Monday, October 5, 2015

stockholm weekend pics, mushrooming like a swede


well, almost like a swede.  by the end of my day in the forest, stooped and peering at the ground, i am no closer at distinguishing a poisonous mushroom from an edible one.  but, it was great fun to be outdoors with friends and swedes and the sun.  what a glorious fall we've been having.

mushrooming is a popular swedish pastime.  with their wicker baskets in hand, they go off to their favourite spots for mushroom hunting which are kept secret (my neighbour wouldn't even share).  so,  ximena, her girlies, kai and i adventured with urban deli into the forest near vaxholm.  they picked us up by bus at their urban deli locations and an hour later we were in the forest.




we meandered into the forest, braving the ticks, in search of mushrooms hiding under the canopy of leaves, nestled into the mossy grass, and sometimes, rarely, right there in front of you. 









they brought along a mushroom expert too and thank goodness.  she chucked all of our poisonous mushrooms leaving us with just a handful to take home.  the kids were gutted, they collected so much.  she informed us about what to avoid and where to look... mushrooms like old growth trees.




we ate well!  over an open fire, the urban deli staff cooked mushroom sausages, of course.  so good, especially when topped with roasted onion bits.  there was kanelbullen on offer too - it was kanelbullen day after all :)


 i love their expressions.  makes me laugh!



with bellies full, we went back into the forest, among the tall trees, and hoped to find some chanterelles.  but it wasn't to be the case, just more poisonous mushrooms.  others were more successful so i'm thinking this mushrooming is going to take practice :)







next time i will bring along a wicker basket, read up on mushrooms to better identify edible ones, and hope for better luck in finding some prized chanterelles!  

tomorrow the handful of mushrooms brought home will get roasted with shallots and onion and caramelized to perfection.  can't wait!

No comments:

Post a Comment