Porcini Mushrooms

He is my accidental mushroom forager. It was an incredibly beautiful afternoon in early September when we happened upon these porcini mushrooms. That same morning, Scott had been educated on wild mushrooms of the season. So we were very excited when we chanced upon them unexpectedly. A kind gentleman recognized what we were gathering and offered us a bag for our treasures. Our benefactor just happened to be a chef from the eastern states and very much appreciated what we had found. The only difficult part of that afternoon was rushing home to make it to Stake Conference. It was such a great treasure hunt!

That evening we sampled our cache by sauteing a few of the perfect porcini in butter. Wow! Our new chef acquaintance was right; they are delicious!

To assure you that this is a recipe blog, I'll tell you that we dried the mushrooms in our dehydrator.  The old reliable Ball Blue Book recommends that the mushrooms be dipped in an acid solution to prevent browning. However, these porcini didn't need it at all. All I did was clean and sort them. Then the best were cut in 1/4 inch slices. The largest porcini took about 9 hours to completely dry at a low heat.

We have used these beautiful porcini in soups, omelets, and as a side dish cooked in butter. I am already looking forward to trying them in Thanksgiving stuffing. They are so fast and easy to hydrate and even the water used for plumping them back up has a wonderful flavor.

Now, the official disclaimer here will be to confirm that you know your wild mushrooms! If in doubt, throw it out! It is also wise to always cook wild mushrooms to nullify any toxicity.

By the way, we did not use the largest mushroom in Scott's hands. It was much too mature. We definitely prefer the smaller size.

Zucchini Relish

This recipe originated with Phyllis Winsor Stewart, Grandma Stewart. I don't like commercial sweet relish, but I love this recipe. In fact, I look forward to our hot dog roasts in the backyard because polish dogs are a great carrier for this relish. There are always plenty of over-grown zucchinis in the garden to initiate this recipe!

10 cups chopped zucchini

4 cups chopped onions

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

5 TB pickling salt, non-iodized

2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

3 cups sugar

1 TB ground tumeric

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 TB celery seed

Mix zucchini, onions, and peppers in a large bowl in the evening. (I do this after dinner.) Sprinkle the salt over the top of the vegetable mixture. Cover the bowl loosely and allow it to stand undisturbed overnight. This process helps to draw out the excess moisture.

The next morning, mix up the remaining six ingredients in a large pot to make syrup for the relish. Bring the syrup to a boil; then set the hot syrup off the heat and cover. (You'll want to cover the syrup and don't lean over the pot! It will clear your sinuses!)

Now rinse the salt from the vegetables. I use a fine colander to rinse the vegetables thoroughly in water in small batches and then squeeze out the moisture thoroughly. (An old pillowcase works really well for this.) This rinsed, drained mixture can be added to the hot syrup. When all of the vegetables are incorporated into the syrup, heat the relish to prepare it for a hot pack.

Fill pint mason jars with hot relish, leaving a 1/4 inch head space. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water-bath canner. Be sure to leave the jars on the counter to cool; this is tradition, adding to the anticipation of summer barbecues in the backyard.

Grandma Stewart's original recipe had double the amount of sugar that I use. I find this halved amount quite sweet and sufficient. I also use whatever summer squash I have on hand: gray or black zucchini, crookneck, patty pan. A combination of colors looks the best. I also use a food processor to chop the vegetables. This really speeds up the process.