Chanterelle Mushroom Hunting With Kids

Last year my family moved to the southern Oregon Coast and what an amazing place it is to live.  I was raised in the desert, where things only grew if you irrigated non stop.  Living here where there is lots of rain is so amazing.  One of the best things is that there is so much food growing in the woods and also in the ocean for those willing to make an effort.  After trying Chanterelle mushroom I must say I am addicted.  They taste amazing and have a wonderful meaty texture.

Fall mushroom hunting season has just begun and so we have been up every other day to play in the woods just a few minutes from our house.  Its so beautiful that even if we didn't find any I would still be happy. My children come with me and my youngest son loves to hunt, and eat, mushrooms.  I stick to the very easy to identify mushrooms as I'm too nervous to enjoy something I'm not absolutely sure about.

A frog we found looking for a princess

Bringing your children mushroom hunting is an education that cant be replaced.  I teach them about woodcraft, how to identify areas where certain wild foods are most likely to grow, safety from wild predators as we have bear, cougars, and coyotes (though we have yet to see any thank goodness), observations of animals we see, and also the importance of taking care of our wild places.



Where we consistently found the chanterelles was next to paths where the soil was loose and they got a little sunlight.  Also the ground had to be damp.  Also lots of other ground mushrooms growing was a good indicator that you would find chanterelles growing nearby. This pic is of our finds from a few hours yesterday.

Identified as turkey tail, medicinal use

 I am not an environmentalist or a green advocate. They seem to think humans are evil and the source of all destruction. But I see humanity as a great source of good for our planet in many ways.  My father was a hunter and wild food gatherer and taught me that if we want our children's children to be able to hunt, fish, or just enjoy nature we must preserve it and care for it.

Huckleberry Picking Time!

We went up to the mountains this weekend to go fishing at a lake and on the way ran into TONS of huckleberries.  If you've never had them they are way better than blue berries!  The kids loved picking (and eating) them and we ended up with over a gallon before heading onto the lake.  I froze 5 bags for pies this winter and then saved some for pies right now.  I really want to go up for some more.  Lots of other people were up picking too as huckleberries sell for a high price.  This year the harvest is reputed to be very good.

 

Wild Foraging - Morels, Fiddlehead Ferns, and Medicinals

I have to admit that I have terrible luck when it comes to morel hunting.  My husband and I can never seem to find the right elevation at the right time so we come back with maybe two.  Very sad!  But we like being up in the mountains so it's fun just to go up and ditz around.

A friend of mine however, has been morel hunting and wild foraging for years.  She is a botanist and outdoors woman and we made a date to go out morel hunting together.

Boy there sure is a difference in having an experienced person around! As you can see I did really well, but my friend got twice as many morels as I did.  We also picked a nice amount of fiddle head ferns to eat and several medicinals for my friend who has a health condition and knows the uses and preparation of the plants that can help.

Other things I tried on the march was sheep's sorrel, which is a sour salad type green.  It was very delicious and lemony.  I also got to try miners lettuce which was young and sweet.  We probably hiked a good 7 miles, a good amount of it up vertical hills!

 I had so much fun as we talked about our families, medicinal and food uses of the plants around us, and about life in general.  I learned a great deal too as she pointed out plant after plant and its uses.  I love being in the mountains and we saw so many beautiful things.  Although as I told her, the problem with morel hunting is your always looking down so you miss much of the beauty around you.  It was the most lovely spring day with sunshine but not too hot.  Here is the tiny-est little birds nest I found.  It was as small as a teacup.  That night we had morel rice pilaf, sautéed morels, fiddle head ferns, and trout we had caught and frozen.  So as they say BEST...DAY...EVER!