A few days ago when Cubby and I were eating lunch in the kitchen, I looked out the window and saw a puffball mushroom on our neighbors' lawn. Our neighbors do not live particularly close, so you may wonder how I could see a mushroom on their lawn from our house.
If you're wondering that, you've obviously never seen a puffball:
Yeah.
The MiL also noticed the enormous mushroom and actually called our neighbors to ask if we could have it. Luckily, they're used to our weird and woodchuck-y ways--and also neither of them like mushrooms--so they were more than happy to let us have this fungus the size of a soccer ball that was growing in their grass.
A. harvested it yesterday and the MiL cooked some for lunch. The fun thing about a mushroom this size (and incidentally, that photo was taken after we had eaten some of it, so that's not even its full size) is that you can cut slices off of it that are basically mushroom steaks. It's cool. Also yummy. But only if you like mushrooms, because puffballs are very mushroom-y tasting.
With the exception of Cubby, all of us do enjoy mushrooms, however, so we were quite happy with our mushroom steaks. And now I have 3/4 of a soccer ball mushroom to dispose of as I see fit.
I think I see a mushroom lasagna in our future . . .
Wow, that is an enormous mushroom!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet sautéed with onion and Worscestershire would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe have also had puff balls in our yard and garden.......I thought there were good kinds and bad kinds. Hence, we have never eaten one , not knowing the difference.
ReplyDeleteWill now have to do some research to see which ones we can eat. We ARE growing shitakis on logs in our woods from boughten plugs. A. would love that project. Beth
For some reason I was thinking puffballs were in the poisonous group. I really need to get a book on mushrooms so I'm not too scared to use the ones I find.
ReplyDeleteChris in Ohio
Never seen anything like that, or even knew there was such a thing. Yep, your family would know all about them and the fact that they're edible. Incredible, on all levels. Since I like mushrooms, really wish I could have tasted that one.
ReplyDelete