Into the Woods for Shrooms and Blues 🍄

General Discussion
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:exclamation: :mushroom: Mandatory mushroom/foraging note: There are many deadly mushrooms and plants out there- many varieties can be difficult to identify. If you go foraging, always forage with an expert and never EVER eat mushrooms or other plants if you are not 110% sure that they are safe.

Merry meet to all!

The Green Witch in me always loves to see the beautiful pictures of everyone’s flowers, herbs, and excursions in nature :national_park: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: . And I remember how much I especially loved seeing pictures of nature when I was living in the city and stuck there during the lockdowns last year.

So for anyone who doesn’t have access to the woods (or fellow Green Witches who love to see nature pics)- here are some pictures for you! :green_heart:

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The woods of the Polish countryside

We headed out into the woods behind my partner’s family home early- just as the sun was rising :sun: .

This is the coolest time of day to go foraging, and the woods are truly ethereal in their beauty :deciduous_tree:

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A forest path through the rising sunlight

We were on the hunt for little wild blueberries (called jagody in Polish) :large_blue_circle: that are flourishing this time of year, as well as for local mushrooms :mushroom:

Poland absolutely loves foraging for mushrooms- some even call mushroom hunting the “national sport of Poland” :mushroom: :laughing: It’s a long standing tradition here, and for anyone interested about the long story as to why its so popular I recommend the article Why Are Poles So Obsessed With Mushroom Picking? with some history and local mushroom tips :basket:

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Wild Polish blueberries and forest mushrooms

We found a TON of wild blueberries- for folks in New England, jagody here are basically the same as wild Maine blueberries. They are loaded with flavor!

We also found a lot of mushrooms :mushroom: . My partner’s family has been living on this land for generations- that is to say that knowledge about local mushrooms varieties has been passed down over the years and they know this land and the flora and fauna on it extremely well.

I, however, know next to nothing about mushroom hunting- and thus about 90% of the mushrooms I spotted were not brought home with us :sweat_smile: I will most definitely not be going foraging on my own anytime soon!

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Pierogi filled with woodland blueberries and topped with yogurt and sugar- delicious!

We made a mushroom sauce for potatoes and meat with the mushrooms (gobbled up too fast for me to take a picture! :joy:) and my partner’s mom made blueberry filled pierogi with the blueberries :dumpling: :yum:

Have you ever gone foraging in the woods- for mushrooms, berries, or other plants? :herb::basket: If not, would you like to go someday? :blush:

Sending lots of love from the woods and fields of the Polish countryside!

Blessed be! :mushroom:

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Thanks for sharing @BryWisteria

I love eating Mushroom curries, but never went onto any woods for Mushroom. This is a new idea. Definitely I will try it.

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Ew,I don’t like mushrooms :sweat_smile::mushroom: no offense but eh… I’d love to forage for just about anything else!! I actually have some mushrooms growing in my garden and I can’t handle them!!! Thank you for these gorgeous pictures!! I needed to see that!! I needed that calming feeling that only nature can provide!

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Those pierogi look so good! :heart_eyes_cat:I’ve been wanting to make some more lately, so I may just have to now! I make the plain cheese and potato filled ones, but I don’t do it often because it’s so labor-intensive, but definitely worth it! (Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit any recipes for piergi from my family :/)

My mom’s adopted family had Hungarian and Polish backgrounds, so I grew up eating lots of stereotypical Polish and Hungarian foods that my mom grew up eating (chicken paprikás is one of my favorite Hungarian dishes!). I’ve also been feeling a yearning in my soul to make some of my late maternal grandma’s cabbage rolls. I did some research and found out that they’re not so much Hungarian as Polish; the Polish version is called gołąbki, and are absolutely delicious! :drooling_face: (Sorry about going off on the tangent, but every time @BryWisteria mentions Poland, I start drooling at the thought of gołąbki :sweat_smile:)

I have some lambs-quarters that grow wild around my house, and every few days, I go out, pick them, and cook them as a side dish with dinner! I’ve also been making mint tea with peppermint and spearmint that I found growing on my property as well. I’d love to find other places to forage for cool usable goodies :slight_smile:

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Love the pics! The pierogi look great! Sounds as if you had an awesome time! I haven’t gone foraging for any of my own food, unless you call waiting on the bus to get to and from the grocery store foraging. LOL!

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@DerBraucher I love cabbage rolls.y mom used to make them when I was a kid. I haven’t had them in years but I’m thinking I may have to make a request for some soon

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Oh my, I miss the forest so much :sob: it was one of my favorite parts about living in Oregon. I know there are forests and wooded areas here in Florida, I just haven’t had the chance to explore them yet. And like you, I am not a great forager and have basically zero knowledge, so I would be terrified to eat something and accidentally poison myself :laughing:

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I love fresh blueberries and raspberries! The summer has been very warm and dry here unfortunately, so only a few tiny ones here and there. Still love just walking in the woods, or just being there and taking in the sights and sounds and smells, always have. :evergreen_tree: Feeling thankful to live in a place where that’s possible. Clears that black sticky gunk we tend to accumulate in our auras every day. :shower:

What we learn when growing up has such a profound effect on what we come to enjoy, especially when it comes to tastes! My parents taught me to pick and enjoy berries, but they never were into mushrooms, and that has carried over effectively. For years I thought all mushrooms were “just gross”, can you imagine that? Well, there’s just something about fungi… :joy: I’d definitely want someone to show me in person the ones that are poisonous and the ones that aren’t, I love you book authors but I don’t quite trust you there… :laughing:

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You’re welcome, @Princess_Tara! :blush: I hope you get the chance to go foraging someday- but if you hope to eat any of your finds, then please consult a mushroom expert and use extreme caution! I can’t stress enough how dangerous it can be to eat unknown mushrooms. For a safer alternative, you could always find mushrooms just to take pictures off- also a fun hobby! :mushroom: :camera_flash: Blessed be!

Hahaha to be entirely honest, @Christina4, it’s less about the taste of mushrooms and more about the fun of the hunt for me :joy: There’s something primally exciting about heading deep into the woods to forage for food :basket: :blush: So glad you enjoyed the pics!

Oh dear, now you’ve got me drooling over the thought of gołąbki too, @DerBraucher! :drooling_face: :two_hearts: We had them the other week in a tomato sauce and you are absolutely right- they sure are tasty!

It makes me happy to hear you like Polish food! Polish cusine doesn’t tend to get much spotlight outside of Poland, and I was happily surprised when I came here and discovered just how yummy it is :yum:

You are quite the forager- and it sounds like you have an abundance of wonderful plants and herbs close by! Such a blessing :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Enjoy, and blessed foraging, Wade!

Glad you enjoyed the pics, @Amethyst! :two_hearts: And hahaha I know that sometimes shopping in American grocery stores is a real fight for survival! I still have nightmares about going Black Friday shopping as a child :laughing:

Funny you say that, @MeganB! :laughing: While reading about mushrooms (still not planning to go foraging by myself anytime soon, but I’d like to not embarrass myself by pointing out poisonous shrooms next time :joy:) there was actually one article that mentioned mushrooms in Florida:

In Florida we don’t really pick mushrooms. It seems like the weather would be good for mushrooms but who knows if there are even edible ones there (other than hallucinogenic, which there are plenty of I’ve heard).

From Polonization: Collecting Mushrooms

I think you’re right on about mushrooms in FL- seems like that area specializes in a very specific genre of mushrooms- probably not the best activity for those hoping for an addition to soups and sauces :laughing:

Mushrooms aside, my sister lives in Florida and sends some stunning pictures of woods, beaches, and rivers- the state is blessed indeed with some lovely nature :national_park: :heart:

Agreed, @CelestiaMoon! There is something truly cleansing about time in the woods :deciduous_tree: :heart:

And cheers- I also always thought that mushrooms just had one taste: mushroom :joy: Imagine my surprise to find they all have different flavors- like different types of berries! Some are sweet, others are peppery, and one makes a perfect vegan substitution for pork chops :yum: I certainly have a very long way to go with mushroom studies, but I can atest that there is an amazing world of mushrooms out there waiting to be learned about! :open_book: :mushroom: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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@BryWisteria

Thanks for sharing. I don’t know that it could be dangerous. I purchase it from supermarket. Thanks for letting me know. @anneshakargupta

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This is absolutely hilarious because I found a mushroom in my front yard that looks so cute and fuzzy. I used the Seek app to identify it and it’s called a Peeling Puffball.

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I looked it up and there isn’t really a consensus on whether or not it’s poisonous, but Wikipedia does say that it might be hallucinogenic :rofl:

There have been conflicting reports regarding the puffball’s edibility, with some listing it as safe to eat and others describing it as. The species is used in Mexico to produce auditory hallucinations, although chemical analysis of fruit bodies has not revealed the presence of any substances that would cause this effect. Source

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Hello Peeling Puffball! Awww it’s a really cute mushroom :heart_eyes: And a cute mushroom full of mystery!!! :joy: I guess if the jury’s out, it’s probably best to place it safe. But even if it doesn’t have a place on a dinner plate, it really is fun to see. Thanks for sharing, Megan! :heart::mushroom:

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It would look cute in a small jar on the altar or placed in a fairy garden or near a Magic Fairy Door @MeganB

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Mushroom season came late this year (probably due to the very dry summer), but it did eventually come! We are back in the woods poking around for shrooms- most of which we can’t take home, but are still very pretty to see :eyes:

A few pictures from the season:

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Not edible!
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Not edible!
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Not edible!
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Edible :slight_smile:
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Not edible!
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Probably edible but we weren’t 100% sure so we didn’t take it

Happy and Blessed Autumn! :fallen_leaf: :mushroom: :sparkles:

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Ohh my goodness. All of these pictures are so great but this last one! That mushroom is SO BIG!

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Hahaha he was a big boy! :laughing: It’s likely that is the type of mushrooms they used to make fake pork cutlets (supposedly it tastes just like pork, but is a mushroom!) but there’s a poisonous one that is similar, so we didn’t risk it haha.

Safety > mushroom meat :mushroom: :cut_of_meat: :joy:

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omg :laughing: absolutely though, you’re right! I’d love to try it someday, though – the mushroom meat one, not the poison :skull_and_crossbones: :rofl:

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Hahaha same here! :laughing: They don’t serve them in restaurants (probably for safety reasons, but also money reasons too- wild mushrooms can get really pricey!) but maybe someday the stars will align and we’ll get the chance to give mushroom meat a try :joy::+1:

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