Beautiful Flower

A Deer!

 

Kaeli'i doubles as a deer in the woods.  Sara and I decided to let our parental gaurd down and let the dog run off.  She didn't dissapoint.  on multiple occasions she ran off.  She chased one car down the road a half mile before turning around!

For Chili

 

These diced Black Morels ended up in the premade "Darn Good Chili" that you can buy off the market shelves.  It comes in a green bag.  We also like to through bisquits into our chili mix.  Yummo!  We used the left over for eggs in the morning.  See below for recipes and other tidbits.

Yummy

 

Brian licks his lips in anticipation of eating these fried mushrooms, recipe below.

Our quick recipe...

 

During our outing we cooked our mushrooms this way:

Crushed Corn Chips

Egg Beaters

Coconut Oil

Morels

Fry on griddle until eg is cooked.

Yummy

A Pan Full of Black Morels

 

Yummy

Mushroom Bag

 

A burlap bag provides adequate mushroom storage while hunting.  Keeping your mushrooms dry is a must, so using cotton or similiar bags is needed to keep them fresh.  You will also need a knife.  Here is a website that can teach you how to hunt Morels: Here.

Early Morel

 

Brian holding out what was determined to be a Early Morel or Verpa Bohemica.  Cutting the mushroom in half revealed a cottony interior a sign of a Verpa mushroom.

A Tasty Snack

 

Black Morels are a tasty snack, but they are better cooked!  Consuming raw morels has been known to have an ill affect on some.  Mostly GI related.  Click here for some recipes:  Here.

Two different Types.....

 

.....All Edible.  Brian holds up what could possibly be two different species or types of Black Morels.  The most important part is that they are edible.  There are false morels, but they are very definitive in they're look and typically hard to confuse with real morels.  Morels are prized for they're flavor, which is meaty and a bit chewy.  They taste awesome in Chilly and Eggs!

The Black Morel

 

An incredibly appealing species of the Black Morel sits in the shade of a pine tree.  They typically like mountainous conifers and they grow typically in the spring.  This area also had signs of a previous fire, a sure sign that Morels will be nearby.

The Hunting Fields

 

Brian and Isaac hunt out the delicous Morchella (Morels).

Skilled in their craft, these two hunters stumble across a patch of Black Morels.  Known as extremely difficult to find due to there dark appearance and ability to blend in with the surrounding environment, the black morel is a tasty bugger, and one to be excited to find.  One pound of these could fetch up to $40.  In this area, we found about 1/4 a pound.  Cheers of excitement went up through the trees.  Down the way you could hear Christie yelling, "Brian, Brian, Brian, Mushroooooooooms!"

Wenatchee National Forest

WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST

 

After nearly six hours of driving down I-90 in Memorial Day Traffic, we made it to "29 Pines," our first camp spot.  We pulled in at 2230 or so into the classic camp ground scene.  We're talking folks with 30' trailers and satellite TV.  Folks who have about the same purpose camping in the wilderness as mold has a place on your favoritedoughnut.  Not that I completely hate Car Campers, it's just that I haven't saved up enough money to buy one of these behemoth mobile comfort machines.  Instead, Sara and I slept in a tent on a $20 airmattress that decided to deflate in the middle of the night.

As I laid there on the hard ground, covered only by a thin blanket, (Side Note: I talked Sara out of bringing sleeping bags.  It was one of those conversations where I called her a wimp, etc.) and listening to the orchestra of a dozen generators,  I cursed those who had brought these gigantic trash collectors of mobile homes and trailers out into this neck of the woods.  I wished I was in one, opening microwave dinners, sculpting empty Bud Light cans into windmills and biplanes, and unwrapping Mounds bars to my hearts content, all while catching up on my Netflix que. 

Instead Sara and I packed the blanket into the rented minivan we had and slept in the front seats with the engine on and the heater cranked up.  The next morning we discussed returning to this God forsaken stretch of gravel roads and overflowing outhouses to "monkey Wrench" the generators and repossition satellite dishes.  We never gained the courage.  That was just the first night, as the trip went on things got better.