Does Anyone Know ?

does anyone know what these are ? it is RAINING out here in California...in JUNE and my lawn is covered in these... they must really love the rain...

wet brick...wet lawn...soggy...soggy....

teddy is not one bit HAPPY about this rain...

he REALLY wants to go out and play with mr. firepop...that's him there...amoung the mushrooms...

mommy is wearing long underwear and wool socks...with a cherry apron. where's Summer?

It's Time To Let Them Go

To be perfectly honest with you, I still have the chanterelle mushrooms. When it came time to slice and saute them...I just could not do it. They were so beautiful I just couldn't say good bye. So I wrapped them up in paper towels, and gently placed them on a clean tea towel in the veggie bin. During the evening while we made the pizza, I would go and sneek a peek at them..say Hi to them, tell them it was just not their time yet. They were too special, too precious.They were gold.

So the pizza was missing the chanterelles...we put on olives instead. But it was good.

Today the rain hit hard..and so did the thunderstorms. Which is really unusual for around here.Poor little Dande made a break for the upstairs closet. She is still there. I'll just let her be.

With a dark rainy day looming, I knew I wanted to stay home. And deep down in my heart of hearts I knew it was also probably time to let the chanterelles go.It was time to say good bye. I know they won't last forever and I might as well enjoy them before they go bad. Actually, I like the idea of making a mushroom pasta sauce more than putting them on the pizza.

So this morning I decided to get out the pasta machine and crank out some fresh pasta.

The recipe is the one I will do tonight. You can use any mushrooms for this..unless you know Zipper...

Chanterelle Mushroom Pasta From The Hills Of Big Sur

Put on a large pot of water to boil. Make sure it has a fare amount of salt.

The mushroom sauce:

Saute a couple of shallots in butter and olive oil till soft.

Add diced carrot and a diced celery stalk to the shallot and cook till soft.

Add sliced mushrooms, about 2 cups.

Add about 2 cups chicken stock and cook till reduced to about 1/2 cup, 20 to 30 minutes.

Add 1 cup heavy cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer till sauce
is thick enough to coat a spoon,about 15 minutes. The sauce should be on the thick side.

Cook the pasta..Enough for 2.... till done, drain and add it to the mushroom sauce pan.Set aside about a cup of the pasta cooking water to add to the sauce if it becomes to thick after adding the pasta.

Coat the pasta with the sauce, add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle the pasta with chopped fresh italian parsley and chives. Can add about 1/4 toasted pine nuts, if desired.
Top with grated parmesan cheese.

GOLD STRIKE !

So I am over at our local natural foods store this morning..waiting to pick up Buddy's cough syrup prescription at the pharmacy next door......and I am cruising in the produce isle and there they were. PURE GOLD ! Right there next to the lettuce. Chanterelle Mushrooms. I could hardly believe my eyes. There were only 3 of them. So I grabbed a bag and scooped them up. I could feel my heart race. I would rather have these than a bag of diamonds.

And what perfect timing. I was planning on pizza for Sunday night as the storm slams in from the Pacific Ocean. With El Nino out there...we are suppose to have a real downpour.

I saw the produce guy and asked where they came from...just as I thought...Big Sur.

When we lived in Cambria..which is about an hour and a half south of Big Sur on Highway One, a kid who worked for John knew where the "special secret spot" was in Big Sur. John went with him one time and he said they walked back into the woods for an hour... although no forager worth his salt would ever tell the truth about where to look....unless he's a really good friend.The kid would sell them to restaurants up in the bay area...he told me he used to sell them to Alice Water's restaurant Chez Panisse. The mothership..to be sure....

Julie and I have eaten there a few times...and it is all they say..and more.

To tell you the truth, the kid's name was Jim, but I called him Zipper. I have no idea where that came from either. But Zipper would show up at my back door when we lived in Cambria with bags of freshly picked chanterelles. I usually just kept it simple...I would make some fresh pasta...saute the mushrooms in butter, add a little cream or chicken stock, salt and pepper, add the pasta to the mushroom skillet, grate some parmesan over the top and serve. That was it. Simple. And it was GOOD !

For our Sunday pizza night....I will roast the sliced mushrooms in the oven with just a toss of olive oil and sea salt, then scatter them over the top of the pizza with just a simple tomato sauce ,gruyere cheese and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley from the garden.

We'll build a fire in "woodstove",make our pizzas, light some candles..and wait...for RAIN !At Last !

Mushroom, Pine Nuts,Leek and Tomato Tagliatelle

The other day I told you that I was going to make this pasta for supper and would post the recipe if it was good. Well, it was good...so good that it was all gone before I could get a picture of it. I wondered if I should post the recipe with no picture...but decided I had to...it is just too good not to share. It is from an old cookbook I have ...vintage date 1984. I just love this book. The recipes are seasonal. This one is under the Fall pasta section. It calls for wild mushrooms,I didn't have any so I used baby brown mushrooms instead, and it also called for chicken..I didn't have any so I just skipped it.I bought a leek after Thanksgiving cause it lookes so good and added it here. John has to have meat so I thawed out some sweet italian sausage and just cooked it in a skillet.

Today I am making gnocchi...I'll try and get a picture before we eat it all...


Mushroom,Pine Nuts, Leek and Tomato Tagliatelle

Adapted From Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone Cookbook
by Alice Waters (the beloved)

1 cup brown buttom mushooms,sliced
1 leek, sliced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 tomatoes, chopped
Italian Parsley..a handfull,chopped
Thyme leaves...a few, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Parmesan, grated....use the good stuff
Tagliatelle, cooked and drained for 2

Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil till soft and brown
Remove from pan and set aside

Saute the leek in olive oil till soft

Add mushrooms back to the pan

Add the chicken stock

Add the chopped tomatoes, pine nuts and the herbs, salt and pepper to taste

Add the cooked tagliatelle to the pan ...splash in some of the pasta cooking water if the sauce seems dry. Stir. Plate the pasta and sprinkle parmesan on top

Linguine With Chanterelles and Leeks

Well, I have made it to day 4 on my vegetarian kick over here. And so far, so good. But, I have to admit that I am starting to get nervous. It's fall...and that means soups and stews and pot roast and meatloaf and swiss steak and chili and sloppy jo night....I don't know how long I am going to make it. I'm a foodie. I love to shop for food, plan meals around the food I just got,read about food, cook food, eat food....how is this going to work? For now, I am taking the "one day at a time" approach. It's not really a health thing with going vegetarian...you see, I am still reeling from the fair last summer..seeing all those pigs and cows and chickens..looking at you with those eyes...little name tags above each stall...yikes...so for now..at least for today..it is vegetarian..
And in keeping with my new theme..last night I made a pasta dish that I have to tell you about. I am going to just say it here and now. It was a winner ! It was so good ! Even John ( who has been known to be kinda picky....gee I wonder how that happened ) was falling in love with it. So here it is. Make it. You won't be disappointed.

Linguine With Chanterelles and Leeks
Adapted From Field of Greens by Annie Somerville

This elegant pasta is easy to prepare, and the flavors are so well suited to each other that it comes together quite effortlessly. If chanterelles are not to be found, you can use cremini or white button ( I did ), though the sweet, earthy wild mushroom flavor will be missed.
Serves 2


1/2 pound chanterelles
1 leek, white part only, cut in half lenghtwise, thinly sliced and washed
2 Tablespoons butter ... I used really good butter here..Kerrygold
Salt and Peppper
1/3 cup white wine...or more to keep it loose
1/2 pound linguine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme...I added some italian parsley too
Grated Parmesan cheese....use the good stuff



Wash and slice the mushrooms.In a large skillet melt the butter and saute the leek with salt and pepper till soft..3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook till brown and soft. Add the white wine and simmer 10 minutes or so. If the sauce gets tight...add more wine.

In a large pot put on the water to boil for the pasta. Add a good Tablespoon of salt.
Cook pasta till just tender. Drain. Add to mushroom sauce. Add a little pasta cooking water if the mushroom sauce is not loose enough.Toss all together. Add herbs and parmesan cheese.

I didn't do it, but I think some wilted spinach would go good in here.