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.