We spent much of our first morning in the Seattle area
piddling around at Daniel’s house and the rest of the day at the Mushroom
Fair. Curt was there, selling his
mushroom chachkies—socks decorated with neon-colored morels, porcini shaped key
chains, amanita patches and stickers.
You name it, he sells it… so long as it has a mushroom on it or is at
all related to mushrooms. I adore
Curt. He is absolutely hilarious. A retired postal service
man, Curt now spends his days foraging in and around San Francisco where he
lives with his wife. He gathers
mushrooms, wild fruits and berries, harvests muscles and “lobster barnacles,”
and even goes diving for abalone.
His wife was on a salmon fishing trip in Alaska when I met him in
Telluride at the festival, but I’m looking forward to meeting her.
Michael was also there, who we met the night before when we
dropped off mushrooms for the display tables, toting a jar of the chanterelles
he preserved with onions in a marinade of olive oil and vinegar. We gave him a generous helping of fresh
hericium in exchange, which he seemed excited about. Bartering rocks.
After returning from the fair, Andre and I prepared
dinner. Daniel suggested how we
cook the appetizer, matsutake steamed in soy sauce and white wine followed by
angel hair pasta (rescued) topped with white chanterelles sautéed in cream and
tomato for Daniel and his daughter.
As usual, the meal was delicious, especially with a round of the cheese
we traded for in Levenworth. I’ve
said it before, but we eat like kings, us foragers!
Today I learned that several of the species we supplied for
the fair were edible. I love
learning about mushrooms almost as much as I love eating them. During my evening meditation, I felt
thankful for having such wonderful friends with whom to share my love.
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