Mushrooms, Bread and Thou

This fall Doug and I went into the woods with book in hand and hunted for edible mushrooms. Many people here on the island hunt them; no one will divulge their "patch" whereabouts. And now that I have found one of my own - mum's the word. These chanterelles were simmered in a little butter and eaten as a side with ... bread.

Together with my new hunter gatherer skills I've developed a taste for home baked bread. This recipe is one I've have for about a year, but it was just too scary to try. What if it failed? What if it didn't rise? Could I withstand the disappointment? It's the famous New York Times No Knead Bread recipe. Embarrassingly easy to make considering how long it took me to try. Not only have I made this basic recipe, I have added a 1/4 cup of chopped fresh rosemary together with 1c chopped green olives to the dry ingredients. This is one of the very best olive breads I have ever eaten anywhere.

Of course, to reward myself for being a big brave girl... I purchased a 2L red Le Creuset pot in which to bake the sacred loaf. Works like a charm! How could it not?



And as a last word on the sacred and most delicious mushroom TED Talks presents:

 "Mycologist Paul Stamets studies mycelium and lists 6 ways that this astonishing fungus can help save the world. Cleaning polluted soil, creating new insecticides, treating smallpox and maybe even the flu … in 18 minutes, he doesn’t get all the way through his list, but he has plenty of time to blow your mind"