Mushroom Hunting

I like to do "different" and interesting things with my family - And hey I'm not proud to admit it, if they're FREE things to do, that's even better. So when I saw a free mushroom hike offered through Washtenaw County's Parks and Rec program, I signed my husband and I up.

I didn't know what to expect, but thought at the very least we might learn something new and the biggest bonus - it was a date to get out of the house together...

It was a very good program that started with a brief discussion then a hike in the woods. We were told to gather whatever we wanted to, and that later we would come back as a group to "show-off" our findings, edible or otherwise. I of course wanted to get only edible mushrooms, so my husband and I followed (more like stalked) the expert around the woods for a few hours gathering edibles.

Mostly we found Slippery Jacks, puff balls, Boletes, and our best find - Three good sized Hen-of-the-Woods! We were the ONLY team to find the Hen-of-the-Woods though, so we shared our bounty with the rest of the group.

When we brought our harvest home you would have thought we'd hit a jack-pot. Our kids LOVED inspecting, and posing with our "find"! I cooked up a few of our fresh mushrooms with butter then added them to flatbread with a little cheese - YUMMY. Mostly though I dehydrated the 'shrooms for use later in the winter...

***NOTE - NEVER eat anything from the wild that you are unsure of, especially wild mushrooms. We went with an expert for this experience...