The healthy forager

What a week(end) it’s been for food! On Saturday I was out cycling and really only expecting to find Chaga. But as my eyes roved the roadside, suddenly I spotted this magnificent flush of Oyster mushrooms.

To my amazement, despite their relative maturity, the flesh was in pristine condition. I picked some and left some (a family of beetles was about to set up residence, and while I can live without oysters, they cannot), and made a fabulous soup:

This is a picture of the unblended version, as a bowl of uniform grey is not very picturesque ;-).

Sunday we went out to Park at Drumoak where I like to swim. At the moment the water is pretty cold (2 degrees C). Once you’re acclimatised it’s not too bad, but you’ve definitely got to watch how long you stay in. Afterwards, John heated up some of the oystersoup and that went down very well indeed!

Then there was an interesting herb in Hazlehead Park. They’ve got a small ‘herbarium’ in the corner by the restaurant (I’m assuming it once was a kitchen garden), but none of the plants have labels, so I’m unsure what it is. It smells like a cross between thyme and oregano – in any case, I’m planning to pick and dry some, and use it in my next soup!

Last but not least, Valentine! Back in the summer John and I picked a LOT of blueberries on the Hill of Fare, almost compulsively crawling through the undergrowth. They always look bigger on the next bush along… For our romantic supper tonight we had a blueberry and lemon wreath. It was meant to be a better shape but it broke in two. That said, better a broken cake than a broken heart!