Foraging the Giant Puffball

It's a good time for foraging here in NY. We have been getting lots of goodies. Just last week we scored a haul of Chicken of the Woods and Puffball mushrooms as well as white oak acorns and plantain (not the banana!). I needed to get more plantain before the frost to make my healing salves. My husband was after those acorns, he is going to make acorn flour out of them. If I don't eat them all first as a snack!

This is a lovely white Puffball Mushroom. I set those two brown ones in the background to show you what not to eat. A Puffball is good when it's all white, feels firm and a bit spongy. When they are brown they are past eating and have moved on to their spore making phase. They are quite large and easy to spot. I grabbed two this size, but left a larger one for the next human or animal forager.

You can see how easy the dirty outside peels right off. You should not eat this mushroom raw. In fact it's best to not eat any raw mushrooms.

I treated the first Puff like tofu, sauteed and seasoned with cajun spices. That's my default way of cooking and it's always tasty. But since I had so much of this mushroom I decided to experiment.

 This idea came to me while I was slicing it up. The slices really held their shape, which made me think of eggplant. Puffball parmigiana was born! 

Here you can see what the inside looks like, the texture was very good this way. There is no poison lookalike for this mushroom, so feel free to forage up some yourselves.

steam once, eat much

I've been doing this a lot lately. Early on in the day, usually after breakfast I will steam my veggies. Carrots, zucchini  snow peas, broccoli, asparagus, whatever I have all layered up. The more delicate ones on the top. I steam them just as they turn bright green. I uncover them to stop the cooking and they are ready to use in many dishes throughout the day. 

They can be tossed into a salad. (Don't you love these paper animals? My girls print and build them from this site for free!

Or made into a quick soup. A bit of my kimchi to finish it off.

Steamed broccoli teamed up with rice and other veggies becomes filling for an omelet.  I've mentioned this before, having ingredients ready makes cooking easier and brings vegetables to "fast food" convenience. 

Dipping Salads

What makes fast food so easy to eat? It's available when you feel hungry. I often put together a "dipping salad" for those times when you might reach for a bag of chips or cookies. First off, I try not to buy chips and cookies often. I mostly do when I am having guests. For everyday I go with raw fruit and veg with a tasty dip. It's crunchy, it's colorful (big plus for me!), sweet  and salty. 

Dipping salads are so hands-on they sometimes do end up being played with. Sword fights with celery, making faces or other designs with the veg, and if you are small enough you can even wear it!

Yesterday we had this beautiful hot pink veggie. Do you know what it is?

Radish! Aren't these pretty? They are very sweet too. I have been eating these with slices of tart green apples, layering them together to make little sandwiches. I have mentioned this before, if you wash all your vegetables at one time to have them ready it will be much easier to eat them quickly. Remember, what makes it "fast" is that it is available immediately. With a bit of preparation you can have quick healthy snacks always at hand.