Morels 2009
Morels 2009
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Morels 2009
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Post #1 - April 20th, 2009, 2:07 pmAny intel on the crop this year? Has anyone seen any yet?I'm not Angry, I'm hungry.
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Post #2 - April 20th, 2009, 2:25 pmHI,
Too early this far north. If it were warmer, then maybe in a week or so from now in the Kankakee region. Michael Kuo maintains a morel tracking website. Joe McFarland, who lives in the Carbondale area, usually is the first morel find in Illinois for several years. Joe keeps meticulous records where he finds his morels based on location, temperature and whether the plants are leafing out. flowers budding or in full flower when he finds them.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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Post #3 - April 20th, 2009, 2:46 pmThey're up in Central Indiana. A friend has been collecting them around Crawfordsville and it seems to be a good year.It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid
- Chris
http://stavewoodworking.com
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Post #4 - April 20th, 2009, 3:56 pmCathy2 wrote:HI,
Too early this far north. If it were warmer, then maybe in a week or so from now in the Kankakee region. Michael Kuo maintains a morel tracking website. Joe McFarland, who lives in the Carbondale area, usually is the first morel find in Illinois for several years. Joe keeps meticulous records where he finds his morels based on location, temperature and whether the plants are leafing out. flowers budding or in full flower when he finds them.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/
Regards,
My favorite part of that site:
Hey, That Mushroom Smells Like...
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Post #5 - April 20th, 2009, 8:29 pmThis website lists places where morels have been sited.
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Post #6 - April 20th, 2009, 8:42 pmHi,
Thanks for the link. I guess I was on a rush earlier today.
I read the Illinois Morel Championship has been cancelled due to funding, though they hope to be back next year. Meanwhile they are offering "Morel Unversity:"Morel University
Learn From Experts
Share the Morels
The Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship and Festival has been cancelled for 2009. But, there will still be morels available and you are invited to come and find them.
On Saturday morning, May 2, 2009, Tom Nauman of Morel Mania, Inc. and other morel hunting experts will be your instructors for Morel University. Students will meet at the mushroom patch and be shown how to find and harvest morel mushrooms. The class is for beginners or anyone who wants to learn the finer points of shrooming: morel habitat, tree identification, correct harvesting techniques, and tricks of the trade. The Morel University students will also receive a Shroom Sack and a Diploma.
You will need to be on-site, near Henry, Illinois at 8:00 a.m. and the event will end at noon. It will start with Tom leading a discussion and question/answer session. We will then divide into groups of ten with one guide per group. Proper morel etiquette dictates that in a group foray, the mushrooms found will be shared equally by all participants as will be the case for the Morel University.
The Morel Tour in 2007 held in conjunction with The Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship was a huge success. It was estimated that each of the participants returned with 1.5 lbs. each. In 2008, we were not as fortunate as we had a very late season. But, we did find morels. More importantly, the participants gained the knowledge needed to find them on their own. The tuition for students is $75 per person. Class size is limited, so please register as soon as possible by phoning 309-364-3319 or email tom@morelmania.com. Additional details will be sent as the day draws near. You must be pre-registered to participate. Morel University - $75.00 per person.
Morel Tour - $75.00 per person.
Tom's note advised they are already half full.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #7 - April 20th, 2009, 9:18 pmCathy, do you know of any other kinds of events similar to this "Morel University"? I've always wanted to go out with a mushroom guide and learn a little about the art of identifying and picking mushrooms, and I'd be first in line (well, maybe not literally, as they're already half full) for the Morel University event, except that I tend to work most Saturdays from May through November, and I do indeed have a job on May 2, so that's out.
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Post #8 - April 21st, 2009, 4:25 amBinko wrote:Cathy, do you know of any other kinds of events similar to this "Morel University"?
Binko,
Slow Food Chicago has an Annual Morel Hunt with Leon Shernoff mycologist and the editor of ‘Mushroom The Journal of Wild Mushrooming’ This years mushroom hunt is sold out, but something to keep in mind for next year. Cost for the mushroom hunt is a reasonable $10, with an optional morel lunch at Vie for $55 after. The luncheon has space available.
Enjoy,
Gary
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Post #9 - April 21st, 2009, 1:02 pmHi,
For $20, you can be a member of the Illinois Mycological Association. There are several morel forays over the next few weeks, which is a benefit of membership.
If you attend the meetings, go to forays and hang around the specimen tables, you will have a broader mushroom knowledge in relatively little time.
In full disclosure, I am a member for 23 years and have done several tours of duty as President and other board positions.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #10 - April 21st, 2009, 1:09 pmThanks. That's exactly what I'm looking for.
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Post #11 - April 21st, 2009, 2:09 pmPicked some up at Treasure Island this past weekend, but it cost a pretty penny $50/lb.
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Post #12 - May 3rd, 2009, 11:44 amI was looking for ramps earlier this week for Derby Day, and Cassie from Green Grocer was kind enough to set me up with an email alert in case they came in before Saturday. She didn't get ramps, but did send me the following note I asked if I could share, as I thought it might be of interest:
"...Good news is I am getting some local morels shipped to me today. Please call me at 312-624-9508 (you can leave a message if I’m not able to get to the phone) if you would like me to put aside some for you. I will only have about 5lbs and they are $40/lb (which is about $20 less per pound than what you will find at the farmer’s market)...I’ll continue to get morels every few days. We’ve got a guy in West Central Illinois who has a couple of great (secret) spots!"
Green Grocer Chicago
1402 W. Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
www.greengrocerchicago.com
312-624-9508
I love morels...
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Post #13 - May 6th, 2009, 1:14 pmMhays wrote:I was looking for ramps earlier this week for Derby Day, and Cassie from Green Grocer was kind enough to set me up with an email alert in case they came in before Saturday. She didn't get ramps, but did send me the following note I asked if I could share, as I thought it might be of interest:
"...Good news is I am getting some local morels shipped to me today. Please call me at 312-624-9508 (you can leave a message if I’m not able to get to the phone) if you would like me to put aside some for you. I will only have about 5lbs and they are $40/lb (which is about $20 less per pound than what you will find at the farmer’s market)...I’ll continue to get morels every few days. We’ve got a guy in West Central Illinois who has a couple of great (secret) spots!"
Green Grocer Chicago
1402 W. Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
http://www.greengrocerchicago.com
312-624-9508
I love morels...
Love Cassie and her morels, but the Green City Market has them for $48, not $60....defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
Fuckerberg on Food
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Post #14 - May 6th, 2009, 1:35 pmMy weekends (life) are pretty booked up with work so I can't go a-hunting, but has anyone seen morels on any menus recently? Ronnie Suburban saw some on his weekend of Charcuterie Bliss (viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24504), but are they popping up at other restaurants yet?"Baseball is like church. Many attend. Few understand." Leo Durocher
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Post #15 - May 6th, 2009, 2:42 pmHimself was out looking for a geocache in some nearby woods a couple days ago and stumbled across these instead. They made a scrumptious morel and green pea risotto. At Green Grocer prices, I guess it was a $50 risotto.
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Post #16 - May 11th, 2009, 7:23 amI found my first batch this year at GCM last Saturday at the aforementioned $48 per pound.
They were made into a fresh asparagus, morel and shallot cream sauce for some fettucini last night. I got the recipe from epicurious. Very nice. I forgot to add the green garlic I also bought in my frenzy to get at the morels.
Problem: only one serving left for lunch today and that was snatched by Mrs. AS.I'm not Angry, I'm hungry.
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Post #17 - May 12th, 2009, 11:56 amFile my morel find under "do a good deed and you will be rewarded"
Yesterday I volunteered for The Conservation Foundation to walk a streambank and pick up trash. (I personally scored 3 shoes, and bags full of mylar wrappers, plastic bottles, smashed cans and plastic grocery bags--an invention of the devil--but I digress.)
My reward for all that walking was a lovely clutch of yellow morels, nearly stepped on by a fellow volunteer, that are destined for tonight's dinner table."The only thing I have to eat is Yoo-hoo and Cocoa puffs so if you want anything else, you have to bring it with you."
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Post #18 - May 12th, 2009, 12:04 pmPlenty of Morels at the Farmers' Market at Federal Plaza today (ranging from little ones to ginormous).
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Post #19 - May 12th, 2009, 4:56 pmHi,
Location unknown to me.
A friend sent a bragging e-mail about collecting 12 pounds of morels this morning.
It is now in the refrigerator with the 6 pounds he found yesterday.
It is not luck, it is persistence (and being a retiree who can spend his days as he chooses).
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
