The Aborted Entoloma! The Shrimp Of The Woods!

There is a joke in that name somewhere.  But I will let you use your own imagination.  

Yesterday!  I found the Shrimp of the Woods!   (Aborted Entoloma)  A mushrooms what has been attacked by another mushroom and is turned into something that resembles neither the attacker or the victim.   There is much debate on who is doing the attacking.  But I will leave that to another mycologist.   ( Because my post is supposed to be a short one tonight...) Basically, I have been finding a lot of "Things" of the "Woods" lately.   ( Chicken of the woods,  Hen of the Woods,  Now Shrimp of the woods!)  

Having never found them before, I was shocked at how quickly I ID-ed them just from picking them up and looking them over.  I guess reading all of those books pays off in the long run. ( And all of those videos on You Tube!) I saw them while running in the evening and raced home as soon as I had an idea on what they were.   Imagine running 1.5 miles home with a bunch of mushrooms in your hands.  And then driving back to gather up more!   That was pretty much how it went down. 

While out foraging,  I also discovered a couple Fall Oysters and a nice gathering of Coral mushrooms.   ( Coral mushrooms are becoming one of my new favorites!) Before long, I had picked an entire basket full of them. 

I also found a single Blewit.   It was kind of old, but I wanted to bring it home for "Show and Tell".  

Shrimp of the Woods sounds like it should be something special.   I was excited to try it. ( since it was a new mushroom to me) but after reading a few reviews and watching a few people eat them,  I realized it would be a crap shoot.    Several folks simply did not like them... Either for texture or flavor. ( very mild flavor) Other people loved them and swore they had the texture and flavor of Shrimp.  I guess I would have to find out on my own. 

We cooked up a few this afternoon.  Dave and I were the Trial Tasters.  I think Dave hit the button dead on when he noted they tasted and had the texture of regular everyday Button Mushrooms you would buy in the store.  I pretty much agreed. It was certainly not a bad flavor or taste... But it was not the greatness that some of the folks had hinted towards. 

But we get to add another mushroom to our long list of trials.  And I currently am still alive, so I guess the ID part was a pass.  Given that they are similar to Lobster Mushrooms in creation. And looks! ( Except for the bright Orange being replaced with white.)  I think these are actually pretty easy to ID.  Pink on the inside and no gills are dead give-aways.  

Golden Scalycap mushrooms.

Thursday already!  The weekend approaches so quickly these days.  I guess that is a good thing.   The weather in Wisconsin has suddenly turned chilly.  With highs reaching only the low 60's.   And it dropped down to 43 this morning!  Pretty soon I will have to suit up with long sleeves to go to work at 5 AM.  I love the Fall. 

Hope everyone is having a great Week so far.  Tomorrow,  I travel to Indiana.   With a little luck, I will have new bloggin material to blog about.   Because blogging is fun!   And I miss having material and time to write.   Enjoy the awesome weather and Thanks for Stopping in.