Molly Moochers

The spring rains have arrived and so has my favorite springtime fungus- Morels.

About this time every year my eyes are peeled and my nose can find the scent of a morel from a mile away. I remember when I was a kid, my dad and I went morel hunting. I think we came home with a measly 2 morels. But I remember the little morsel. We battered it in flour and fried it.

So then 20 years later, when my interest in cooking was starting to bloom, and I saw the familiar fungus at whole foods, I could not resist. Aside from the $50 / lb price tag I was happy as a clam.

I took my fungi home and read read read about how to prepre it. I ended up following the combined wisdom of both Alice Waters and Paul Bertollli. Heat up butter add morels aadd a tad of white wine and reduce down untill a little jammy. Towards the end add a little tarragon (another one of my favorites).

To my delight the morels ended up being little morsels of goodness. I had just a tiny plate of the fungus but was never so satisfied.

Now, every May I look out for the sponge-cone shaped fungi for a little treat.

Three publications this past month have picked up on the morel craze:

Molly Mooching on Bradly Mountain: The Aestetic Ecology of Appalacian Mountains, Mary Hufford, Gastromomica, Spring 2006.

- some year I want to go to the kentucky mountain mushroom festival and take part in the fungi festivities.

Magic Mushrooms, Gary Wolf, New York Times Magazine, May 7, 2006

Even Michael Pollan in his new Book Omniviore's Dilema writes about his experience foraging for mushrooms.