Lights, camera...
We are full on into the beginning of Mushroom season here in my neck of the woods, and speaking of the woods ... my yard and surrounding forest is ripe and generous hunting ground, according to the locals.
Mmmmmmmmmmm. Funghi. Porcini, specifically. Like golden nuggets emanating from the floor of the forest. And for what they cost, they might actually be worth about the same per ounce as gold!
But worth every penny. Fried, sauteed, thinly sliced raw in a salad. A little taste of heaven dancing on your tongue.
Just a bit too timid to go off hunting on my own (for fear of, well... dying?!?!), I still buy my porcini from the local mushroom man (singing in my head each time, "do you know the mushroom man? the mushroom man, the mushroom man..."). But I remain intrigued by the hunters.
This morning, LB and Sue from Pooh Corner and I were sitting out breakfasting on the terrace when an attractive, middle-aged man in boots, a white shirt and grey-green/khaki vest came wandering through our forest, with a woven basket on his arm. I hollered out to him: "good day! Have you found anything?" Yes, he replied, 2 porcini. Aaah! Congratulations! And as he stood there at a distance, wishing us 'buon appetito,' framed in the archway of the stone steps and old oak trees, LB whispered, "I wish I had my camera!"
Despite the giant pain in the ass of some other aspects of life here in the Middle of Nowhere, there are moments that are simply precious.
Though for just a moment, I *did* feel kind of like we had wandered into Tuscan Countryside at Epcot: the land of contrived experiences. Aaaand.... "Cue the cute Mushroom Hunting Guy... Action!"
Mmmmmmmmmmm. Funghi. Porcini, specifically. Like golden nuggets emanating from the floor of the forest. And for what they cost, they might actually be worth about the same per ounce as gold!
But worth every penny. Fried, sauteed, thinly sliced raw in a salad. A little taste of heaven dancing on your tongue.
Just a bit too timid to go off hunting on my own (for fear of, well... dying?!?!), I still buy my porcini from the local mushroom man (singing in my head each time, "do you know the mushroom man? the mushroom man, the mushroom man..."). But I remain intrigued by the hunters.
This morning, LB and Sue from Pooh Corner and I were sitting out breakfasting on the terrace when an attractive, middle-aged man in boots, a white shirt and grey-green/khaki vest came wandering through our forest, with a woven basket on his arm. I hollered out to him: "good day! Have you found anything?" Yes, he replied, 2 porcini. Aaah! Congratulations! And as he stood there at a distance, wishing us 'buon appetito,' framed in the archway of the stone steps and old oak trees, LB whispered, "I wish I had my camera!"
Despite the giant pain in the ass of some other aspects of life here in the Middle of Nowhere, there are moments that are simply precious.
Though for just a moment, I *did* feel kind of like we had wandered into Tuscan Countryside at Epcot: the land of contrived experiences. Aaaand.... "Cue the cute Mushroom Hunting Guy... Action!"
posted by Viaggiatore | 10/07/2006
2 Comments:
There's nothing like a "cute mushroom hunting guy" (Italian to boot) that get me all fired up.
Mmmmmm....porcini's. There's nothing better.
Lucky you! It's all but impossible to find "fresh" porcini mushrooms in the USA. Get yourself out there and forage a few, find a good recipe for risotto; then track down the cute mushroom guy and invite him to dinner:-)
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