How to find Matsutake (Pine) Mushrooms in BC forests…
Tips from Chef Robin on how to find one of the most expensive culinary mushrooms in the world… You have to be careful, because there are poisonous look alikes out there that can cause some serious liver damage (Amanita smithiana). You may be wondering why anyone would feel comfortable picking and eating matsutakes (Tricholoma murrillanum)?…
October 27, 2013
Chef Robin’s Pickle Recipe
We serve these on our rainforest wild edibles tour with our wild mushroom pate. Guests keep requesting the recipe… so here you go. I’ve used this with ramps (wild leeks), cauliflower, carrots, fennel and smoked sweet red peppers. My favourite is the smoked red peppers or ramps. Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar 2/3 cup Sushi Vinegar…
October 21, 2013
The weirdest mushroom in BC? Edible Lobster Mushrooms!
Lobster mushrooms in BC are one of my favourite edibles. They do taste mildly like seafood and have a great, firm texture. They also colour your dishes red; remember you eat with your eyes first! Image by Paul Noll The cool thing about Lobsters (Hypomyces lactifluorum) are that they parasitize russula family mushrooms (with gills)…
October 17, 2013
BC Poisonous Mushrooms
It’s mushroom hunting season and you may be thinking that you’ll give it a go. Rule #1 – Learn the BC poisonous mushrooms first! As a start, Check out our FREE Foraging for Beginners 3-Part Video Series here. The facts: There are 10,000+ species of mushrooms in BC, only a handful of these can be…
October 9, 2013
Where to find Porcini ( King Bolete ) in BC?
Porcini are also called Cep, Penny Bun, Steinpilz and King Bolete, in Latin… Boletus Edulis. The King of Mushrooms! Soo nutty and savoury, they’re great in pate, sauces, gravy etc. And they’re HUGE, so it’s easy picking. I love these with fresh pasta. But how to find them? Where do I look? Forests of Fir,…
September 18, 2013
How to find edible Chanterelle mushrooms in BC?
Chanterelles + a bit of butter + a splash of sherry = magic. Where do I look? Near Douglas-fir trees When do I look? Fall mainly in BC Key Features? thick, forked, shallow gills that run down the stem (decurrent) wavy cap margin white flesh, stem not hollow growing on the ground Distinctive fruity aroma…
September 3, 2013
How to make a spore print?
What is a spore and why do you care? A spore is a one celled reproductive unit of a fungi (i.e. its seed). Identifying spore colour of a mushroom can help you figure out if you are holding an edible giant horse mushroom or its poisonous friend. You can only check spore colour by seeing…
September 3, 2013
Wild mushroom foraging in BC
Where do you find edible mushrooms like chanterelles? That’s the question I get most from guests at the supper club when we do our fall mushroom feast. While I’m not going to give up my secret forest stashes, I’m happy to give people tips on how to hunt for them. Wild mushroom foraging in BC…
September 3, 2013
Wild Mushroom Pate Recipe
It’s mushroom hunting season in Vancouver, so run for the forests people! Everyone always asks me for the recipe that I serve on our mushroom foraging tour, so here it is. And yes, the tours start in September if you want to learn how to forage for your own. Foraging note: BC forests are full…
August 30, 2013
Cedar Smoked Sablefish
I’m getting bored of salmon, so I decided to smoke one of my favourite white fish. Sablefish(Black Cod) has a nice amount of fat in it and it’s silky texture really stands up to smoking well. I serve this with a wedge of lime to squeeze over it and cut the richness. Here’s the cedar…
August 16, 2013