I was sipping coffee in the back yard this morning and felt the first wet whispers of autumn up through my sandaled feet. *sigh* Time to put on some socks, clean the gutters and make some soup. Read More
Tag: harvest
Oyster Mushrooms
In the fertile forests surrounding Cumberland there is a special spot, just a couple ‘o yards from their famous mountain biking trails (hint: just across the bridge and to the left) that so many of us crankjobs fly past without a second glance. In this dank little oasis, tucked away under salal bushes is a rotten old alder tree (nearly 15 meters long and god knows how long dead) that houses a secret, edible ecosystem.
Twice a year (once in the spring and later on in the autumn) this fallen titan sprouts hundred upon hundreds of snow white fungal tongues that quickly grow into families of winged oyster mushrooms. When in full bloom the tree is nearly covered in fungus and can be spotted from much farther away… Luckily for me no one is venturing that far off the trails. These guys are all mine!
Gone To Seed
“Still alive I am.
At the end of a long dream.
On my journey,
fall of an Autumn day.”
– Matsuo Bashō, The records of a weather-exposed skeleton (1684)
I sit in my living room, coffee in hand with the fire from the wood stove sputtering and popping behind me, toasty and content, while outside my austere little zen garden shivers and rots in the autumn frost… It’s all gone to seed. Read More
Roasted Squash Soup with Harvest Gremolata
Rain drums on the window sill, and the carpet of once bright and crunchy leaves in the yard is now slowly melting into a brown compost sludge. It’s late October already, and it’s getting cold and wet. In other words, it’s perfect soup weather! Read More