Shrooms...

Okay, so what's a gurl to do? My latest obsession is with, what I consider the most captivating, delicious, cleverly concealed delicacy know to humankind - the Mushroom. (yes, in my eyes, it deserves a capital letter!!) I have known and loved them since the dawn of time and am always overjoyed to see them coyly displayed on a veggie platter, just waiting for me to indulge. But.....the humble, yet delicious common button mushroom pales in comparison (pun completely intended) with the wide variety of wild mushrooms that bless this Island. I've recently become intimately acquainted with the Shaggy Mane:

They are absolutely so yummy when sauteed with butter, olive oil and garlic and then eaten on a neutral tasting cracker - LOVE IT! I'm fortunate that I have a reliable spot where I can dig up these scrumptious, little darlings. I've only divulged this spot to a chosen few. As someone recently said: "Shrooms are like fish, you don't give out your spot" - Sooooo true!

So, imagine my delight when walking the doggies this morning, I found a variety of fun-guys across the road in the school yard. Ok,Ok I realize that very few people will share my unbridled enthusiasm for mushrooms - I'm sure that I'll get over it. I just happened to have a pocket full of bags - go figgure - so I decided to unearth a few and see if I can identify them or more realistically, have someone else do it for me. (I have to give credit to GB at this point as she definitively identified my first Shaggy Manes and ate them without a second thought. I can still be a big, baby fungiphobe.....)


Here are what I dragged home with me:

Any guesses? C'mon, someone has to have knowledge greater than I......

BTW, the world is divided into two factions, those who adore mushrooms and those who won't eat them, pick them out of their food and share them with the rest of us. God bless you.