Mushrooms, Mushrooms Everywhere

Around this time of year, I start getting interested in the woods again, because this is when the columbines, wood anemones, and--most significantly--the morels appear. Unfortunately, there has been no rain for weeks and the woods have been bone-dry (in fact, there have been forest fires about ten miles from here). However, yesterday it rained for about 15 hours, a good long soaking, and I knew that mushrooms would be pushing through the leaf litter. I actually woke up dreaming of collecting a big bag full of them.

The weather was cool and gray this morning, but that only made the hunt more challenging: The mushrooms are the same color as the leaves through which they barely peek and, without bright sun, there aren't even any shadows to help in spotting them.

The photo above is of this year's first morel--the first of two dozen that will find their way into a pot of risotto tonight. Spring has now officially arrived.