deep fried!

Whew...last night we used peanut oil to DEEP FRY the Hericium abietis, Lion's Mane.
remember:

I had never actually deep fried anything before; it's very fun.

We sliced the Hericium, dipped it in egg/flour/ginger ale batter, breaded with panko flakes, and fried them up in a mushroom pot :)
Then we ate them with a spicy soy/vinegar sauce.
Lemon-Lime loved the panko flakes!

Fun and tasty, but very smelly. I don't think our landlords (their bedroom is above our kitchen) were too happy.
:(

Update on the drying rack:

looking good!

North Cascades Fungi!

I went collecting in the North Cascades with Joe Ammirati, and two friends from our lab.

What a great day! We found tons of fungi, and quite a few edibles :)
Here they are, edibles first:
Lobster Mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum-orange-growing on a Russula)

Cortinarius caperatus (Rozites) distinguished by the silvery cap:

ring:

and off-center cap attachement, this mushroom is often called "the gypsy":

Armillaria, the honey fungus:

it grows in clusters and has cinnamon scales:

Dentinum=Hydnum repandum:

Polyozellus multiplex! the Black Chanterelle! It is a beautiful purple/black with white spores:

Boletus mirabilis, the two maroon ones in the middle;
Lactarius deliciousus group, on the left;
and another Cortinarius caperatus (Rozites) on the right.

Clavariadelphus truncatus a sweet-tasting edible:

Hericium abietis, the Lion's Mane! My first one, and it was huge! I found it fallen off the log it grew on in a camping parking lot :)


The inedibles:
A slime mold (immature):

(mature, spores being released):

Hydnellum peckii (from the bottom):

From the top (it releases red liquid drops):

Coltrichia perennis:

a fall-fruiting ascomycete, usually they fruit in the spring:

Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, a clear, jiggly, toothed fungus:

Cortinarius violaceus, rust-brown spores:

We've been slicing drying mushrooms all evening in our dehydrator. We should have a lot of great edibles to last us the winter :)

Ice Lakes Fungi

When Adam and I and our friends Hans and Catherine went to Ice Lakes over Labor Day, we found tons and tons of mushrooms and cool fungi!
I saved them out of the original Ice Lakes post because I felt like there were too many photos and I wanted to show all the cool fungi, so here they are:

Guepiniopsis, an Ascomycete, rehydrated from spring growth.

Lichen...

Hypomyces luteovirens, a fungus parasitizing a Russula mushroom. Hypomyces lactifluorum-an orange colored species-is what Lobster Mushrooms are.

Ramaria, a coral fungus.

Trichaptum biforme.

Monotropa hypophithys, the chlorophyll-lacking plant growing from a fungus, that grows with the roots of a tree.

Some kind of Rhizopogon puffball.

Suillus ochraceoroseus, a pink scaley cap, bright yellow pores underneath. Grows with Larch, and we were in the middle of a huge larch forest! This mushroom even grew up at Ice Lake, with a little snow on it.

Lepraria, a powdery lichen.

An Amanita muscaria button (baby)!

Amanita pantherina?

?

Guepiniopsis, again.

Neolentinus lepidius, growing from a crack in the bark of this log floating in a river!

See!

Albatrellus, a polypore.

Some kind of Jelly Fungus?

Rhizina, growing on pine roots in a burned area.

Cryptoporus vulvatus.

Catathalasma, check out those scales!

Lachnellula, orange-yellow with a white border.

Scutellinia scutellata, the eyelash cup! It's so cute with the black fringe around the border!

Guepiniopsis again!
I was amazed at how many mushrooms and other fungi we found! August/September truely is the peak for high country fungi. Glad we were there for it!