That’s one Happy Forager with a bag full of St. George’s! My Facebook memory tells me that I’ve found them on exactly the same day last year. John made one of his fabulous fluffy mushroom omelettes to celebrate these beauties. I get a real buzz from finding them and cutting them off with my knife. Mushrooms are incredibly satisfying things to hold in your hand – the perfect shape, and they’re nice and cold. Just look at them:
Earlier on I had found something else while on the way to swim at Knockburn. It was absolutely huge and I still had a few hills to climb. I decided to leave it where it was and come back for it on my way home. It was not a mushroom….
Different countries and regions have their own names for these things, and in Scotland we call them ‘neep’. It’s grown for cattle feed and this one probably had fallen off a trailer. I felt so sorry for it, having grown this big and just being left to rot. So despite the colossal weight that made my bike feel decidedly out of balance, I cycled 15 miles home with it.
It turned out to be enough for several meals: first I made chips, and then soup, onto which we sprinkled some crispy haggis. It was fantastic!
Now that the beech and raspberry leaves are out, I will fill my jars this coming weekend. I’m also going to experiment with fermenting leaves of the Rosebay willow herb, so watch this space!
The healthy forager 