Running A 3K In Underwear.

 Yesterday.  I missed out on participating in a local 3k at the Parkside park. I was out on my normal run down to the park when I noticed all of this action down by the beer garden.  Come to find out,  they were preparing for a run... In their Underwear! ( It was sponsored by Jockey.) 

I did not see when it would start.. But I figured if I could run back, grab my wallet and car, I could register and run it for some swag.   

The only problem...I was two miles from the house where I'm staying. But that did not stop me.  In fact, it probably motivated me to run faster!    But... in the end, I missed the start by 10 minutes.  Ah well...

At least I got a pic of the Mascot.  

And a dog.

And I got to play with bubbles!

It was kind of fun... for not being part of the festivities.   I could have probably enjoyed a beer as well, had I wanted to.   There were plenty of food trucks there to enjoy. but I had plenty of food back home...  No need to spend $12 on a sandwich or pizza. 

Later, I went out after some mushrooms.   I found lots of old ones, but nothing of any worth.   Today, I managed to find a few "experimental" ones. Meaning:  Ones I have never eaten before, but am pretty sure of their Identification. 

First.  The Beefsteak Polypore.  Considered a good edible, when young and fresh. The taste is acidic and sour, and the texture is squishy, like liver. The beefsteak polypore is delicious after marinating overnight and adding to lentils or a grain (or both).  I also read it is NOTHING like a slab of steak... So there is only one way to find out.   Cook and let Dave eat some. ( At least I know it will not kill anyone.)  

After trying it,  I would say the texture was not bad.   I chopped off the tender edges of the mushroom and we fried some up and tried it.   Dave agrees it was not as bad as some of the websites said.  Who knows... If marinading it works.  Maybe it could prove to be better than originally thought.  One note:  I did take some advice and cooked the crap out of it.   I probably didn't have to with the young and tender parts of it.  But, with the edibility being a success,  we can try it out later.

We finally tried out the Un-Aborted Entaloma.   I have seen these guys and I know they are edible as well,  but have been shy to try them since I guess there are several that might have  toxicity issues.  But after eating so many of the Aborted versions, I figured I would give one of these guys a try.  Turns out, it is just a plain mushroom.   Nothing more, nothing less.   I would say it is similar to a Fawn Mushroom in taste and texture.  Which is good!   And good to know if you are not finding too many edibles on your Forest Walks...

And finally,  The Scarlett Waxycap!   Who would want to eat something so pretty?   Well,  Anyone who has ever eaten a rainbow trout would have an answer for that.  

I have known of the Scarlet Waxycap for a while now and have never thought of it as edible.  Mostly because it is so small.   But today... I found a Mother Lode of them on one of the trails.   I also found out this year that they are edible.   People in Europe and Japan eat them often.  But here in America,  we just take their pictures.   But today, I picked a handful and figured I would try them out.   

They cooked up nice.  Firm and chewy on par with a lightly cooked vegetable. Flavor wise, they tasted like a button mushroom.   Not a bad addition to the library of mushroom knowledge.  

Dave agreed with out little taste test.   We did not grill up too much of anything in the event one or more of them turned out to be upsetting.   But we even tossed in some Shrimp of the woods for good measure.   I'm warming up to the Aborted Entaloma after having sampled it several times now.   And there is simply SO MUCH of it on the forest these days.  I continue to say I won't gather any more,  only to find a cute and pretty specimen just begging me to pick it up and put it in the basket.  And as I gain a little more understanding on the cooking process for them, I think I'm beginning to like them more and more. 

So that was the weekend for me.  A nice rest  for the most part.   I gathered up some fresh Turkey tail for tea later as well.  Yesterday I was fairly productive, but today... Not so much.   I can't explain why.  

Anyway,   Monday comes and it will be back to the grind.   Hopefully I will have another opportunity to blog, without it eating up my entire evening.   But.   we shall see.   

Thanks for stopping in.

The Gathering Of The Hens...

A Basket full of Maitake!

It rained all day Thursday and that prevented me from doing much outside.   But yesterday I figured I would go out for a walk and some "Forest Therapy"  just to see what the rain might have brought with it....  Besides colder weather.

A GIANT puffball.

The rain does a number on many mushroom types.  The fruiting bodies that are out at the time are quickly destroyed by the rain. 

A little past it's prime now...

I don't know why exactly,  but I think the rain triggers decay in the fruiting bodies or triggers them to spore.   Like this giant Puffball I found.   I read that they may stay white for a long time but once they get wet ( even by morning dew!)  they begin to change into the dusty puffballs we all love  to play with. 

I did manage to gather up a small handful of new puffballs growing on a dead log.  They were far smaller than the giant one, but I did not want to come home skunked... and I know they are edible.  I figured I would give them a try.  

Golden Scaly cap.  Pretty!

I also  managed to find a few Shrimp of the Woods while I was out there.   But I did not feel like cleaning dirty ones, so I kept my selection limited.   One of the perks of having a bountiful year of some species is that you can be very selective with what you bring home.  Otherwise, I tend to keep old and dryer specimens  because they is the only one I found....

Unknown Mushroom.

As the sun dipped down, and as the mushrooms became fewer and fewer,  I began selecting anything that I could later just ID. ( not necessarily eat...) I found a couple pretty, pink-gilled lacteria mushrooms.  An Entaloma  ( one that had NOT been turned into a Shrimp of the Woods.)  And what I thought was  a cluster of Honey Mushrooms. ( Still not sure about these guys.  Hair on cap,  growing near wood and in a cluster.. But dark gills, no ring on stem and dark spore print...)  

But then I found it!

A Maitake!   Sheephead! Ram's Head,  Hen Of The WOODS!!! (Grifola frondosa) At the base of a huge Maple tree.    

As I got closer, I notices several more springing up around the base.   I could hardly believe my eyes.  I have been looking for these guys for a couple of weeks now and had thought I had missed them.  Not only had I found one,  I found several all at the same time. 

Entaloma near Maitake.

And they were FRESH!  No bugs,  Not much dirt or sticks growing in the lobes.  It must have been only a day old... Perhaps only a few hours!  ( I don't know how fast it grows...)  I figured I would pick it before any of my competition found it.   Including the bugs and slugs that seem to love this mushroom above all others.

My basket was literally running over!  Talk about blessings....This is what it looks like. 

I raced home since I could not wait to cook some up and I literally had no more room to continue hunting.   I cleaned and but up the Maitake and set some aside for the future.  I have compared it to Broccoli in that the rosettes are the part you want.  Most of the stem is either a little too chewy or has dirt and bugs. ( there were no bugs on this one though...)   All those nooks and crannys  like to hide things like twigs and rocks.  

Cooking it was also similar to stir-fry vegetables.  I started with the Aborted Entaloma and puffballs,  slicing the puffballs to help cooking. 

And then added the last of the Chicken of the woods and the Hen of the Woods.   In the end,  I had a dinner with all the mushroom spirit animals!  Hen of the woods,  Shrimp of the Woods, And Chicken of the woods!   How cool is that?  

It was great!  ( as expected.)  The fresh Maitake has an interesting texture. I would compare it to broccoli but with a more rubbery/ bacon fat texture.   What an odd description, but that is what I think of when eating it.   And the flavor is very similar to button mushrooms.   Unlike Chicken of the woods,  Hens do not taste like something else.... they taste very mushroomy.

Which is a good thing!  I love mushroom flavor.  And it has flavor.  ( unlike many other "mild" mushrooms out there.) 

Fresh Turkey tail.

Well the cooler weather seems to be here to stay now.   I was out in 46 degree weather yesterday.   IT did not stop the mushrooms though.  

Easier to process!  I will gather more later for tea.

I managed to find some fall oyster mushrooms as well, but had no room to bring them home.   I may go back out there and gather them up later today.  We shall see if I have time for another forest therapy session.  (Which I WILL!  Because, like most other people,  I need Therapy!   And Forest Therapy is always free!)

Fall Oyster Mushrooms!  I will gather later.

Thanks for stopping in!  I wanted to post this yesterday, but I ran out of time.   Blogging takes so long for me... lining up the pictures and checking the spelling...  It also does not help that I tend to get long winded in my posts.  But... If you have read this far... Thanks!  I sometimes wish I could be more like Far Side and Larry.   Keep it short and show pictures.  Let the Pictures do the talking.   But... I tend to like to write a lot.  (Like Mulewings...  We love telling our stories... Right?  )  Enjoy the Day!

Indiana Racing, Cool Corals, And A Really Cool Beetle.

Cheryl ran a Half Marathon in Ft. Ben, Indianapolis.  We thought this would be a good trial run for the upcoming Indianapolis Marathon,  since we currently have to travel from separate places.   And although we both drove separate routes... We both came up with similar conclusions. 

For me..... Driving through Chicago is BAD!  BAD ALWAYS BAD!  Alexa/ Garmin is of no help here.   She is constantly rerouting you through toll roads after you specifically told her NOT to take the toll roads.   And then she tells you of a traffic jam... and reroutes you UNLESS you tell her not to.....   Which I can barely hang on to the wheel while reading the message and fumbling for the "no Thanks" button.   Which I miss!   And end up paying over $10 to take the sky way...  Which is STILL a parking lot.   But I digress.....

My experience was rather unpleasant.   And Cheryl had similar "challenges"  with time changes, and road constructions, and sale signs along the road....There might have been a bathroom break in there somewhere as well...  

So yes!  Indiana is a long way away for a solo trip.  Some "re-evaluations" may be called for in the future. 

But we did arrive for the Race!  I missed the expo. ( you can probably gather why... 2 LOST HOURS!)  and had just enough time to get clean, undress and sleep before having to get up at 5 AM ( 4 AM our time) 

The parking was easy and the race was well run.  ( run.. get it?) Unfortunately,  My phone, along with the camera that was attached,  decided to die on me after only a few pictures.  ( I seriously need a new phone... Or camera for actual pictures!)  Probably a good thing, as most of my pictures are tossed out anyway.    But I at least managed to get her at the start.

The after party was as we remembered it.  No beer, just hard seltzer something.  Some warming fires and hay bales to sit on.  Overall, a good race.  Cheryl did win her age group and took a full two minutes off of her last time here.  Still,  she was not as happy as you would think she should have been.  Possibly because of the road construction?  

We hung out at IKEA for meatballs and some fantasy shopping.  It is always fun to sit in someone else's Living room without having to visit with them.  And then our weekend ended.... and we were forced to drive back through the Gauntlet of Chicago and Indiana Constructions once again.

New Crowned Coral Mushrooms!

What a sad story!    I better brighten things up with my adventure in the Parkside Rec Area. 

Wolfsblood fungus.

I found Mushrooms!   A new Species of Coral Mushroom that we have been enjoying over the last several days.  Similar taste to the earlier coral mushrooms, but with a meatier texture.   Dave is still alive, so we know they are not poisonous. I will note that the Flavor is a little off comparing them with the corals found on logs.  Not bad... just not the same.   Perhaps cook them longer? 

Entaloma with Aborted ones.

The Shrimp of the Woods seems to be having a great year this year.   I met another couple of mushroom Hunters in the woods.  That experience should be a blog post on it's own, but I will say they were as evasive as I was on what they were hunting and where.  (like fishing or favorite hunting spots...) I found the Aborted Entoloma right next to the ACTUAL Entaloma mushroom growing right next to it. 

There were LOTS of beautiful Destroying Angels all around the woods that day.  I always pick them up and take their picture.   It's like playing with fire... Only the mushroom is only deadly if you eat it. 

And finally,   The Cicada Parasite Beetle!   I personally am a Butterfly guy ( A Lepidopterist)  , but  I have been known to dabble in Coleopterology from time to time.  I found this really cool beetle with Moose Antlers for Antennae.  He was easy enough to ID just from the pictures.  As you might guess,  the name says what it does and how it fits in the ecosystem.  

Whew!  Long post.  I did not want to let another day pass by without posting something.  Otherwise, either I forget stuff or I just cut it out to save time.   But... I managed to get everything in there.   Yeah! 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far.   Tomorrow is Wednesday already!  Time certainly flies when you are trying to blog about stuff.   Thanks for stopping in and have a great rest of your Week.