April 26, 2010

Meade takes me hunting.

It's into the woods again today...

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Where, exactly? I won't tell. I mean... look! Really, look:

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Would you have seen what we saw?

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Would you have had your Swiss Army Knife?

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Would you have found this much?

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Ha ha ha ha ha....

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... la la la la la la.

60 comments:

chickelit said...

So what's the morel of the story?

Unknown said...

I gave up on Victorinox, except for luggage. I carry a Leatherman, instead.

PS don't tell Titus, it may give him ideas.

WV "sterstu" What you have to do if you don't want it lumpy.

Awesome said...

Ha ha! Your mushrooms are gone!

Bob_R said...

Mushrooms,cheese, butter, bread, beer. Sounds like a party.

Robin said...

Ohhhh, I'm so jealous. Morels. The best thing in the midwestern spring. And not to brag...but I spotted them right away.

The Drill SGT said...

Bob_R said...
Mushrooms,cheese, butter, bread, beer. Sounds like a party.


add eggs and bacon to the list

Anonymous said...

Those 'shrooms look magical. Oh wait, that's perhaps not the best choice of word.

Peter

chickelit said...

Remember what the dormouse said:
"Feed your head!"

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's a Hoosier thing: I saw the mushrooms, and my Swiss Army knife--as far as I can tell, the identical model to that in the picture--is in my pocket as I'm typing this.

kjbe said...

Yum, morels. It's been a great spring for 'em.

Irene said...

Risotto ai funghi di bosco.

Palladian said...

Now these are what makes a fillet steak worth the price!

joated said...

If you guys are like mushroom folks I know, the exact location of that spot will only be told in your will...if then.

KLDAVIS said...

That Meade is a fun guy...

Really, Palladian? If you're having filet how can you even tell you're eating steak. I can't see eating a filet while I still have my natural teeth.

Chef Mojo said...

Stuff those babies with crabmeat and saute in butter.

Beau said...

How are you going to cook them?

Moose said...

Wow.

Been nice knowin' ya'!

Kirk Parker said...

Would you have had your Swiss Army Knife?

Just don't try this in England!

As my whimsy leads me.. said...

Man crying to the bartender: I was married to two beautiful women, and they both died!
Bartender: That's awful. What happened?
Man: The first one died of mushroom poisoning.
Bartender: What happened to the other?
Man: She died of a broken neck.
Bartender: How did she break her neck?
Man: (Sniff) She wouldn't eat her mushrooms.
-----Benny Hill Show

Eric said...

Even when I'm pretty sure I have the right mushroom I'm too chicken to eat it. I'm afraid I'll be one of those people you read about who died from eating a mushroom that looks kind of like something tasty.

Penny said...

Meade took you hunting, and you gathered morels?

This story? It's OLD!

Even older than you and Meade, for cripe's sake. lol

Kinda cute that you can both leave your minds at the door though.

Going out for dinner...again?

Sorin said...

I imagined Althouse walking in a long dress,carrying a wicker basket, and following Meade the Hunter into the forest.

Lo and behold, I see Meades pants on the ground covered with those beautiful Morels. You two sure know how to have fun in the woods!

With a filet, sautee the morels in pure olive oil, fresh garlic, and add a little marsala wine.
Delicious!

Penny said...

"Would you have had your Swiss Army Knife?"

Come again?

You two were just going out for dinner?

What did I miss???

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite springtime pleasures - hunting, finding, preparing and eating morels.

But nothing does compare to bragging about the morels that I hunted, found, prepared and ate. If only I had thousands of people that I could brag to at the click of a button. Oh, sweet satisfaction.

Hope we get to see the morels again when they are about to be consumed!

Big Mike said...

If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the woods today
You'd better go in disguise.

For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic
.

LakeLevel said...

Morels are really unmistakable for anything poisonous. Sometimes they really do seem magical. You can be standing in the woods looking for them and you finally see one,then you look around and see that you are surrounded by them, you just couldn't see them.

Earth Girl said...

My mouth is watering just looking at a photo of morels.

Expat(ish) said...

NB, that swiss army knife is an offensive weapon in the UK and would get you arrested.

Funny old world.

If it's a national park or private land I carry my baby glock, if it's a state park or posted/school property I carry the largest legal knife and a stout stick. Too many people growing too many alternative crops these days. The English must think they're in a different universe when they come visit us.

-XC

PS - I do not eat the fungus, but they are an attractive item.

Wince said...

It's good to see Meade reasserting the traditional male "hunter" role at Meadhouse if only to balance-out his "gatherer" role earlier in the day.

Fred4Pres said...

Note that Meade cut the morels and did not yank them out of the ground. If you cut them they will often grow back.

Nice treasure!

Ann Althouse said...

"You can be standing in the woods looking for them and you finally see one,then you look around and see that you are surrounded by them, you just couldn't see them."

Yeah! That was the coolest thing. We were looking and looking. Then we found the first 3, then looking around we kept finding and finding. If you look in that second picture and you see the most obvious ones (click to get to an enlargement) you can also find more hidden ones close by (to the right). It's such a delight to find more and more. More...L.

kristinintexas said...

Mmmm, morels... the only mushroom I like. Funny how finding them yourself makes them taste better.

kristinintexas said...

I may be in Texas but I'm a Michigander, born and raised!

Penny said...

We may both be delighted by men and nature, Althouse.

Yet not entirely.

So now what do you suggest?

Bob said...

Although I have plenty of Swiss Army knives, my current EDC (Every Day Carry) knife is a Boy Scout pattern made by Keen Kutter.

And the real question is did you have your Swiss Army knife, or did you have to rely on Meade having his?

I'll bet it was a fun excursion, though. Hope you took pics of the prepared morels ready to be devoured.

Penny said...

"332wil0佳穎4burc_custis said...

pleasure to find such a good artical! please keep update!! "

Hey you! *thumbs up!*

Did the rest of you see that?

THAT was an "ass" too fast for anyone to make contact with 'same'.

He did however leave a message that South Park is funny! hahaha

dick said...

My ex-father in law loved to fry morels in olive oil and make a sandwich of them with bleu cheese on rye bread. His favorite dinner of all time. Unfortunately I am allergic to all mushrooms so I never got to taste them. They looked and smelled wonderful. He grew up on a farm in central Ohio and there were always a lot of them on his old farm.

Peter Hoh said...

Sure, you're happy.

But are you as happy as these kids?

MamaM said...

Peter Hoh...lucky kids, great dog. I love the vibrancy and confidence dad and dog exude.

Methadras said...

I don't understand. Is there something special about these mushrooms?

Chip Ahoy said...

Yay!

MamaM said...

For many in the Great Lakes region morel mushrooms are considered A Big Deal, a Rare Find and The Most Delicious Mushroom on Earth.

Not only are they an excuse for men to use pocket knives, they cause women to burst into laughter and song.

Seriously, the photos and story are beautiful and inviting. They draw in and reveal.

Michael Haz said...

I spend much of my free time in the woods in Wisconsin. I have never, ever found a Swiss Army knife lying on the forest floor like you did. How lucky!

rhhardin said...

WSJ Best of the Web cites Althouse, adds a [sic].

I'm pro flag-burning myself, as a canary in the free speech mine. It makes the right people mad enough to be a test.

Say another amendment is near passage.

rhhardin said...

Legalinsurrection is good on Goldman Sachs.

Goldman is the dead canary in the MSM public service mine.

Opus One Media said...

Jesus woman. Haven't you read about Dick Cheney hunting with "friends"?????

KCFleming said...

"Meade takes me hunting."

Is it wabbit season, or duck season?

MadisonMan said...

That's a lot of garlic mustard in the first shot. I hope you are sauteing the morels in garlic mustard.

Original Mike said...

Couple of years ago we went turkey hunting in the spring in NW Dane County. No turkeys, but we came across a place absolutely covered with morels. Once we realized it, we had to search for places to put our feet where we wouldn't step on them. We ended up with 3 grocery bags full! We were giving them away to everybody and eating morels every day for 2 or 3 weeks. Actually started getting a little tired of them. "What's for dinner?" "Morels." "Not again!"

AllenS said...

Has anybody been to Muscoda, WI? They claim to be the Morel Mushroom Capital of the Whole World. At least that's what the sign says.

Your Correspondent said...

I hate the sound of the screaming of mushrooms being slaughtered just to feed humans.
It's almost as bad as the hideous shrieking of carrots as they're murdered by uprooting.
Oddly, my vegan cousins disagree with me. They're Northwestern U. types and are apparently perfectly fine with this sort of savagery in the name of "sport".

KCFleming said...

Have the shrooms stopped screaming, Clarice?

Original Mike said...

That's a lot of garlic mustard in the first shot. I hope you are sauteing the morels in garlic mustard.

Spent the morning two Saturdays ago pulling garlic mustard in a city park down the street.

"Garlic mustard! We hates it, we does my precious!"

AllenS said...

I just returned from a walk through my woods. No morels. We had a light frost this morning. I think it's too early for mushrooms in my neck of the woods.

Tibore said...

It's not hunting until you use a shotgun.

Yes, I know they're mushrooms. The benefit is that you don't have to chop or mince them when you get them back to the kitchen.

;)

lemondog said...

Uh, oh.

slarrow said...

Had some of these Saturday night. The guy who found them washed them, sliced them up, coated them in flour, and deep-fried them in the outdoor propane-power cooker at the campsite. They went with the fried potatoes and the fresh fish--the white bass and crappie that had been swimming in the lake that afternoon. Then we ran the trotlines in the morning, pulled out the last of the 45 catfish we caught over the weekend, cleaned up the camp, and headed home to clean fish.

Man, I love the spring.

BJM said...

Maybe it's an Italian thing, but eggs are the perfect foil for morels and truffles. During truffle season in Turin diners carry truffles wrapped in white handkerchiefs to their favorite restaurant (the best are private) where they are shaved over perfectly poached eggs at the table.

A poached egg on a toasted slice of levain topped with morels lightly sauteed in butter and a bit of garlic is our standard go-to for any freshly harvested shooms.

However this luncheon dish that we had at the SF Ritz-Carlton may be the best composed morel dish evah. Who knew that asparagus and morels pair beautifully? (Often I skip the puree step and the dish is so flavorsome that we don't miss it.)

Patm said...

Ribeye steak with those mushrooms and bleu cheese. God Gawd.

Original Mike said...

"Ribeye steak with those mushrooms and bleu cheese. God Gawd."

Just had a friend bring us several morels he found. Thanks for the advice!