Life in Marin (Title Stolen from Mike)

I finally decided to go out mushroom hunting again. Since this is only my second year trying this, I'm not sure what's normal, but it doesn't seem like there's as many mushrooms in general this year as there were last year. Still, I took some pictures of my walk so all you folks out there can get a feel of what it's like here if you've never visited.

I can always count on these Black Elfin Saddle mushrooms to grow around campus.

Here's some Chanterelles of the FALSE variety. It's so disappointing when you find these cuz when you first spot them, you get excited thinking you've found a bunch of huge yellow Chanterelles. Unfortunately, these False Chanterelles are poisonous. I checked my usual spot for the real ones, but there weren't any there. I wonder if someone else knows about that spot...

SFTS is beautiful. 'Nuff said.

Marin is kind of a quirky place. Take, for example, this UFO parked in front of this person's house.

This is a picture from inside their courtyard. I'm assuming the person that lives here is some kind of artist.

Witch's Butter. Pretty gross looking, isn't it?

I almost walked right by this cup type mushroom. It blended right in with the dead leaves.

A bunch of cool-looking red mushrooms growing around the graduation field.

And, of course, the Stinkhorn Lattices are back.

My loot for the day. Pretty sad, but at least it was something.

Day 175 (The Bounty of SFTS)

Because I am more than the sum of my parts and don't want to be identified by what I am as opposed to who I am, I am changing the format of by blog titles. I was having a weird moment at Abiding Way today; I haven't been there in 2 weeks. The last time I went was the Sunday after I had coffee with the pastor and we talked about our differences in theology. Today's sermon was about how Jesus changes lives, and I sat there the whole time scared that he was going to make some kind of negative remark about gay people. Not exactly how I want to feel when I go to church. I could barely focus on the sermon because all I kept thinking about was how I was supposed to react when he does make a negative reference to homosexuals. I figured I could just leave and never come back, but what would that really accomplish.

Luckily, we were able to make it through the service without a showdown. One of the guitar players in the band invited me over to watch the Superbowl, but I told him I had too much homework to do. This is true, even if I probably wouldn't watch the Superbowl if I had no homework whatsoever.

When I got back to the school, I decided it was time to do some foraging. I don't know if any of you remember the weird wrinkled black mushroom I took a picture of a few weeks back.

It's called a black elfin saddle, scientific name helvella lacunosa, and I originally wasn't going to try to eat it because it seemed like it would disappear to almost nothing when I cooked it. Well, they started popping up all over the school! As I was telling Kimberlee, when you put enough insubstantial things together, pretty soon you end up with something substantial, and I figured there were enough of the things growing to cook up something. Here's a picture of my haul!

This one was as big as my hand!

Miner's lettuce has also started to sprout up everywhere, so I decided to pick some of that to cook with the mushrooms. All of this (the mushrooms and the lettuce) was collected from the campus. Miner's lettuce, as its name implies, tastes like lettuce if you eat it raw, and spinach if you cook it, but it doesn't have that weird alkaline thing that spinach does.

I found this huge one growing in the shade. You can't tell all that well, but it's kind of variegated with green and yellow. The flowers grow in the middle of the circular leaves, so it's really easy to identify this plant.

This is a normal sized one, about the size of a quarter.

And, this is the finished dish! As you can see, the vegetable shrunk a lot.I sautéed the mushrooms with olive oil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and then threw the miner's lettuce in the end just to wilt it. It was delicious, and although all of the stuff that I've read on the Internet says that this mushroom doesn't really taste like anything, I found that they did have a unique "musky-mushroomy" flavor that went really well with the other flavors. This mushroom is easy to identify because no other mushroom in the area look like it, except for false morels, but those are brown, and it seems like it would lend itself well to almost any dish you would want to put it in, so it gets a thumbs up from me!

While we're on the topic, if you do choose to pick wild mushrooms, please be careful! Do your homework and absolutely do not eat any mushroom unless you are 100% sure of what it is. Only you can prevent mushroom poisonings!!!

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 166 (Chanterelles)

Kimberlee, Haley and I went on another walk today, and I came prepared with a small kit I had put together just in case we came across some edible mushrooms. It consisted of a very large plastic container, a steak knife and a medium sized brush inside of a small backpack. I knew we would be walking up the path that passes the chanterelle and blewitt patches that I've found. What I was not prepared for was the sudden downpour that we found ourselves in.

When we arrived at the chanterelle patch, it seemed like there was nothing there, so we kept walking. But, as I was about to leave, I noticed a disturbed spot of earth and leaves that looked like something was pushing up from underneath. I brushed some of the leave aside an found 2 enormous chanterelles! I'm not sure if it's a varietal thing, but the chanterelles that I have found there always seem to be just barely breaking the surface, and are quite really after they're picked, quite unlike this pretty "cooking show" quality mushroom in the picture above. It's so weird how they're just growing there by this guy's driveway. I had to cut the bigger one in half just to fit it into the container and it had the most beautiful earthy apricot fragrance. I hope I'm not taking mushrooms from someone who's expecting them to be there, LOL.

It started raining shortly after that, and the only blewitt we found was infested with worms, but it was at a completely new patch, so now I know of yet another place to find them! It's too bad that they get infested so fast, because they seem to be really common around here.

By the time we got back to the apartments, we were soaked. None of us had brought an umbrella.

It took me a while to clean the dirt off of the chanterelles, and following a tip I found on the Internet, prepared them simply by sautéing them in some butter. The website said they would taste almost like steak that way, which I think was a bit of a stretch, but I can see how they would be a really great meat substitute. Texture-wise, these things are amazing! I can't wait to go chanterelle hunting for real in a forest! I just need to figure out where a good place to look would be.

I'm finally hanging out with my Aunt Ellen tomorrow. She lives in South San Francisco, but I haven't seen her since before the Fall term started. Hopefully the weather's better!

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 163 (Mushroom Time With Charles)

Yes, it is Mushroom Time! (I know you are all super excited!) I'm not sure if it's the rain or just the time of year, but the mushrooms I've been finding have been really, really weird lately!

Just found this one today. I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye through the ivy, and I didn't even recognize it as a mushroom at first because it was so big! It was the size of a dessert plate! I took a picture of the sign behind it for Baird Hall for scale.

Some amazing colors coming up. The orange finger things (sorry for the quality of the picture) were like highlighter orange! These were growing by the spot where I found the candy caps.

This Alice in Wonderland specimen was also found there.

The color isn't quite what it should be for these guys, but they were kind of translucent and they looked like they were filled with a bright yellow light.

more of the red 'shrooms that grow everywhere...

This sea sponge looking thing is growing in the ivy by the stairs to Oxtoby. Isn't it cute?

I like to tell people that this one looks like a pile of spaghetti. It's growing on the hill behind Oxtoby.

I found these on the hill on the way to Holy Grounds. Isn't it weird looking? It's called a black elfin saddle and is apparently edible, but it seemed a little too insubstantial to deal with.

I was so excited when I found this 'cuz I've always wanted to see one. It was growing by the entrance to the parking lot in front of Scott Hall. I think it's commonly known as an earth star.

I found these alien finger things while on a hike with Tom. They were growing everywhere!

This one looked like an ear growing out of the ground.

These are some of the other mushrooms we found on that hike.

Hope you enjoyed! Next time you go on a walk or a hike, keep an eye out for these guys. They're interesting and weird and will make your time outside that much more meaningful!

Gay Guy in Seminary Day 158 (Fool)

I just finished reading Fool yet another of Christopher Moore's books, much loved author of such titles as Lamb, A Dirty Job, and The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Fool is a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear from the viewpoint of the fool. I don't really know anything about King Lear, so I can't really do a comparison of the two, but I can tell you that Fool is a rollicking good time. However, if you are sensitive to vulgarity, swearing, shagging, crudeness, irreverence, anachronisms, or just plain silliness, this may not be the book for you.

The basic story is that King Lear is getting old, and just a touch senile. Two of his daughters take advantage of this fact to bolster their inheritance, while his youngest, who truly loves him, is basically exiled. The fool, displeased with this turn of events, takes matters into his own hands, and mayhem ensues. Oh yes, and there's a ghost. There's always a bloody ghost.

In other news:

David, Terra, Ian, Gavin, Rus, Matthias and I resumed our D&D game. I think things are going much smoother now, although we still are not 100% comfortable with the game mechanics. Still, it was much more enjoyable than previous sessions now that everyone is getting more into it.

I was finally going to cook the blewitt mushroom that I found the other day, but somehow it was already riddled with holes from some insects that had been living inside of it. I literally picked it about 2 days after it popped up out of the ground. How it got infested so fast, I have no idea.

Finally made an appointment to see a doctor. Can't run out of blood pressure medication. That. Would. Be. Bad.

Gay Guy in Seminary Day 157 (The Lovely Bones)

I just got back from watching The Lovely Bones with Faith. What a great movie! Of course, they had to leave a lot of what happened in the book out of the movie, other wise it would have been too long, but the movie was really, really, really well done! I always get worried when I go to see a movie adaptation of a book that I really like, because Hollywood has a way of messing these things up, but I think Peter Jackson really hit the ball out of the park with this one. Lord knows he has enough directing experience, and with an all-star cast and amazing source material, he would have had to try pretty hard to mess it up. Thank God, he didn't.

For those unfamiliar with the story, it is about a 14-year-old girl named Suzy Salmon that is murdered. This happens right at the beginning, and I'm pretty sure it's in the trailer, so I'm not ruining anything for you. She watches her friends and family continue their lives without her and struggles with moving on, even as they struggle to move on without her. Obviously, this is not a happy-go-lucky feel-good movie. It will, hopefully, make you reconsider the way you look at the world, as all good stories should.

In other news:

The candy cap mushrooms I have been neglecting have started to dry and now smell really, really, really strongly of maple syrup. I will need to bring them to class so that everyone can trip out on them.

The Chinese fast food place at the Northgate Mall food court has some of the best chicken wings I have ever tasted! They're lightly breaded, deep fried and have a touch of ginger. I would have bought some after the movie to bring home, but they were closed by then.

Faith got a new cast on her foot because the doctor found a crack in her bone. I'm not sure where exactly, but I'm gonna guess somewhere in her ankle. We're hoping it comes off in 3 weeks.

I'm officially tired of the rain, but if I understand it right, this is only the beginning.

I watched a video of a scribe who is part of Torah writing exhibit at a museum in San Francisco. She is writing the entire thing from start to finish using all of the exact same tools and techniques that scribes have been using to write the Torah of thousands of years. It a truly awe inspiring and Holy work. If you want to learn more, click here: http://www.thecjm.org/index.php?option=com_ccevents&scope=exbt&task=detail&oid=43

Gay Guy in Seminary Day 152 (Halfway Point)

Thus ends the 2nd week of the Hebrew intensive. Blogging super late today because I was super distracted. Went for a super long walk with Tom & Kimberlee after class, collected pine spike and candy cap mushrooms, although I am going to do a little bit more research to make sure the mushrooms I think are candy caps actually are candy caps before I eat them. Then I showed Tom The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, and he showed me The Bear, which is a ridiculously anthropomorphic movie about bears for anyone who hasn't seen it. Wrapped up the day with lot of Magic: The Gathering with Rus & Tom.

Tomorrow morning's the bid "coffee date" with the Baptist minister. Not sure what's going to happen, but I'm sure it will be interesting. I'll keep you posted. XD

Gay Guy in Seminary Day 149 (More Fun With Mushrooms)

Some more local shrooms:

I went on a walk with Marlene today in the rain. It wasn't a mushroom hunt, but I brought my camera just in case. At most, I thought we might find some blewitts. As we were huffing our way up a hill, I caught a glimpse of yellow on the side of the road. I walked over, thinking it was just going to be another mushroom, but when I got closer, I noticed the ruffled edges. We were not walking in the woods, so I thought there was very little chance we could have stumbled across a patch of chanterelles. I tried to look underneath to see the gills, as that would be the tell-tall sign for whether or not they were indeed the much sought after chanterelle mushrooms, but they were growing too low to the ground. Finally, curiosity and a small dash of hope and excitement won the battle in my head and I decided to just pull one of them up to look. I couldn't believe it! The gills were more like wrinkles, just like chanterelles were supposed to have, and it was very hefty for its size, another feature of chanterelles. It was a chanterelle! I quickly pulled up the other two, one of which was a monster at 4 inches across, and put them in my jacket pocket as I had not thought to bring anything to carry possible mushroom finds.

In my excitement, I failed to take a picture of them as we found them on the ground, but here are two of them sitting on Marlene's stove about to become a sauce for our pasta:

They were good, but I find it hard to justify their $20.00 a pound market price. Still, It was a very exciting find and we will definitely be keeping tabs on the area where we found them for any future tasty morsels! :-)

Gay Guy in Seminary Day 146 (The Weekend)

When I woke up this morning and realized it was Saturday, I was beyond relieved. I don't know if I can take another 2 and a half weeks of this Hebrew intensive. Crazy day today. Finally left the apartment around noon to buy bottled water for Faith 'cuz she's on crutches and water in glasses is hard for her right now. Studied some Hebrew with Terra. Went for a walk with Kimberlee and EunJoo. We found another blewitt patch at the entrance to Phoenix Lake, but there was just one big one that looked too old. Showed The Gamers: Dorkness Rising to Terra, Rus and Ian. Studied more Hebrew with Kimberlee.

I sauteed the blweitts in some butter today and ate a small piece. I froze the rest. If I have no reaction, I'll scramble them with some eggs. I must say it smells delicious in my apartment right now.

Watched some videos on mushroom hunting and did some more research. This is quickly turning into an obsession.

Gay Guy in Seminary Day 145 (Shroom Walk)

I realized recently that the area I live in is inundated with mushrooms. They're everywhere, and they come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Every since I was little, I have been obsessed with mushrooms. I think it's 'cuz they can be so weird. Anyway, it has been a lifelong dream of mine to pick wild mushrooms and cook and eat them. While I was on a walk 2 days ago, I noticed some purplish mushrooms that looked like one of the edible mushrooms I have seen in mushroom guide books.

I did some research, and it turns out that they were probably blewitt mushrooms, one of the most common edible mushrooms in the Bay Area. Blewitt means "blue hat". Because of their unusual coloring, it is basically impossible to misidentify them with any other mushroom that grows in the area. To be on the safe side, I took a spore print by placing one of the caps on a dark piece of paper overnight. If they were indeed blewitt mushrooms, they would have a white or light beige spore print.

Sure enough, the spore print was white!

This big one was infested with fly larvae, so I had to throw it away :-(

I'm gonna cook the other two tomorrow and eat a little bit to see if I have any kind of negative reaction. The websites say that some people can have an allergic reaction, even if the mushrooms are normally safe for most people to eat. If nothing happens after a week, I'll eat the rest of it. If something bad happens to me... you know why...

Because of my fascination with mushrooms, I took my camera on my walks yesterday and today to digitally capture some of the more interesting varieties. These are some of the mushrooms growing around the campus and surrounding neighborhoods:

This one felt like a deflated balloon.

This one kind of looks like one of the pictures I've seen of oyster mushrooms, but it is growing out of the ground, so I can't be sure. It could be growing from wood buried beneath the ground, but I don't feel like digging to find out.

These button mushroom looking things grow everywhere. I wish there was some way to know for sure that they were safe to eat, 'cuz that would mean free food everywhere popping out of the ground!

This guy was growing out of a cliff from the root of a eucalyptus. The whole scene was very "natury/fantasy" looking.

My first banana slug! I didn't realize until today that they lived here. This guy was HUGE!!! He was sitting on top of a big yellow mushroom... kind of Alice in Wonderlandy.

These one's take the prize for weirdest mushroom I have ever seen in my entire life! They had this weird greenish gray slime inside that smelled pretty bad.

I think they start out as these white clusters and then the red ball thing bursts out of it.

When the mushroom dies, it looks like a bag of exploded guts.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of mushroom land!