Foraging for Food

The last weekend of April the kids and I headed out for our 2nd annual fiddlehead picking adventure. I was the only excited one, they protested a bit but being the "mean" mom I am I made them come along. For anyone that is interested in learning more about identifying them click here and read my post from last year. Some fiddleheads had already passed by and some were not up yet but I was able to gather approximately 5 lbs. Within minutes of arriving to our destination the kids had stripped down to their swim suits and were up stream hooting and hollering. Rough life they have.... with a wicked "mean mom" you see;)

I picked and they played.

They even had time to make a little habitat for "froggy junior".

On the way back out of the woods the kids did help picking a bit.

Either way I was content just being out there in the warm air.

Sometimes it is the little things we do that we often take for granted.

FYI: Anyone who left comments for FG's birthday post they were removed because blogger was having some issues.

Growing Mushrooms in Maine

I have been wanting to grow mushrooms for a couple years now since seeing Shitake mushrooms at the Common Ground Fair. A vendor had logs displayed and a never ending line-up of people paying good money for fried Shitake mushrooms.

Looking back in my archives I even have a picture of them on a post I did in Oct 09'.If your a fellow Mainer you may find that post useful as it displays local mushrooms and where they are found. The last picture on that post is of the Shitake's growing on the logs.

I bought the above plugs at a local market for $30 for 200 they came from Oyster Creek Mushroom Company. We planted approximated 3/4 of them and gave the rest away to a friend.

We made it a family event... melted down some paraffin wax. You are suppose to use a double boiler, but who follows directions...really?

Maine Man gathered Oak logs approx 4 ft long and directions said 4- 8 inches in diameter, 1 tree was sacrificed in the making of this project. Drilled the holes w/ a 5/16th bit every 8" evenly spaced around the log. Then the we all took turns pounding the inoculated dowels in the holes, making them flush with the log. Lasly we sealed the plugs with some melted wax. Easy & Fun project to do with the kids! They stayed up an hour past their bedtime helping out. Now the logs will be stacked in a shady area in a square rick or log cabin formation. We should be able to harvest twice a year, Spring & Fall. I will be sure to update our progress on growing mushrooms in the future.

Fiddleheading in Maine

Years ago Maine Man used to go out scouting riverbeds and stream banks in search of ostrich ferns and return with grain bags overflowing with fiddleheads ready for resale. Back then (15 or so years ago) I really never gave it much thought. I'd cook up a meal or two and the rest he'd sell. Since becoming a foodie, a couple years ago I have BEGGED him to bring me out. Then I mentioned to a friend I wanted to go and THANFULLY he called this weekend and took us out.......I was beyond excited!

Here he points out what NOT to pick, the red ferns. To the right of that are the real deal. Couldn't he be a hand model? ;) Or if you are a sicko nurses like MM & I all you think of when you see hands like that is....nice veins....I could so slip an 18 gauge in that.

These tasty little morsels are often found around these unique looking plants. MM calls them skunk cabbage.

These furry little ferns are another example of what NOT to pick.

We picked about 3 gallons. A few meals for us and a few to give away. I'd like to go out at least one more time before the seasons ends to gather some for pickling. I will post about it if I am successful. In past years I have froze some but I was not happy with how they held up. They seemed to get frostbite easily.

On an ending note: THANKS goes out to my country neighbor for bringing us out and sharing his secret stash. GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Both the kids and adults had a good time.

FYI - In the country in Maine if you live less than 6 miles from one another your considered neighbors ;)

Foraging for Mushrooms in Maine Woods

A while back our friend Lance stopped by to visit. He and Maine Man took a ride out back on 4- wheelers. Knowing he had previous experience in foraging I asked him to be on the look out for edible mushrooms.

Unfortunately, he did not recognize any on our land that were edible. A few weeks later he stopped by with some morels he had gathered on his own foraging adventures. I was so excited well........I took pictures and asked lots of questions!

Above is a Chicken of the Woods he says they are found on dead Oak trees.
Here is a link I found about them with lots of good information,recipes, and facts


Pine mushrooms aka Matsutake - He says they are found in hemlocks. Here is another great web site with information about them.

Last mushroom he shared with us is called a Goats Beard aka Bears Tooth often found on beech trees . Here is some additional information about them.


This last photograph was taken at the Common Ground Fair last month. This was a display at an Asian food vendors fried Shiitake stand. I was thinking it would be fun to try a inoculate some trees and grow these in our back yard.

I will end this post with three referenced sites for your viewing if desired and for easy access for Maine Man and I in the future if and when we ever get a chance to make these dreams reality.

Here is a newspaper article of a Mainer that has written a book about foraging along with a link to his website. Finally a you tube video on inoculating.