The healthy forager

It’s only 5 weeks to go until the meteorological start of Winter. Yet, cycling around the Shire yesterday I would never have guessed! Maybe early morning it was a bit nippy, but it soon got warm, with a balmy wind reminiscent of early summer. I heard birds singing their mating call. The forest smelled of resin, the way it does in August.

And yet, cycling along the lane towards the Clachnaben woods, I suddenly caught sight of something orange from the corner of my eye: Velvet Shanks! Who’d have thought it! These little chaps tend to be spurred on by periods of frost. Now we did have a couple of nights with subzero temperatures last week, so that’s probably what did it, but these poor souls must have had one heck of a shock to pop their heads above the soil and be faced with a cyclist wearing shorts at temperatures in double figures.

They are firmly in my top 5 of favourite mushrooms, sweet and with a very pleasing texture. Panfried with a bit of salt and pepper, that’s all they need.

Today I went out for a shorter ride (I have a lot of student assignments to mark) and hit the jackpot near Kintore:

I didn’t have a saw with me for getting it off, so I’ll have to come back for it later. It makes wonderful tea – I’ve been drinking it everyday since I first found it last winter.

Almost home, I screeched to a halt at the sight of two Agaricus augustus, otherwise known as The Prince. They were growing under spruce beside the road, and when I was picking them, a car driver stopped to ask if I was alright, as for all he knew it looked like I had a mechanical problem or was sick in the hedge. “All is well, just picking mushrooms”. With the typical response “Hope you know what you’re doing”. Yep, fed them to John and myself at lunchtime and we’re still here.

Here ends a weekend full of outdoor air. I’m bracing myself for another working week with lots of marking – but it’s an enjoyable task now that it gets dark early. It’s a very cosy feeling to think of how much food and wine is stored in our house – we’re ready for winter!