Morrisons first morels

Morchella, true morel

If only Teofil's "Paruzchka"  had been interested when he strolled out along the river banks and into wooded areas, she could have learned to distinguish edible  from poisonous mushrooms, but she preferred to gather wild violets and other flowers.  If only Patty had paid attention when Rose went to the woods across from Uncle Carl's she could have learned the same.  But despite being the darling doted upon grandy of my grandparents, I was too busy being a busy child, playing with my dolls and later all the stages of growing up to care about gathering  mushrooms; nope, give me a Klondike bar, Popsicle or better yet, candy.  Their knowledge is lost to me and to the world now, gone forever, irretrievable and how I regret not knowing what my Polish grandparents knew.  

Today and throughout my adult life, I love mushrooms and use them in many dishes from the

A Polish black morel

Christmas Eve Polish mushroom soup for meatless dinner, stroganoff, accompaniment to steaks and even  with kapusta  and kluski (Polish for cabbage & noodles.)  We use mushrooms all year long.  I love to grill the  large portabellas and use them for a sandwich in lieu of meat. But ever since we moved to La Crescent,  each spring we see and hear about morel hunters and harvesters. I had never before heard of morels but sure was curious. Trouble is the morel hunters keep their beds and sources as secret as the moonshiners' stills in the south. There is no taking anyone else along to help search.  Morels are harvested in the woods and especially where trees have fallen then sold to middle men or directly driven to Chicago for a hefty price, sold to the finest grocers for the top scale restaurants.  I tried to purchase some through the local food co-op in La Crosse where specialty items abound, but no luck.  I was doomed to never taste a morel and because Patty is still a part of me, the more I heard and could not have the more frustrated I became.  I know some local mushroom hunters but could not entice them to part with any of their high cash crop so I could indulge my taste buds.  Nope, morels are in such demand that hunters can only supply their contractors for top dollars.   

In researching morels online I learned they grow throughout the country, even in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Wikipedia shares:   Morels have been called by many local names; some of the more colorful include dryland fish, because when sliced lengthwise then breaded and fried, their outline resembles the shape of a fish; hickory chickens, as they are known in many parts of Kentucky; and merkels or miracles, based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels. In parts of West Virginia, they are known as "molly moochers." Other common names for morels include sponge mushroom. Genus Morchella is derived from morchel, an old German word for mushroom, while morel itself is derived from the Latin maurus meaning brown.

I also found this information on line and learned that morels even have their own Facebook page.  "Delicate and elusive, morels are a gourmet prize that were once limited to those willing to muck around in the forest in search of these harbingers of spring. Today they are often found at farmers markets and specialty stores. They are fragile, highly perishable, and resist cultivation, so they tend to be pricey.   Morels are usually between two and four inches long, and range in color from pale cream to almost black. The darker the color of the morel, the smokier, nuttier, and earthier the flavor will be."  Oh if only our farmer's market were upscale enough...but La Crescent,  not.  

Flash to a couple weeks ago at our local farmer's market where the ones I call the Mushroom people sell mushrooms of all kinds, buttons, shitake, etc.  There at their table were dried morels!  OMG.  Whatever price they wanted I was willing to pay!  Surely the saints had guided me there, hallelujah!  When I asked how much and they said, "just $3.50 " I knew it was my lucky day." When I asked how to cook the morels, they told me to boil a cup of water to pour over the dried morels to reconstitute  let them sit and soak up the water much as they will for about an hour and then saute them in "plenty" of butter quickly.   They also recommended salt, but I am a freshwater cook so I skipped that.  Jerry on the other hand never saw a salt shaker he didn't like and use vigorously.  

I can report the morels are delicious; the tops resemble sponges and soak in the butter.  They had a stronger taste than other mushrooms and almost earthy.  But delicious.  We had them for dinner along with chicken breast bits and veggie pasta.  Here are photos of the process and the end meal on a plate.  Now I hope the Mushroom people will have more, they sell varied mushrooms and even a stump if one is interested to grow his own.  I know I pay more for their mushrooms than at the store, but they are very fresh and if I were not a devoted customer  before, I am now because they sold me morels and satisfied that nagging curiosity.  

Dried morels soaking in boiled water

Morel broth left in the bowl..beefy looking, I added it to the pan in
which I was sauteeing the morels in butter.

Morel barely sauteed in butter on plate, next to 2
penne pasta.  Morels were 2-3 inches long

Morels in skillet with chicken which was cooked ahead
Morels are sauteeing in plenty of butter

The grand meal awaits, morels are top right, above  chicken breast bits, and
a veggies with penne on the left...Divine dinner. Morels worth waiting for.