Funguses

I've noticed over the last week or so that there are some new and unexpected visitors in the garden.  Mushrooms.  I have a long and sorted history with these little capped crusaders.  From an early age they were my sworn enemy.  Whether on pizza, in a tomato sauce, or handsomely disguised amongst the wok sautes, I was vehemently against they're presence or consumption.

As a growing boy there were very few things I refused to put in my mouth (most of my family can attest to this fact).  Mushrooms were one of these things.  I detested the smell, taste and texture of these little fungi.

Somehow along the way, I can't quite recall, I slowly developed a taste for certain mushrooms.  As I sit here and think deeper about it I think it had to be the extremely neutral oyster mushroom.  I often found these accompanying some of my favorite Cantonese cuisine (of which I am a loyal consumer but more on that later).  So slowly but surely I have developed a liking for these guys.  Especially when slathered in some serious sauce or sauteed with copious amounts of butter (but I know from experience most things are extremely edible doused in butter).

Perhaps my palette, when it comes to mushrooms is a little more sophisticated than when comparing to other foods.  After all, I was the guy who used to look forward to airplane food.  When it comes to mushrooms I hate the generic button mushroom you see on pizza or in most salads or tomato sauces.  This could be attributed to the delicious Chanterelles that I was exposed to during my summer visits to New Brunswick at my families fishing camp where they grow wild in the forest.  They were included in my breakfast without my knowing and to my sheer and utter surprise I loved the flavor!  From then on I would dive right in without hesitation.   More on that here. 

Here are some varieties I've found around the house.