Wild Mushroom Hike

23Jul 2023 by catbird 3 Comments

We absolutely always enjoy searching for mushrooms while hiking, in fact I have promised my children badges for all the different types of mushrooms they’ve spotted on multiple occasions (and still not delivered…) but perhaps my favorite time to go is at the end of July right before First Harvest. This is when we (knock on wood) always find delicious chanterelles. I like added chanterelles to the list of things we harvest this time of year! Whether or not you want to forage mushrooms to harvest and eat, this is a fun hike to take with kids. (And I find they are often superior at spotting mushrooms!) Bring a magnifying glass, a mesh bag if you plan to collect anything and a guidebook. A nature journal is also a great tool! Observe, record and maybe even make badges if you have more follow through than me!

boletes often bruise blue, meaning you can draw on them

Foraging Chanterelles

If you want to harvest chanterelles for eating, please first consult an expert and spend some time learning about what to look for and dangerous look-a-likes. Here is a good starting place. Below are two of my favorite things to make with chanterelles, simply sautéed with pasta and a First Harvest Pizza: the crust is a gf sourdough, the base is chanterelles sautéed with onions, garlic and thyme from my garden and little butter and cream. It’s topped with fresh mozzarella, goat cheese and fresh corn, and last thinly sliced potatoes and rosemary from our garden. If you’ve never tried potatoes on pizza- don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, it’s amazing. (The first time I had potato pizza was in southern Italy)

This pizza is the perfect combination of garden harvest, woodland harvest and home harvest (the wild yeast harvested from the air in my home.)