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Rurutia posted:I'll be in Seattle over the summer and this sounds fantastic. Any tips of where or when? I was reading up on this last night since I'm out on the peninsula and I'd love to get some free mussels instead of paying ridiculous amounts for them at farmer's market. Here is the mind-numbing regulation guide: http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01185/wdfw01185.pdf Shellfish stuff starts on page 128.
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| # ? Apr 11, 2012 17:11 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 13:42 |
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Even inland we can enjoy yummy fishes and shellfishes! Crayfish live almost everywhere, and if you're already on public lands a fishing permit is usually all you need. Crayfish traps can be made for next to nothing, and there are good tutorials on youtube. Successfully setting traps takes practice, though. I haven't had much luck, but I have caught crayfish. Catfish (and lots of other fish) can be caught on trotlines in a lot of states, which is a great way to fish if you don't especially love fishing. In the past I've set lines in waders, but I'd really love a boat. My big adventure for the summer is probably going to be a week out on the Ozark trail and I plan on fishing with a trotline then, too. A trotline is a cable set horizontally in the water with other, baited, fishing hooks trailing off of it. They're best to use in spots without regular water or swimming traffic, obviously, but in secluded areas they're a great way to catch your limit for the day while you hike. Defiance fucked around with this message at Apr 12, 2012 around 00:25 |
| # ? Apr 12, 2012 00:22 |
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Defiance posted:I think it's an immature morel that has yet to develop the characteristic cap. Even young verpas are supposed to be fibrous inside and those stems look hollow to me, but it's really hard to tell. Splitting one down the middle and taking a picture would tell us for sure. It's a verpa. Where did you hear about the 'fibrous interior' and 'no poisonous morel lookalikes in the US'? Both are untrue. Also, the picture mds2 posted on the first page of a false morel is wrong, it's an edible black morel. I posted several sets of mushroom forage photos in Goons With Spoons, if I find the threads I'll repost here. I've been mushroom hunting for close to a decade here in PA.
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| # ? Apr 12, 2012 17:05 |
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I don't think gyromitra sp really qualify as lookalikes, especially since the characteristic I have been recommending for identification, a hollow stipe, isn't present. I have first hand accounts of verpa being sold at markets and eaten widely and I've linked to one. Morels have a ton of variation in their caps, especially when they're still growing. And I've already said that I'd like to see it dissected.
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| # ? Apr 12, 2012 17:17 |
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Okay, so which species do you consider to be lookalikes? I'll generally put gyromitras in there, especially when this thread went 4 pages without someone mentioning the black morel mislabel.
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| # ? Apr 12, 2012 17:29 |
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Siamang posted:It's a verpa. Where did you hear about the 'fibrous interior' and 'no poisonous morel lookalikes in the US'? Both are untrue. Also, the picture mds2 posted on the first page of a false morel is wrong, it's an edible black morel. By golly you are right. It was probably the first image for false morel on GIS. I went out last Friday. First to my cousin's who has the best spot ever. Between three of us we found 5 or 6 small morels. All about 1 inch. Then we headed over to a new spot that a different friend gave us permission to look in. We found 15 morels the size of a beer can, in length and girth. It hadn't rained here in several weeks but it started to today and its supposed to continue through sunday. I'll probably take one more trip out next week.
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| # ? Apr 12, 2012 18:05 |
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Here are some pics from an October 2 mushroom foray. These are all from Rancocas Woods in New Jersey, just me and a GPS(waypointing trees that have a lot of mushrooms is a good idea since they'll usually produce year after year). Stobilomyces floccopus, aka 'Old Man of the Woods'. It's an edible variety of bolete, which(with rare exceptions) is a mushroom that has a spongy pored underside instead of gills. If you slice a fresh one in half, the pale interior will slowly turn blood-red.  Cortinarius violaceous, the viscid violet cortinarius. Not edible but looks pretty cool. I find a lot of these, this one is young and very brightly colored.  Amanita vaginata. There are a ton of very poisonous amanitas and I don't recommend casually foraging for the edible varieties. This one is edible.  Clockwise from left: Craterellus fallax, Russula olivacea, some kind of milky cap(Lactarius) that I was going to spore print, a yellow bolete that I identified and promptly forgot to record, and more old men. The little red things are spicebush berries, which have an intense and interesting flavor.  Boletus bicolor, bicolor bolete. This gives you a good idea of the primary difference between boletes and gilled mushrooms. Edible.  One of the edible varieties of Ramaria, the coral mushroom. I don't really care too much for the taste of these but the texture can probably sub for shredded crab meat if you're a vegan.  Earth Tongue and rodent poo.  Armillaria mellea, the honey mushroom. This species has been broken down into a bunch of subspecies but all are edible. They grow on rotting wood(sometimes buried, so it might look like they're growing out of the ground), often in huge amounts. The largest single organism on the planet is believed to be an example of this fungus. You can use them in the same manner as shiitake mushrooms. Be sure to study Galerina autumnalis, which is deadly poisonous, brown, and grows in similar locations.  Grifola frondosa, aka Hen of the Woods aka Sheephead aka Maitake. This is my main prize in the autumn. It usually grows under sickly oaks, and you can often harvest over ten pounds of mushrooms from a single tree. For reference, the one in this picture was about 18 inches long. They dehydrate or freeze nicely and make amazing soup stock. These are my favorite.  Young maitake. I came back the next week and it was over a foot across.  Another young maitake, this one is a lighter version. Most of them are grayish-brown but sometimes they'll be pale. I think the ones that grow in shade tend to be lighter. I've also noticed that the rare maitakes I've found growing under beech instead of oak are more yellow than brown - maybe the tannins in the oaks are absorbed by the mushrooms?  Check out mushroomexpert.com and wildmanstevebrill.com. Siamang fucked around with this message at Apr 12, 2012 around 19:05 |
| # ? Apr 12, 2012 18:50 |
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Great post, Siamang. Love the pictures.mds2 posted:By golly you are right. It was probably the first image for false morel on GIS. Good to know folks around here are still finding them. I have been trying to go out but have just been busy this week and last. We are getting some rain this week too so I am hoping to go out on Saturday or Sunday for one last look. It has also been getting cold here at night, does anyone know if cold temperatures will kill the morels? I heard something about them not being to tolerate sub-freezing temps.
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| # ? Apr 12, 2012 23:41 |
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It just rained for the last two days and temperatures have been in the 70s during the day. Can't wait to hit up the forest tomorrow and finally get some morels!
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| # ? Apr 16, 2012 04:55 |
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My cousin posted a picture on facebook of two rubbermaid tubs full of morels last night. Those were just the ones he had his wife come and get. He was still picking them an hour later. I'm going out again tomorrow.
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| # ? Apr 16, 2012 13:58 |
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I better get out tonight then, didn't get a chance this weekend. I noticed that the Craigslist "morels for sale" postings have been dropping off. That makes me think the morel season is nearly over here but who knows.
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| # ? Apr 16, 2012 14:23 |
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razz posted:I better get out tonight then, didn't get a chance this weekend. I noticed that the Craigslist "morels for sale" postings have been dropping off. That makes me think the morel season is nearly over here but who knows. Where are you at?
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| # ? Apr 16, 2012 15:47 |
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MaakHatt posted:One thing I would like to mention is So it turns out my backyard is FILLED with these suckers. They currently look like the ones in the picture here, though there's some young ones around too. Can anyone recommend some good ways to eat this? Can I eat the leaves in a salad, or should I focus on the stalks?
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| # ? Apr 17, 2012 21:21 |
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mds2 posted:Where are you at? NE Kansas. Went out yesterday evening and I declare morel season officially over here. We didn't see a single one, not that we could have anyway because the vegetation had grown up about 5 feet in the past couple of weeks!
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| # ? Apr 18, 2012 15:05 |
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Wandering Knitter posted:Can anyone recommend some good ways to eat this? Can I eat the leaves in a salad, or should I focus on the stalks? Make a pesto. Fresh leaves with a little bit of olive oil and some walnuts (I hate pine nuts). You could throw some leaves into a salad but I'd keep it light. They can overpower other greens very easily.
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| # ? Apr 18, 2012 20:20 |
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A neighbor just stopped by and dropped these off. Never tried them before 
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| # ? Apr 18, 2012 23:44 |
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Harminoff posted:A neighbor just stopped by and dropped these off. Never tried them before How are you going to prepare them?
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| # ? Apr 19, 2012 00:00 |
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He said to just soak them in salt water for a bit and then fry in butter with some salt and pepper. Planning on doing that in a bit, and them maybe mix the rest in with scrambled eggs in the morning.
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| # ? Apr 19, 2012 00:07 |
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Harminoff posted:He said to just soak them in salt water for a bit and then fry in butter with some salt and pepper. Planning on doing that in a bit, and them maybe mix the rest in with scrambled eggs in the morning. I like them breaded in egg and cracker crumbs, the finer the better, then fried in butter.
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| # ? Apr 19, 2012 00:32 |
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Rurutia posted:I'll be in Seattle over the summer and this sounds fantastic. Any tips of where or when? Hit me up and we can go together! We sort of have some pollution issues in certain areas, though, so I'm reading up now on where is safe to harvest. I'm also reading this http://wsg.washington.edu/mas/pdfs/...fishBooklet.pdf
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| # ? Apr 20, 2012 04:36 |
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Pile of Kittens posted:Hit me up and we can go together! We sort of have some pollution issues in certain areas, though, so I'm reading up now on where is safe to harvest. I'm also reading this http://wsg.washington.edu/mas/pdfs/...fishBooklet.pdf I was looking into this and it's like every place you can harvest costs an arm and leg to get to.  But yes! We should. 
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| # ? Apr 20, 2012 20:06 |
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ironveins posted:Make a pesto. Fresh leaves with a little bit of olive oil and some walnuts (I hate pine nuts). I'll have to try out the pesto. Every recipe I find basically boils down to "Do everything humanly possible to make the leaves no longer taste like Garlic Mustard." Though I'm kinda curious to try out the stalk/asparagus switch that MaakHatt suggested.
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| # ? Apr 20, 2012 20:17 |
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Rurutia posted:I'll be in Seattle over the summer and this sounds fantastic. Any tips of where or when? Pile of Kittens posted:Hit me up and we can go together! We sort of have some pollution issues in certain areas, though, so I'm reading up now on where is safe to harvest. I'm also reading this http://wsg.washington.edu/mas/pdfs/...fishBooklet.pdf Likewise. If you can send PMs, let me know when you're going to be around and I can take you to the spot I know. I feel bad about the caution, but I've picked up a bit of the mushroom hunter paranoia over shellfish spots, but I'm happy to either tell you in PM or actually take you there if I'm around (and can make time) when you're in town.
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| # ? Apr 21, 2012 06:31 |
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I found some morels in my flower beds before I started turning them yesterday. At first I thought they were just pine cones. Too bad I didn't see them sooner since it's been dry for the last few days and they were just about done.
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| # ? Apr 23, 2012 15:58 |
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Rurutia posted:I was looking into this and it's like every place you can harvest costs an arm and leg to get to. It's not too bad if we all go together. My boyfriend lives in Bremerton, so we've got a spot to settle down and divvy up things afterwards.
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| # ? Apr 26, 2012 04:58 |
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I finally got out to my old stomping grounds at my parents' house and did a bit of scouting for the fruit that will be coming in in the next two months. Just me, my gun, and my dog. It was a great time as usual, even if the dog and myself were a bit winded from being out of shape. I felt like I had returned home, exactly where I belonged. Wild strawberries are at their peak in my area, so I was quite stuffed already by the time I got back for supper. Blackberries out the rear end on the margins of the massive field nearby getting ready to start maturing and the legion of mayapples is nearly ripe. Going to try making wine out of the mayapples, but I'm doing some research to make sure I don't poison myself in the process. Any fruit that tastes like a cross between bananas and pineapples is practically begging to be turned into alcohol. Blackberries are still blooming in many areas, and I've discovered that Google Earth is a great way to keep track of where the canes are while they are blooming. It's much harder to spot them once they are ripe, but I've got a list of spots now that would put my grandma's old hand-drawn maps of blooming canes to shame. Weeding my garden has been a treat, especially since the tender sow thistle shoots that comes up through the raised beds is absolutely amazing in salads. They are what lettuce should taste like while still upright. I definitely plan to integrate them and chickweed into my spring mix for sale at the farmers market next year, since they will be part of weeding anyway. You can't keep these plants out of your garden no matter what you do, so you might as well consider them part of the harvest.
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| # ? May 7, 2012 05:42 |
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Was walking to work today and noticed a new neighbor decided to peek their head up, figured someone else might use the heads-up as well while they're stumbling around in the brush: 'Tis the season!
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| # ? May 10, 2012 16:47 |
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Hey everyone, I found my first ever morel mushrooms completely by accident. I was with some friends hiking along a logging road outside of Cle Elum, WA and we spotted them just off the trail.  They were up on a north-facing mountain slope at around 2500-3000' elevation just a few yards from the logging road itself. The majority of them were found under some small (20' tall max) dead ponderosa pines around the bases of the trees. The weather was overcast with very very light drizzle with a period of dryness before we went out on May 20th. Probably had been between 60-70F daytime temperatures recently. Unfortunately, I'm from the western side of the Cascades so I'm trying to find areas closer to where I live (Covington) to start looking. There's a wooded area behind my house, but there's too much ground cover and it's a pretty darkish low lying area and I hear morels prefer a little bit more sun. It's raining to day and I only managed to find 1 ground dwelling mushroom of a type I couldn't identify. Any folks from the western WA area that could give me some tips on the kinds of places to look? I don't really have ponderosa pine near where I live; mostly just red cedar and douglas fir. I took the brown paper bag I had stored them in, tore up chunks, and planted them in the ground in the forest hoping that some of the spores will lead to mycelium. I also dumped out some of the rinse water in my garden.
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| # ? May 21, 2012 21:43 |
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Lacrosse posted:Hey everyone, I found my first ever morel mushrooms completely by accident. I was with some friends hiking along a logging road outside of Cle Elum, WA and we spotted them just off the trail. Nice find. Once you get used to what they look like on the ground they'll be easier to spot. I don't think there are any really reliable guidelines as to where they will grow. I've always been told that that it's likely to find them areas that have been logged or had fires the previous year.
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| # ? May 21, 2012 22:39 |
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Nice find. Once you get used to what they look like on the ground they'll be easier to spot. I don't think there are any really reliable guidelines as to where they will grow. I've always been told that that it's likely to find them areas that have been logged or had fires the previous year. Okay, thanks anyway. I'm gonna check some maps in the area and see if there's any trails on the north face of any hills around here. I'm thinking maybe tiger or cougar mountains near Issaquah, WA.
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| # ? May 22, 2012 04:10 |
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Lacrosse posted:Hey everyone, I found my first ever morel mushrooms completely by accident. I was with some friends hiking along a logging road outside of Cle Elum, WA and we spotted them just off the trail. Wow, I'm jealous. I was out around that area a few weeks ago and it turned out to be too early for morels  My group found one and the trip was a bust otherwise.From what I understand, while morels can grow on the western slope, they're way more common on the east side of the Cascades. There's some good Chanterelle hunting west of the Cascades, but all the morel advice I've been getting has been "go to the eastern slope."
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| # ? May 23, 2012 02:29 |
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EvilLile posted:Wow, I'm jealous. I was out around that area a few weeks ago and it turned out to be too early for morels I need to learn how to find and identify chanterelles since I like those too. I see them for sale at Carpenito Brothers in Kent and I'd rather just find them myself. Since I don't really live out near Cle Elum I'm not too worried about keeping the area I found the morels a secret. I don't foresee myself heading back that way anytime soon. They were around 47.140285,-120.983684 on one of the logging roads up the slope.
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| # ? May 23, 2012 05:04 |
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I'm going to go shellfishing in the Seattle area some time this weekend (probably Sunday afternoon). Who's with me? Email is non (dot) applicable at gmail.
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| # ? May 24, 2012 20:14 |
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Well, I learned a few new things today. 1. Dig the biggest holes for the big clams. 2. The bigger the clam, the more they resist. 3. There are a lot of clam-shaped rocks out there.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 06:42 |
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Does anybody have any experience with preparing Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke? I know that the tuber can be eaten, but I was curious if the leaves are also edible. Wikipedia says the stalks and leaves can be used for animal feed. Does that preclude them from human consumption? Can I cook them like other greens?
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| # ? May 31, 2012 03:15 |
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In my experience, "fuzzy" leaves aren't generally good to eat. Sunchokes have fuzzy leaves, if the container-full in my backyard, is any indication.
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| # ? May 31, 2012 16:56 |
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I've never made sunchokes, but there are some ideas for pickling them on pages two and three of the GWS canning thread.
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| # ? May 31, 2012 23:53 |
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If anyone is in MD and interested in going crabbing some weekend, pm me. Does anyone else eat insects here? Yeah, yeah, gross whatever. poo poo's packed with protein and got a wide variety of flavor. Just always, always cook grasshoppers and crickets due to nematodes (they probably wouldn't bother a person, but no one wants to pass a large worm.) Oh, and unless you know what your doing, I'd avoid beetles and brightly coloured true bugs. Plenty are edible, but I've had to stop my friend from trying to eat a blister beetle before. Also, I've got "Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest" and not only does it cover, well, edible plants, but also discusses how to make wool dyes and has recipes for cooking stuff. vvvvv: Honeypot ants are where it is at. ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at Jun 1, 2012 around 01:52 |
| # ? Jun 1, 2012 00:34 |
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ZarathustraFollower posted:If anyone is in MD and interested in going crabbing some weekend, pm me. If all those survivalist shows are to be believed, either grasshoppers or crickets (can't remember which) can carry salmonella, too. By the by, ants are yummy. There used to be a local mom and pop store that carried chocolate covered ants near to where I lived.
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| # ? Jun 1, 2012 01:29 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 13:42 |
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ZarathustraFollower posted:If anyone is in MD and interested in going crabbing some weekend, pm me. I live in the Pacific Northwest and most of the beetles around here secrete a nasty smelling fluid so I imagine they must taste horrible. We also have these black and yellow millipedes that stink real bad too. Also, don't eat newts/salamanders or you're gonna have a bad time. There's a species here in Washington that can actually kill a man. I think it's the rough skinned newt. Not that I'm actually thinking on going out and eating random creatures, but I was interested in getting into backpacking and I was pondering taking a survival course so I know what I can and cannot eat in an emergency situation. I'm already starting to identify local edible plants like siberian miner's lettuce and false lily of the valley. The salmon berries are starting to ripen (someone beat me to them all around my house though. ) and the salal is in flower. I've eaten earthworms as a stunt before, so I could probably load up on those in a pinch. Not very tasty though.EgillSkallagrimsson posted:If all those survivalist shows are to be believed, either grasshoppers or crickets (can't remember which) can carry salmonella, too. By the by, ants are yummy. There used to be a local mom and pop store that carried chocolate covered ants near to where I lived. Also ate ants as a stunt. I found out the hard way that the black ones with red abdomens are really super bitter. Ate a jumping spider once; it was prickly. I was a strange child.
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| # ? Jun 1, 2012 03:03 |
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