Diamond in the rough...or so

Last fall we cut down three of the big Evergreens in our back yard. One was leaning at about a 45 degree angle towards our master bedroom, one was "diseased" with blister rot (or so we were told by two arborists) and one was too close to our property line and the neighbor was complaining about pine needles falling onto their RV shed, so we cut it down too.

Where they cut the tree next to our property line there was a pile of wood chips, sawdust etc.

Well low and behold last week when we were out in the back yard planning our our garden we looked down and saw these beauties!



Beautiful Morel mushrooms. Morels are like finding a four leaf clover sometimes and I was a giddy fool when we had this treasure right in our back yard!

We researched and made absolute 100% sure that they were true morels so that we didn't risk death by eating false morels.

To share what I have learned. A true morels cap is connected from the top to the bottom and cannot be twisted off. It also has a hollow stem with NO white cottony fibers.

See the picture below. It looks gross, but it has the most delicious, intense mushroom flavor.




See what I mean. Gross looking. We made a cilantro lime cod with broccoli, and morel topped brown rice. Yumbo city!

Today Gabe ran bloomsday and Abigail and I took the opportunity to go up to dad's property with dad and Sarah to look for more. We found one but the rest eluded us.

It was still fun to get out in nature and explore the woods. Abigail loves doing that too!

We got home just when Gabe did and we all took a family nap then drove back out to deer park to go to the nursery by dad's house only to arrive just after they closed. Oh well.

We headed back to town, to Costco and picked up some geraniums for the baskets and had some greek food to top off the day. We are both exhausted and ready for bed.

A new week awaits - - along with my first mother's day. It is SO exciting.

Again soon - make it a great week.