Cheryl and Ethan's Cup Runneth Over...

Running in Coralville

Is there really such a thing as "Too much of a Good Thing?"  Perhaps.   But it is alwasy a challenge to try to figure out how to handle such a bounty when the Heavens open up and yield such gifts.   And this Blog is all about how Cheryl and Ethan are willing and able to accept that challenge!

Too Many Mushrooms? 

Case in point... Mushrooms.   Who would have thought that during the hottest, most humid days of summer we would find such a bounty!   The Golden Oyster tree we had been harvesting over the last few days had one last mushroom node left.   We thought we would give it a chance to grow a bit (since it was so tiny.) And skipped checking on it yesterday... allowing that extra 24 hours of Growth.

Running in he shade.

Running in the Sun.

Today,  Cheryl decided to take an easy training day and only run the "normal" 7 miles.   She ran 15 miles yesterday ( in the HEAT!)  but still wanted to run despite that heroic effort.  Let's run near the Coralville mushroom trail!  We can run and then harvest that last cluster of mushrooms.   Win/Win!   Sounds good to me.

Back in the shade. 

Back in the Sun.

There was a "problem" though...   Besides the fact that the heat and humidiy were back up into the 90's...  We were going to be forced to run by the "Old" Golden Oyster tree.   I did not think anything of it... until Cheryl spotted it!

Cheryl spots "New" Oysters

Several more up high.

The "Old" Oyster tree had sprouted several new clusters of Mushrooms!    Cheryl was so excited.   We already had 2 full clusters at home in the fridge and were planning on adding an additional cluster from he "new" spot.   Now we had several rather large clusters to add in.

The Pinning cap from two days ago. 

Good Color.

Now I know what you are thinking..." Why not just leave them?"    What?   No way!    That would be Simple, Easy, Responsible, and Wise!   And we never do things that are "Smart."  Besides,  the thought of leaving the mushrooms out there in the heat seemed wasteful.    No one wants to be Wasteful in our family.

Cheryl will have her hands full

Even MORE clusters.

So after our run, we grabbed the basket and an additional satchel to go collect the fruits.  We filled them both to overflowing!   We even found several Chanterelles and Boletes on the way.  We had so many oysters that I took the last cluster and tried to inoculate several more dead trees along the trail.  If we are lucky,  som of the mycylium will take root and we will have even MORE mushrooms next year!  ( Because everyone always wants MORE of Everything!)

Still nice and fresh,  and Yellow

Cheryl washes off the bugs and dirt.

Back home,  we had to figure out what to do with all these mushrooms.   Instead of trying to figure out how to save as many as possible,  we decided on cleaning and choosing the best caps for eating.

Then I remove the Caps. 

I remove the mushrooms. 

  Cheryl washed out the bugs and dirt while I cut the caps off the stalks.  I abandoned the knife after a while and just went with ripping them by hand.   It was faster and easier.

Then I tear them into smaller peices.

Cheryl is the Grill Chef.

Having the mushrooms for sandwiches seemed a little unrealistic at this point.   We needed something that demanded a larger quantity of them all at once.   Otherwise, they would surely spoil in the fridge.   Cheryl came up with the idea of cooking all of them at once and storing them for later.   Possibly for a soup ( when we get the ingredience) or Chowder, or pizza.   We shall see.   I fried up a sampling of them in some eggs with onions.   Very Tasty!

Lots of Mushrooms to cook down.

I eat some for lunch.  

To add to the huge collection of mushrooms,  our tomatoes have gone crazy!   We managed to give away almost all of our tomatoes to the neighbors and coworkers.   That lasted only one day.

More Tomatoes.

As if I did not give any away!

 Today, I refilled the bowl with more Cherry, Plumb, Best Boy, and Heirloom tomatoes.   As if we had never gotten rid of any!   I can't eat both tomato AND mushroom sandwiches without "repercusions".    Both food are technically "Healthy", ( Although, I'm thinking the Oysters will win on the total health benefits here.)  But the tomatoes will last slightly longer and if I eat too many of them the Acid will eat my insides up!   So, it is possible that the Mushrooms will be the first to be eaten.  And there is a possibility I may no be able to eat them all anyway.   We shall see.

We still had a few from before.

Cheryl does not know what to do now.

I can hardly believe it is so late  in the day as it is righ now.   The day seems to travel by so quickly when you are hunting mushrooms.... and running/bikeing... and cooking and picking tomatoes.  So few hours in the day.   My only consolation for it all is that if I continue to eat these "health foods" in such large quantities,  I'll be able to live so much longer that I will be able to catch up on lost time.

Wish we had this problem with money... 

Now all Cheryl and I have to do is have too much money...  And have to figure out what to do with the extra.   I'm always up for the challenge.....