Wild Mushrooms, The Basics - What to Know

I am often asked, what do I do with the mushrooms now? You've purchased or foraged your own mushrooms and now they sit on your counter. What do you do next? Here is a list of regional mushrooms you can likely find throughout the U.S. and what you can do with them. There's everything from herbal teas to mushroom jerky to ice cream to dehydrated, fresh, powder, or broth. There's so much you can do with mushrooms and they are truly a gift to your health and senses.

Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the Woods a.k.a. Sulfur Shelf

TO PURCHASE:

• Fresh - 1 lb $10.00-15.00

• Dehydrated - 1oz $9.00

• Powder - 1oz $10.00

USE: This sulfur shelf mushroom resembles the true flavor and texture of cooked chicken, with a lemony flavor. Not earthy. If fresh, these mushrooms are excellent in any recipe that uses chicken. My favorite use of these is in a chicken curry, with fresh vegetables from my summer garden. If curry isn't your thing, sauted or roasted in olive oil with your favorite herbs and a little salt and pepper, these mushrooms will fool any meat eater. If dried, you can soak them over night and use them the exact same way you would fresh. I usually boil them to break them down a bit, then let them soak overnight and use the broth as well in my recipe the next day. I find them to be more tough than fresh and some might not appreciate the texture. When dried, you can also grind them down into a powder and use the powder to replace chicken broth in recipes, adding a chicken/lemon flavor to your dish.

Hen of the Woods a.k.a Maitake

Nearly 10 Pound Maitake

TO PURCHASE:

• Fresh - 1 lb $10.00-$15.00

• Frozen - 1 1/2 lb “steak” $4.50

• Dehydrated 1oz $7.00

• Powder - 1oz $6.00

• Jerky - 1/2 lb $30

USE: Uncanny to white meat. Meatier than the Chicken of the Woods. My favorite thing to make with hen of the woods is mushroom jerky. See recipe below:

Maitake Jerky

Ingredients: 4-5 pound Maitake 2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups soy sauce

2 cups water

*Liquid should cover the mushrooms. If it doesn't add equal amounts liquid to cover. If you want it less salty use more apple cider vinegar and less soy sauce. I tend to use less soy sauce as I find the final product very salty.

optional : 1 head garlic

optional: 1 chunk ginger

Directions: Simmer fresh mushrooms in a pot until all the liquid has been reduced. The mushrooms should absorb all the liquid. Once reduced, place maitake on dehydrator racks (125˚ F on your dehydrator) or on drying racks to be placed in the sun. I live in Northern Wisconsin and it's a rare day the sun is strong enough to do this, but if you have strong, consistent sunlight- go for it. You can also use your oven and set the temperature at its lowest setting, making sure to leave the oven door ajar to release moisture. They're done when you find the consistency you like. I usually let them dehydrate overnight - 12 hours. I've never done them in the oven, but I would imagine it takes about 2-4 hours. When done they should have the consistency of beef jerky- chewy. This is consistently everyone's favorite and when I tell people that it's a mushroom they look at my in disbelief. Try it for yourself and let me know how it turns out! I've also used Oyster mushrooms using this same recipe. It's different, but does produce a chewy jerky-like treat.

If jerky isn't your thing, they're excellent in stroganoffs, cream sauces, chili, you name it. Their flavor isn't as earthy as, say, the Bolete/Porcini and the texture fills the void of meat in any dish.

Boletes a.k.a. Porcini

Bolete

TO PURCHASE:

• Fresh - 1 lb $8.00

• Dehydrated - 1oz $4.00

• Powder - 1oz $5.00

USE: I use Porcini much like I would button mushrooms. Like all mushrooms, they should be cooked before eating. Porcini's have an earthy flavor make good use in hearty dishes. Cream sauces, stroganoffs, that sort of thing. I'll often add them to chili's to thicken it up.

Black Trumpet a.k.a. Horn of Plenty

Black Trumpet

TO PURCHASE:

• Fresh - 1 lb $40.00

• Dehydrated - 1oz $8.00

• Powder - 1oz $9.00

• Salt - out of stock - 3.4oz $11.00

USE: Oh, the coveted Black Trumpet. This is a mushroom that is plentiful where I live. When they bloom, its not uncommon to find them nearly everywhere on the island. Be sure to harvest they correctly, or you'll have a sandy mess. Black Trumpets grow very close to the ground, often in damp, mossy patches. Using a knife, trim them above the ground so as not to carry the soil with you. My favorite way to use this mushroom is to grind it up into a powder and add it to cream sauces or use as mushroom flavor to dishes. Another great way to use this is to add the powder to your favorite salt at a 1:3 ratio and BOOM! Seasoning salt. It gives you the umami flavor, so many are seeking right now.

Oyster

Oyster

TO PURCHASE:

• Fresh - 1 lb $8.00-12.00

• Dehydrated - 1oz $5.00

• Powder - 1oz $6.00

USE: This mushroom adds a great amount of the umami flavor so many people relish . The fresh mushroom smells of anise but the flavor does not. Pad Thai is an excellent dish to add these mushrooms into, slice these mushrooms in long, thin strips to resemble the rice noodles and you'll be delighted with the flavor they add to Asian-inspired dishes.

Chanterelle

Chanterelles

TO PURCHASE: Fresh - out of stock - 1oz $14.00

Dehydrated - 1oz $6.00

Powder - 1oz $7.00

USE: sweet, apricot flavor. Excellent in egg dishes, cream sauces over pasta, and fried in butter and added on top of white or red meats, this mushroom is versatile!

Reishi

Reishi

TO PURCHASE: Fresh - 4oz $15.00

Powder - 1 oz $ 6.00

USE: use a tea, add to smoothies, or some people will put 500mg into a gelatin capsule and take as a supplement. This mushrooms is known for its medicinal benefits and is used widespread in Eastern Medicine for a variety of cancers and autoimmune ailments. Best use is as a tea, mixed with your favorite tea mixtures.

Chaga

TO PURCHASE:

Raw chunks - 1lb $28.00

Powder - Made on request - 1oz $4.00

USE: similar to Reishi in its medicinal benefits, they are widespread of often used in Eastern Medicine. Processing the chaga will be your biggest challenge. You can be absolutely lazy and simply drop a chunk into a pot of boiling water for a few hours and bottle up to tea and keep it in your fridge for 5-7 days. Or you can use a very sharp butcher knife and cut the chaga into chunks, which you can then put into a food processor and shred them into a find powder. If you don't feel like destroying your food processor you can put the chunks into a paper bag, grab a hammer, and bang away. Good for stress. Chaga can be added to coffee, as it as a bitter flavor and may enjoy the flavors combined or find the chaga more palatable. You can also add chaga powder, like Reishi, to smoothies, in supplement capsules, or sprinkled into any dish for medicinal benefits. The best way to absorb the nutrients is through tea. But using them in different ways produces different nutrient absorption. A fascinating topic that is worth a read.

Lions Mane

TO PURCHASE:

Fresh - 1 lb $10

Dehydrated - 1oz $6.00

Powder - 1oz $7.00

USE: This mushroom isn't used as a culinary treat but rather a medicinal remedy. Eastern medicine links this mushroom to aid in memory loss and other neurological issues. Often added into teas, smoothies, or really any food, the flavor is subtle enough to add a little bit into anything to experience it's benefits.

Wild Mushroom Mix (boletes, oysters, chicken of the woods, black trumpets, wood ear, hedgehog)

(L-R) Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Boletes

TO PURCHASE: Fresh - 1 lb $15.00

Dehydrated - 1oz $7.00

Powder - 1oz $8.00

USE: Depending on what's in season this mix is a great way to eat seasonally or store a mixture for winter. Great for soups and stews (dehydrated) or if eaten fresh, this is a great way to learn the different flavors of the wild mushrooms without having to purchase a lot of one kind.

Wild Mushroom Mix Salt (sea salt, bolete, oyster, chicken of the wood, black trumpet, wood ear, hedgehog)

TO PURCHASE:

Made on request - priced seasonally

To purchase any of the mushrooms above, please contact me through email at sfollis87@gmail.com. Check back to this page for seasonal changes and recipes.

American Dreams

I may be broke, trying to pay of every penny of student loan debt but with the said, I've been working on big things, awesome, life-long projects, the kind that keep me awake at night dreaming.

Layla & I, Acadia National Park, October 2019

I turned 32, last Wednesday, April 10th. 32. To be 32 in America, these days. Are we Millenials are we GenX'ers. Who cares, right? All I know is my generation has generally received the short end of the stick, over and over and over. My generation is, if nothing else, resilient. I'm reminded of this every birthday. The day I also choose to do my taxes. Ugh. Why you ask would I chose to do my taxes on my birthday? Well, for one Jake, my loving partner, pays for them. It's my birthday present every year. Romantic right? We're practical people and usually, around this time I've worked poverty wages since September and my bank account looks pitiful and I know I'll be paying in, not receiving. I appreciate my gift more than any piece of jewelry. It's also an excuse to go the mainland (remember, Island dweller over here), eat at a restaurant, drink local craft beer, and hit up the good ole' Goodwill. I love nothing more than the thrill of the find. So, that's why I schedule them on my birthday. There is so much good in my day and amidst so much shit I like to find the balance and work through the bullshit.

This specific tax season, I felt good going into the day and I felt even better leaving it. This tax year was horrendous. It's the only way to say it. I work for myself half the time, other times, three jobs all part-time, and I used an Americorp Education Award this year. "Dumb choice, Samantha- I tell myself later. Was it really worth paying off that student loan to be taxed at 12% (of $8,900...ouch)." This is our government at its finest. I became a public servant for two years, got paid poverty wages while being expected to do senior level work, and receive a sizable education award that- here's the kicker- is taxed as income, even though I can only use it for educational purposes such as paying off a FEDERAL (not private) student loan or continued learning at an accredited institution. I chose to pay off my student loan, so I never saw this money. It went from one account to the next and *poof* there goes over $10,000 of my income? So needless to say, a poor teacher, EMR, nonprofit bookkeeper that just magically makes that kind of money appear in a year can really alter the way taxes look. Long story, short- I got taxed for money given to me by my government twice. *eyeroll* In my paycheck and upon receipt of the award. This is only a a few years after I had since figured out how to navigate my taxes post graduate school; upon which I worked as a graduate research assistant and had my university tuition paid for. It was a stipend, but it was income, and it was taxable, but it was from the state... yuck. Taxes don't favor the poor, educated, single, and motherless and this year was no different. But that's taxes, they suck, and there's more to life than your wealth.

I'm starting 32 with a big ole' middle finger to the big guy. My taxes were terrible but that is the smallest part of my life. I may be broke, trying to pay of every penny of student loan debt but with the said, I've been working on big things, awesome, life-long projects, the kind that keep me awake at night dreaming. The kind of projects that will hopefully make me less broke.

I'm 55% done with building a dream home with my dream boyfriend on my dream island. Our house is a vision we've built together. I dream we both share and that is most special. I've spent the last 4 years peeing outside and getting my water from a hose in our utility room. This year we'll have a working toilet and a sink that works (only cold though). We make progress every day. Our list is long but our vision is persistent as we both in our ways through our 10 year plan.

My family is also stronger than ever. Two of my three sisters are engaged to be married over the next year and the other is recently in love. My parents are healthy and still together and my two dogs have a lot of dog left in the fight.

I have a solid group of girlfriends, of which I have been assembling for the past 10 years. They're rockstars. The work they do, the hobbies they possess, and the passion they have for life is boundless. These are the people who get me. The smart, funny, nature nerd Sam and the reckless, lose her teeth Sam. I love them and at 32, their friendship is everything.

I look forward to saying good-bye to my 20's. Having lived through them, I welcome my 30's. There's more to life than death and taxes. There's growing old with friendship, family, and lovers, surrounded by the things you cherish in the places you never want to leave. I'm older, wiser, and embracing my 30's. I know who I am now; and it took me my 20's to know that life is like a good bottle of wine, it gets better with age.

So, I say to all you newbie 30-year olds, accept being poor, pay your bills on time, travel as far as you can go, experience life with your friends and lovers, never stop taking risks, and follow the goals you dreamed up in your 20's. Life is too short to worry about money or what you don't have. Focus on what you DO HAVE.

Respect the child, in you, in me, in them

“Respect the child. Be not too much his parent. Trespass not on his solitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Climbing program for first timers.

The children before me are no different from any other child anywhere else in this region, state, or nation. They are intimately close to some of the greatest wild places but yet have no experience within them because of limiting factors outside of their control. These limiting factors are typically money, time, and mobility. A child has no choice in any of these. They are controlled and dictated by their family and economic status. The level of fairness is frustrating as these children are often times the most deserving and most understanding of the sublime that exists in their backyards. I see their boredom and it frustrates me. Why are you bored, children!? We have a window of opportunity with children. They all have the capability to find their place within nature but they fall away from liking it when their experiences are not pleasant or of genuine quality. This can be at the hands of parents, educators, Sea World trainers, or themselves. At any moment in time we can lose a child’s interest and many times we fail at ever gaining it back. What motivates me are the children lost forever to the wonders of an unexplored world, because they choose to exclude themselves. At some point they stopped feeling that they belonged. When this occurs they begin to disregard its value and make choices that reflect that later in life in politics, economics, and recreation. It’s an exponential event but it doesn’t have to be. It will not take gadgets or hours of pouring over field guides to seek and understand what they are looking for but rather just simply being in the out of doors. For a child of the city to see the starry night of the Northwoods or for a child of the country to finally paddle Lake Superior- these are the moments where the children understand the majesty of their world. It becomes magical rather than simply real. To instill into them a sense of wonder of imagination is one of the greatest gifts they can carry with them through life for I believe it will make them better people making better choices. We can create better programs that work towards connecting children to an environment they are familiar to and relate it to the world that exists beyond them. It is our job as educators to bring awareness to the greatness of the world. To teach them that it gets bigger, that geography is beautiful. If they have fallen out of love for their own environment show them that there is more, let them know that this doesn’t have to be it, there is a place for them, they just need to search for it and it will come- aware or not. But the hope is they will have the awareness to know because you, we taught them self-realization. Children must understand they are not everything, even though their world tells them that. They are, rather, a part of everything. It is within them that the entire being of the universe exists and within them are the secrets of all the other creatures that exist in this world. I want children to learn balance in nature and that the balance within them is important and they must listen to it. Their wild places can teach them what they need and what they do not need, what they should and should not do, and where they need to be in different times of their lives. They need to understand that we may be an apex species but we are also a part of everything we stand atop of. I fear for the generation that forgets the art of contemplation. To sit and ponder something is an important human ability and with the instant sources of information our minds are brought to immediate answers never allowing the mind to wander, to contemplate. Youth today are trying to come to grips with the wisdom of the past but the reality of the future. Flooded with technology and the problems of the world they are paralyzed by a way of being. I search for those children that have the sparkle in their eye as you entice them to the outdoors. It is when I see their sense of wonder as a rock is flipped over and a world is opened to them, I see hope. It is when these children share stories of their dreams and in their dreams they speak of wild places they desire to be, to experience, to learn in, I see hope. There are children out there like me, like many of us. Their voices are quiet and their footsteps light and they make no sound as they move through the walls of their schools for there they know no freedom. They are the wilds running through the woods with unkempt hair and dirt under their fingernails. They play until dusk and even then that is not enough. I seek out the children who need wilderness to survive.

Through experiential education I am able to show these children the joy of living. Through my excitement and passion for place I hope they too can understand enough to seek out those places in the world that make them whole and forever with a sense of wonder. Learning comes from experience and from experience comes consequences. How can we expect our children to grow out of their immaturity if they are constantly coddled by the protectiveness of traditional education with its traditional desks and traditional textbooks? Where are consequences most realistically found? They are found in the real world, in our communities, with other students across borders and nations and worlds apart. Consequences breed connections and we must make effort to create more opportunity for our students to experience the consequences of their learning. We need to remind children to stop and think, ponder, be curious. We need to remind children that energy is not the source of mischief. We cannot scold them for having the energy we do not understand. We need to find them an outlet, a passion, a truth that they understand and can lose themselves within it. It doesn’t have to be nature but it has to be something that stimulates their imagination because once that is taken away we have lost the creative child to a mere verbal formula. We need to introduce into the educational process activities, lessons, projects that interest students of active bodies and active minds. It we appeal to their interests we appeal to their imaginations. With wisdom from John Dewey, “the mature experience of the adult is to mold the immature open mind of the youth through a medium of their natural world.” “A child’s life is an integral, total one. [They] pass quickly and readily from one topic to another, as from one spot to another, but no conscious of transition or break.” Life to a child is social and personal and if we do not affect to their interests we have failed them as a guide through their education.

“I am convinced there can never be an end to wonder and awareness, and that one is the real tragedies in life is to waste time when there is so much to see and learn.” – Sigurd Olson