Fall 2020
Pacific golden chanterelles
First you have to find the delicate, delectable mushrooms. » More ...
Mushrooms
Fall 2020
Shroomin’ – A mushroom reading list
Mushrooms, like the very forests in which they are found, are sources of both danger and wonder.
And not all embrace them.
For many, mushrooms—used in sacred rituals and as sustenance since ancient times—contain an aura of mystery. They’re often associated—especially in literature, poetry, and fairytales—with malevolence, supernatural powers, darkness, death, and decay. Mushrooms were fairy food, the way witches caused trouble for gardens and crops, and ingredients in poisons and potions, enchantments and aphrodisiacs.
Famous scribes—from Percy Shelly, Lord Alfred Tennyson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to D.H. Lawrence, H.G. Wells, and Ray Bradbury—all wrote about menacing mushrooms. Emily Dickinson insulted them: Had Nature … » More …
Fall 2020
Chanterelle recipes
Delicious ways to enjoy local chanterelle mushrooms.
Read more about Pacific golden chanterelles.
Mushroom Risotto
from WSU Creamery
This creamy, comforting risotto features WSU’s own Cougar Gold cheese as well as a mix of mushrooms, including seasonal chanterelles.
4 tablespoons butter
⅓ cup peeled and minced shallots (or ⅓ cup white or yellow onion, finely chopped)
1 pound flavorful mushrooms (such as crimini, portobello, chanterelle, oyster, and shiitake, or a combination), thinly sliced.
1½ cups arborio rice
6 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, very … » More …
Spring 2017
Emergence
Last August, shifting sands on a well-trafficked beach along Oahu’s west coast revealed 400-year-old carvings left behind by Hawaiian indigenous people. The 17 petroglyphs etched into the sandstone on Waianae Coast, and the stories they tell, had never been recorded. Without the right conditions, they may have remained hidden for years or centuries.
Archaeological sites like the one in Hawai‘i, or ancient buried pyramids and tombs in Egypt, open up their secrets when the conditions are right, but sometimes even plainly visible ruins hold mysteries. Mesa Verde’s astounding Cliff Palace and other Pueblo sites provide insight into the continent’s past civilizations to … » More …
Spring 2017
After the rains
WSU meteorologist Nic Loyd is stuck on one word for last October’s Washington weather: Wet.
Make that two words: Abnormally wet. Sea-Tac measured over 10 inches of rainfall. Even dry Yakima saw almost 2-1/2 inches. But the undisputed epicenter of soggy conditions was Spokane which registered not only their rainiest October ever, but the highest precipitation for any month ever recorded: a whopping 6-1/4 inches. That’s remarkable when compared to an average October rainfall of just 1-1/4 inches. Especially given that their typical annual total is just over 16 inches.
Loyd says this was due to an unusually deep and persistent trough of low pressure … » More …
Spring 2017
October showers bring…
From abundant fall rains emerged a menagerie of nature’s recyclers.
Notes by Lori Carris, WSU professor of mycology.
Read more about the circumstances that led to last fall’s mushroom boom.
Summer 2016
Safe mushrooming 101
Advice and tips from Washington State University mycologist Lori Carris on safe hunting for mushrooms.
Read about morel mushrooms and Carris’s research.
Basic tips
Learn the rules & regulations for your area
Learn to recognize the common edible mushrooms AND poisonous mushrooms
Eat mushrooms in moderation even when you are confident of identification
Always cook mushrooms thoroughly before eating.
When in doubt, throw it out.
A good guidebook is essential
A mushroom guide should be:
Easy to use, with lots of color pictures
Accurate & up to date
Relevant to the area in which you are … » More …
Summer 2016
Morels
Mysterious. Elusive. Delicious.
The smell of rain-soaked earth permeated the logged-over clearing in the woods in mid-May as my friend Mike and I peered closely at the ground and walked slowly. We were hunting mushrooms.
Mike’s more adept eyes spotted a cluster of light brown, honeycombed caps. He sliced the morel mushrooms with his knife. After a while we filled a small bucket, which we took back to Mike’s mom. She battered and fried them and, as a teenager in northeast Washington years ago, I had my first taste of the rich flavor of the wild Northwest mushroom.
Mike and I had likely picked Morchella … » More …
Fall 2015
How to grow your own mushrooms
For Zachary Frederick, forest farming is a challenge. The WSU doctoral student grew up in the shady woods near Ithaca, New York, where he too learned to cultivate oyster mushrooms on logs. Upon landing in the wheat fields of Pullman, Frederick was momentarily stumped but soon learned to grow oyster mushrooms on rolls of toilet paper using a Tupperware tote as an incubator. For those who are interested in entry-level forest farming, here are a few ideas for growing your own mushrooms:
Growing mushrooms on a toilet paper roll (by 100th Monkey Mushroom Farm)
You can also buy mushroom kits and other supplies … » More …
Winter 2007
Into the woods
Unseen worlds live behind the bark and beneath the trees in Pacific
Northwest forests. Scientists Jack Rogers and Lori Carris have made
careers out of discovering these worlds and studying them. We go into
the woods with them to glimpse the secret lives of fungi and their
roles in nature. » More ...