FUNGI-LICIOUS

When most folks hear the word "fungus" they think of something gross growing on leftovers or between their toes.  Not often does the word evoke true excitement or even mouth watering tales when a big batch of "fungi" are encountered.  But it's that time of year when America's favorite fungi, the morel mushroom, is popping up all over the country.

The window of opportunity is short for finding these delicacies and typically lasts only a few weeks.  Mushroom hotspots are guarded closely and I'm certain some hardcore shroom hunters have gone to the grave with their locations.  Some people are addicted to mushroom hunting and I've got one friend who has already spent countless hours walking, searching the Internet for rainfall totals and on the phone with others trying to increase his odds for success.  He's good at it, too, and it generally pays off in the form of pounds of the tasty morsels.     

I got a phone call from an older gentleman asking questions about morels as he'd found 19 in his front yard in the city limits of Wichita.  I told him they were deadly, not to touch them and I'd be right over to remove them and keep him and his family out of harm's way.  We had a good laugh and he asked how much they were worth these days.  He remembered $6 a pound years ago.  I told him I knew of people buying and selling them today for $20 a pound.  He was shocked.  He asked if people could plant them to grow or if they were grown commercially.  He answered his own question "I guess if you could do that they wouldn't be $20 a pound, huh?"

Their elusiveness, if a stationary piece of fungus can be that, is likely most of their mystique and draw.  They are highly regarded as tasty and they definitely don't disappoint.  They pretty much go with any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner and many regulars like them with a mess of deep fried crappie fillets.  It's making me hungry and my mouth water just thinking about it. 

There's still time to get out and look if you're of the notion.  Me?  I've looked a few times and come up empty.  I don't have too much luck finding them and it can be a lot of work and the ticks and poison ivy can be brutal.  I think I've figured out I like FINDING morels better than I like HUNTING for them.  That being said, I'm glad I have friends like the one I mentioned who is willing to share.  I just hope he finds enough every spring he tires of eating them!