Lobster Mushroom Chowder

I just returned from a week long Boundary Waters trip - one of the highlights of which included eating lots of wild mushrooms! On last year's fall trip, My Charming Companion and I regretted not bringing a mushroom guide with us because there were so many mushrooms everywhere in the north woods. This year My Charming Companion did a bunch of research and made a handy cheat sheet.

Definitely not a beanie baby

Boletes lined most of the portages we crossed, and though I didn't get any photos, they are a delicious, buttery mushroom. The lobsters were the most spectacular though. I had only just heard of their existence on a portage; a young guy doing some wolf research with the forest service was seeming quite depressed because after 2 weeks they had yet to find any wolves, and his group was down to the lackluster meal options. My Charming Companion was showing him boletes, because the only mushroom the wolfer knew of prior to that were lobster mushrooms. I had never heard of them, and didn't ask any more. Later that afternoon upon arriving at our campsite, I was visiting the latrine when I looked over and saw what appeared to be a bright red beanie baby lying in the woods. If something is called a lobster mushroom, I thought - than this must be it!

One lobster lead to several more - the easiest mushroom hunt ever because nothing else is that color in the woods. We didn't see any more of these anywhere else on the trip, so somehow this site on clearwater lake was a lobster mushroom hotbed. They were delicious! Apparently these mushrooms are actually a mold that grows over the mushroom. It's the prettiest mold I've ever seen, but is why the shapes vary A LOT. Some are like shells, others are more bulbous. And they have a slight seafood scent when raw and cooking. They taste really nice, and are quite firm. They hold their shape well. We ate them once sauteed in some ghee with eggs, and again in a chowder (while Clearwater lake was bountiful in lobster mushrooms, it was bereft of fish - so what would otherwise have been a fish chowder, was a "lobster" chowder instead - ha).

If you ever come across these, a simple butter/ghee saute would be great. They can cook awhile, and they will turn the butter an orangey color. To prep: trim away any dirt areas, and slice in nice large slices. Some of them had brown spots - or lines really - I'm guessing it was the inner mushroom, or that they were older. I cut those parts out because we had so many and I wasn't sure about it, but upon some research at home, it seems fine to eat that too.

For our chowder, we started sauteing the mushrooms (in ghee) first since we had to do it in two batches (due to limited cooking vessels). Meanwhile we chopped up a few slices of bacon and cooked them, than added dehydrated onions, peppers, celery, and a few potatoes along with a bunch of water to hydrate everything. The hydration takes a good 15 minutes or so, and we added the mushrooms once they had softened and been sauteed a bit - there were too many mushrooms to fit in our largest pot, so we had a bit of overflow! Then we added some salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning and simmered everything another 10-15 minutes. We stirred up a bit of cream powder, and mixed that in at the end. It was delicious!

Puffball mushroom crepe

My Charming Companion found a big puffball mushroom where he was hiking last week, so I got to experiment with it last weekend/this week. I have never eaten a puffball before, but they are pretty unmistakeable. I've seen one once, a soccer-sized ball stuck in the middle of a field. My friend Ella, who I was with at the time, saw the puffball and said, "There is fungus among us!" Which I now think of in direct correlation to puff balls.

Puffballs are usually white and round, often smooth, but sometimes a bit bumpy or warty. The one thing you want to verify to make sure it is a) a puffball and b) edible is to bisect the puffball down the middle (as in photo). It should be entirely white throughout, and the texture should also be the same consistency. If there are gills, you will see them immediately upon bisection and know that this is a very poisonous mushroom in your hands. If not, and if there are no brown, yellow or purple shades, forge ahead! One note - you need to remove the tough outer skin. The edge of the peel will be evident from your bisection and you can probably just peel it off with your fingers, but if not, a knife will work. Underneath will be this soft, poofy sort of delightful marshmallow-y substance.

Puffball slices

I was perusing the interwebs for some puffball ideas, and didn't actually get very far because early on I found a recipe that used sliced puffball as what they called a "fritter" but what I quickly realized could be like a crepe or tortilla of sorts. And of course I was immediately super excited about that option and discontinued all searching and decided to give it a try. Crepe/Tortilla/Wrap thingies are all I did with that big puffball because the opportunities for such items in my paleo/whole30 world are pretty non-existent. And really, a person does not come by puffballs very often, so when one does, I think crepes are a good idea!

I tried cooking the slices of puffball a few different ways: with a little extra oil, more on the dry side, thicker vs thinner, etc. I sort of settled on an in-between-ness. I never got to try baking them, but it seems another experiment for a future puffball.

Puffballs are very mild - almost like tofu in texture and flavor too. The flavor/texture of puffballs seems to be a favorite to eat with eggs, which is also how I ate mine. In terms of storgae, you want to keep them pretty dry - store the puffball halves in the refrigerator in an open bag so that they can breathe and don't get condensation in there. They don't last long, just a 4-5 days. Watch that they don't start to turn yellow/brown.

Puffball "crepe"

1. Slice your puffball into 1 cm thick slices, trying to be as uniform as you can.
2. Heat a small amount of fat in a large cast iron skillet. Turn the heat to medium and when the fat is hot, lay the puffball slice/s in a single layer. You are basically just pan-searing them for a minute or two on each side. You will notice the top side of the puffball will start to bead up with moisture as the first side cooks. Go ahead and flip it shortly after. I found that the slices could be cooked pretty dry - though they tended to stick to the pan a bit. They suck up the fat some, and get more wet with more fat. You can experiment with your preference, but I liked to go drier and risk the sticking.
3. Keep the puffball slices warm in the oven while you cook more slices, but note that they will continue to perspire a bit. If you want to keep them dry, it might be worth stacking them in layers of a tea towel or something (I did not try this).
4. Serve slices of puffball with scrambled eggs, thinly sliced pork belly or bacon, and sauteed veggies (onions and red pepper, roasted eggplant, roasted tomatoes, etc); or try them like a breakfast taco with sauteed pepper/onion, avocado, eggs, bacon and salsa. Fill each puffball piece with fillings, sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and consume!

Note: I think a crunchy something (as in bacon or pork belly) is more necessary to these crepes because the puffball is so soft and smooth. Texturally I just wanted the chewy crunch. And really, I don't need an excuse to add in some pork belly/bacon!

Cream of Mushroom soup

There are some really beautiful (local) crimini mushrooms at the co-op right now: I was checking out at the Wedge last week, and the check-out person, who was jovial and chatty, joked that they were nearly portobella sized.

Later, as I was packing them up in my bag, I overheard the check-out person greeting the next customer: "Wow. You look just like the person who plays with Bon Iver - do you know Bon Iver?" I did not hear the reply, except that clearly the person behind me WAS indeed that person because then the checker-outer got really excited, saying "Oh wow, I just really love your music. This is really exciting to meet you..." and sort of continued on in a very endearing, fan sort of way. I figured the checker outer must be a pretty big Bon Iver fan, because I would guess that Bon Iver's band members don't usually get recognized in public outside of their home towns.

So. These crimini mushrooms had sighting of fame - not the big lead singer kind, but a behind-the-scenes, less recognized-but-still-so-important fame. So really, that is how I will describe this soup: not flashy, but good and wholesome!

Cream of Mushroom soup (serves 3-4)
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, chopped or sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 T butter or ghee
1 t thyme
2 c. chicken bone broth
1/2 c. dry wine
1/2 c. heavy cream (coconut cream/milk would work too)
salt to taste
parsley

1. Heat butter in a large, heavy pot. Add onions and saute 5 minutes, until slightly translucent. Add mushrooms and thyme and continue sauteing another 10 minutes or so, until juices are released from mushrooms. 
2. Add wine and simmer for a few minutes before adding the broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 more minutes.
3. Add cream and salt. Taste to check salt amount until it is to your liking. Top with chopped parsley and serve.
*I am thinking that this soup would also be nice blended up - it might get a bit thicker and be a little more Campbell's-soup-like that way (you know, with all the minced up mushroom bits...)

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon (gone paleo)

Have you seen the most delightful auto-tunes ever? It is of Julia Child, and I watch it regularly because it makes me feel very happy.

I recently happened across a Julia Child cookbook at the library that listed all of the recipes from her PBS series. Rather than be organized by meal or category, the whole cookbook is organized by show. Boeuf Bourguignon was show # 96, and I made it last week. It is actually my first Julia Child recipe ever, and I found it easy, although lengthy, and absolutely delicious. This is a recipe you need to be around for - so make it on a day when you want to feel toasty with the oven on and putzy around the house. (Incidentally,  I thought about making Coq Au Vin, and after reading that recipe, realized it is basically the SAME as Boeuf Bourguignon, but with chicken.) I actually didn't totally know what either of these recipes were, even though I spent three years working at a French restaurant where we served both (my past vegetarianism kept me from actually eating them). But essentially, Boeuf Bourguignon combines slow cooked beef (or venison in my case), lots of red wine, onions, broth and mushrooms. It sounds so simple and not too exquisite, but how these simple things come together = totally delicious.

Part 1: Beef
6 oz bacon (not smoked)
olive oil
3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-3" chunks
3 c. "full bodied, young red wine such as Macon, Burgandy, or Mountain Red" (I used what I had, which was not any of those and it still was good!)
2 c. beef broth
1 T tomato paste
2-3 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 t thyme
1 bay leaf
salt

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Cut the bacon into sticks 1 x 1/4". Brown the sticks in a large skillet with a little oil and render out the fat. When browned, remove the bacon.
3. Set heat moderately high under skillet with oil/fat. When almost smoking, brown the beef a few pieces at a time - turning frequently to brown all sides. Place the beef, as it is browned, in a casserole or baking dish.
4. Pour browning fat out of skillet (I had used up all mine), pour in the red wine, and scrape up all the flavorful brown bits, then pour wine into casserole. Add the bacon and enough beef broth to almost cover the meat; stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring casserole to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover the casserole and set it in the lower third of the oven. Regulate heat (I had to turn mine down to 275) so the liquid simmers slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or longer, until beef is tender when pierced with a fork.

Part 2: Onion and Mushrooms
1 lb. fresh mushrooms
1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T butter
1/4 t salt
18-24 small white onions 1" in diameter (I just used two large onions, chopped)
1 T butter
1/2 t salt
water

1. Trim mushroom stems. Cut the caps into quarters and the stems on the bias. Heat oil and butter in a skillet until butter foam begins to subside, add the mushrooms and toss over high heat for 3-4 minutes to brown the mushrooms very lightly. Remove to a side dish until needed, then toss with the salt.
2. Because I used chopped onions instead of whole ones I skipped some steps. She has you boil and peel the onions. For chopped onions: place chopped onions in a heavy saucepan; add the butter and salt and enough water to come halfway up the onions. Cover and simmer very slowly for 20-30 minutes, or until onions are tender. Set aside, saving cooking liquid.

Part 3: Sauce
3 T Butter
1 Onion, diced and boiled in water/butter*

*This onion is functioning as the thickener here instead of flour.
1. Boil a diced onion in a little bit of water and the butter so that the onion becomes translucent and the water boils off. It will take about 15 minutes. Blend it in the food processor until smooth.
2. When the beef is done, set the cover "askew" and drain the cooking liquid in a saucepan. You should have about 2 1/2 cups (I did not- way less for me!); if liquid has boiled down, add more beef broth. Skim off any fat and bring liquid to a simmer. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Add pureed onion and butter to broth, as well as onion water from earlier. This is the sauce!
3. Add onions and mushrooms to the beef, pour on the sauce, cover and simmer slowly for 5 minutes to blend flavors. The dish is now done! (If you are not serving immediately, let cool and refrigerate to reheat later.)
4. Serve the boeuf bourguignon in its casserole, or, if you wish, arrange on a hot platter surrounded by roasted cauliflower, on top of mashed cauliflower, or decorated with parsely.