Puffball Magic

Well I think we are in for an early autumn this year.  There is not much way by hips and haws in the hedgerows round here at the moment - not as good as last year so far in any event.     I have not managed to get any yellow bullace from the hedgerows - there was a prime spot that we went to last yearconsisting of several bushes, but there is also a large community of Polish and the like in this area and they had stripped the tree bare before the fruit was even ripe so I am assuming that they have turned it into alcohol of some sort or another. One of the rules I have always followed when foraging is that you are not greedy and harvest from various spots rather than just the one and then stripping it bare.  I am always mindful that the wildlife eat these fruits too and that it does not have any exclusivity just to us mere humans, but there should always be some left for others too.  Anyway that is by the by - I will keep looking out for different spots and see if I can locate yellow bullace or cherry plums elsewhere.

However I do have my horseradish spot marked which has several large plants, a crab apple already, various blackberry bushes (they are just starting to ripen round here in the wild) and several elder bushes where the elderberries are starting to form.  I am eager to make the most of what comes my way.  I only usuallly manage to get to walk at the weekends and I relish the freedom a chance to compose the muddled thoughts, breathe fresh air and connect with nature and the land.

However this week OH came home with several Puffballs.  Far earlier than last year but delicious all the same so I am going to preserve these down later in the day.  We simply cook them in butter on a gentle heat in a frying pan and pop some fresh cooked chives in out of the garden and eat them on their own - if you haven't tried them they are absolutely delicious.  I intend to have a go at drying some down this year too to pop into winter casseroles to add a little more substance and flavour I also intend to make some more of this mushroom sauce that I made last year.  

http://tarragonnthyme.blogspot.com/2010/09/mushroom-duxelles-sauce-for-pantry.html

I have taken some photos of the bounty found so far but unfortunately cannot locate my camera lead so will add this in later.
We had a fry up for tea tonight.  Smoked back bacon, leek and stilton sausages, fried bread, fried egg, fried puffball slices, tinned tomatoes served with bread and butter and it was delicious.

My bay tree is also due for a haircut in the imminent future and no doubt I will string the bay leaves into mini garlands again to help dress the welsh dressers up for the winter months as well as using their fragrant leaves in my cooking.  OH has supposed to have been pruning it for the last two weeks.


Well must get along things to do not enough time to do it.