Morel and Asparagus Hunting!

Several weeks ago, I went morel hunting with my parents in the woods behind their house, who live in an undisclosed Midwestern state. You see, as a morel huntsman, I must keep my hunting grounds secret, for fear you will find it and eat all of them.


Morels are an incredibly delicious (and pricey) mushroom. They pop up in mid-spring and can be found in woods across the country and beyond. They are popular in Illinois and several nearby states. There are all sorts of tips on where you can find them with varying degrees of usefulness. I've had success looking near dead or dying elm trees. This year, a pile of dead trees was the most plentiful spot.

This was my second year hunting. It was fun, but there didn't seem to be as many as last year. There's an exhilaration to wandering around the woods searching for the evening's meal. There aren't really any poisonous mushrooms that look much like morels, but a few look close enough so please confirm any finds. Since I waited so long to post this, you'll have to wait until next year for morels. Morels are very identifiable and delicious so I highly recommend trying to hunt them yourself!

For guidance, I used the new book "Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois & Surrounding States." One of the authors, Joe McFarland, was at the Urbana Farmer's Market a few weeks ago. He signed my copy with a threat to stay off his morel patch. The book mentions several other tasty looking mushrooms, which I'll have to keep my eye out for.

In the book Omnivore's Dillema, Michael Pollan has an excellent section on morel hunting, so I recommend checking it out! You should actually read the entire book while you're at it.

I fried some morels with an experimental batter, but it didn't turn out good enough to post. I brought some home to Susan who fried them deliciously. She will follow up on that one!

My parents and I also stopped by a local farm to hunt some asparagus. Since it was in a field of asparagus, it was much easier to find than the morels. I still can't get over how asparagus looks while it grows. It just sticks out of the ground! Hilarious! Asparagus takes several years to establish itself, so we don't get the joy of growing it ourselves since we garden in a rented plot at a community park. However, as soon as we have our own spot of land we will definitely grow this awesomely delicious veggie.

mushroom tofu quiche

We love quiche. With tofu quiche there are endless possibilities for mix-ins, seasonings, and flavors. After playing around with a variety of recipes from different sources, I developed this final recipe as our favorite. I'm a big fan of mushrooms, but feel free to use whatever vegetables you enjoy, or change it up depending on what's in season.

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil
8 oz mushrooms (I used shiitake, but portobello or any other type work great)
4 garlic cloves
1 tbs rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

1 block silken tofu
1 tbs tahini
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbs paprika

1 pie crust: I use the basic pie crust recipe from the Chicago Diner cook book, but any basic crust recipe will work. Just remove the sugar if using a recipe for fruit pie.

Heat olive oil over medium in a frying pan. Add mushrooms and let cook 10 minutes stirring regularly. Dice garlic and add to mushrooms allowing to cook 2 minutes more. Stir in rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Turn off heat.

In a food processor blend remaining ingredients. Add in mushroom mixture and pulse until combined.

Pour into pie crust and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until batter is set. Feel free to eat immediately, but the quiche will hold together better after chilling in the fridge for a few hours.