To start with the finger: my knife was a little too enthusiastic yesterday. I chopped off a fair bit of skin and it bled like there was no tomorrow! Hearing my dad’s advice echo in my ear (‘you really ought to carry plasters’) and cursing my way through my pannier in search of tissues, I fabricated a makeshift bandage using a bungee from my hair.
Injuries aside, it was a magnificent day in the woods! We had proper Scottish weather, wet and blustery, which added to the sense of adventure. Near Banchory I checked my hedgehog spots and was lucky:
I found larger ones in the next wood I explored:
To my amazement, there even were Winter chanterelles! They are beautiful, on a yellow and twisty stem. They don’t have an outspoken flavour, but are nice panfried and tossed with parmesan. The forest floor was covered in them:
Along the side of the road near Drumoak, the cyclist’s rewards were growing aplenty; pristine porcini that only I could see and stop for.
We ate the hedgehogs, winter chanterelles (and also some spectacularly coloured Amethyst deceivers) in John’s signature fluffy omelette. We took the porcini to Glack hill today and fried them al fresco:
We cycled back through Elrick, where we checked the hazlenut tree I’ve been keeping an eye on all summer. Finally! They were ready! I’ll be toasting them in a dry pan tonight for a fireside nibble. Here they are, lovely and fresh off the tree:
Hope you all have a good week ahead!
The healthy forager 