Foraging season upon us

The wildflowers are in full glory along the Gorge View path. Sweet William is really nice. So is calendula as well as daisies. It’s a bit early for echinacea

Meanwhile, in other areas near our home, mushrooms have started to proliferate. Last week, while walking Gord, I thought I saw a stray baseball in the lawn.

Alas, agaricus arvensis, “horse mushroom,” great fried with onions and eggs. A. arvensis is so big it doesn’t have toxic look alike but there is a smaller very similar mushroom A. campestris which can be confused with the “destroying angel” amanita ocreata. A. campestris left on a sheet of white paper will leave brown or purplish sporeprint.

Last week, at a Lewiston restaurant I won’t trash publicly, we ordered the chicken marsala special. It was bland, with dried chicken breast, no real marsala wine flavor and a decided lack of garlic.

Saturday while walking with Gord, we came across laetiporus, chicken of the woods. I returned with a collection bag and brought home 38-ounces.

We gave some away, saved some for a different meal and, of course, used some to make a better chicken marsala with green garlic from our garden and enough wine to give it flavor.

If you enjoy salad, there are great greens around right now as well.