their scarlet colour during cooking and go yellow.
I also love making jewelry, walking with dogs and cooking! Love this. Thanks for sharing!
ah nice to connect with similar interests. im slowly building up a network of likeminded steem users on here which is cool!
I have many mushrooms growing in the forest and fields around me, although i have tried to pick some and look them up in a mushroom book i am always too scared to to follow through with cooking them up and eating them. Some of them are so similar in looks.
I wanted to get an expert picker to come out to my property and show me in person, i find that a better way to learn :)
Maybe someday lol but for now its safe to buy from grocery store :P
Yeh i actually met an old guy who showed me a few species in person which gave me a huge boost in confidence. Another good idea if youre interested is during the season lool out for a local foraging course in your area, i did one which was really helpful
Thanks!