Mushrooming

Spring is sprung and we have had some lovely rain! This also means mushroom time! I went out yesterday afternoon and collected about 1kg and then this morning another 1/2 kg for breakfast! Will go again this afternoon, and maybe for a couple of days, but as it warms up, they will finish up. Some people are a little concerned about eating wild mushrooms and rightly so. However we have been eating wild mushrooms for many years - I never even liked mushrooms until my husband brought home a hatful one time after we were first married. I'm in Central Queensland and I know I can eat these mushrooms, but if you live anywhere else, PLEASE check with someone who knows before you eat any wild mushrooms. The main thing to look for is pink to brown gills - if they are white under neath, don't even think about it. There are two types of mushrooms that I know of that are brown under - one you can eat and one you can't. If they are brown to goldie coloured on the top, and usually a little pointy, DO NOT eat these ones. The edible ones tend to be almost flat and white on top. Sometimes they can have a little colouring on top, but not too much.

If your mushrooms look like these, they should be pretty right. Last year we had heaps and I made mushroom soup, mushroom sauce, froze some and just generally we ate mushrooms for a week! I will dry some this time, as I think that might be better than freezing. They go very soft and mushie when frozen, but are great for soups and stews. I'll put some of my mushroom recipes on the Recipe Page.
Goodluck! And remember, don't touch them unless they are pinkie brown underneath and not gold on top!