Sunday 23 August 2015

Food for free.

Yesterday morning the farmer picked a pound of field mushrooms - beautiful young ones because left for long and they become full of maggots.   We had them for lunch cooked in butter with garlic and parsley and then made into omelettes.  With them we had peas picked straight from the vegetable garden.   Our own eggs, parsley and mushrooms - only the garlic had been bought in) - and some of the peas - I have frozen many bags for future use.  Only the garlic was bought; we have tried growing it but I fear we are too far North for it to be a great success.  There is a certain feeling of satisfaction at food for free (money that is, not hard work).  I had some nectarines which were obviously not going to ripen so I stewed them gently with a little sugar and we ate them with creme fraiche - delicious lunch.  Each to his own taste, looking at the photo below!

We were not the only ones to have food for free.   A female sparrow hawk swooped over the hedge opposite our kitchen window and snatched a collared dove.  Within a couple of minutes it had dragged it under the holly bush and proceeded to eat it.  Half an hour later it was still there and when something disturbed it it flew off for about ten minutes then returned to finish off its meal.  Gory and grotesque it might have been but then nature is cruel and the hawk has to eat. 

My son did not run in the veteran's race.   From early yesterday evening it was continuous sheet lightning all around us and there were occasional heavy showers.   The fell race takes place up Penn Hill and the ground would be wet and slippery - broken ankles are a real possibility.   By the time for Burning of Bartle the weather had improved somewhat - so I presume they went to see that - I shall no doubt find out later.

Lovely day here today.

16 comments:

Tom Stephenson said...

There is something really satisfying about foraging for your food, isn't there Weave?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes Tom - and we know it is much fresher than anything we buy (and cheaper of course).

Heather said...

Your lunch sounds all the more delicious for being homegrown/foraged, and mushrooms picked from the field are a luxury in my eyes.
Poor collared dove - at least it's death would have been quick and, as you say, the predator has to eat too.
Better to cancel the fell race than have accidents and injuries. Can it be run in better conditions later?

Joanne Noragon said...

You have such delicious meals!

jinxxxygirl said...

It is thundering and lightning and raining as i type this Pat. What was once early dawn has turned dark again. The rain is lovely. It could rain all day if it had a mind to but i think not... I had no idea you could find maggots on mushrooms... When i think of maggots.. not that i often do.. i think of them on meat... We used to eat alot out of my grandfathers garden when i was growing up...Not so much now.. Hugs! deb

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Forgaing for food would result in my own certain death....by phalloides or virosa

Devon said...

Weather is a fickle thing... you have more rain than needed and here is California it is so hot and dry the state is burning up.. everyone knows at least one person who's home has burned down in a forest fire. Not a drop of rain for months at a time. In so many ways, nature can be brutal!

Cro Magnon said...

Ah, the lure of a free lunch. Mushrooms going crazy here, and I've spent the day bottling. I think we now have enough for the year ahead. Rained this morning; lovely again now!

donna baker said...

Oh how I wish I knew which mushrooms were edible. I placed wooden plugs in bored holes of oak logs and nothing. They came from Oregon and their climate is totally different than mine. I just have no luck We do get puffball mushrooms that can grow quite large. When supposedly edible, they look like white bread when pulled apart. If you wait, they become full of brown/green spore dust, very nasty looking. I am too afraid to try them though I have been told you can eat them at the early stage. They'd probably kill me.

angryparsnip said...

What a wonderful lunch. I love mushrooms.
Like Donna, I would not know the mushrooms to eat.

cheers, parsnip

Rachel Phillips said...

Unless you are really sure don't.

Terry and Linda said...

Lots of mushroom hunters right now also. I've never learned how to tell the difference between poison and good mushrooms.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Frances said...

On this very pleasant Sunday evening in New York, it's been a pleasure to catch up with what has been going on in your own Yorkshire.

Sorry about the rain and its effect on the Farmer's season, and your son's event, yet from reading more, I realize that you all do have that excellent understanding of nature. Sometimes it is more generous than at other times. How great to have that abundance of mushrooms...mushrooms that are fresh and also known to be safe.

Your lunch sounds splendid.

Before I click that Publish button, I would also like to wish you all a happy anniversary. xo

Ольга said...

Puffball is edible, but tasteless. As cotton.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes, I wouldagree with Cro - the lure of a free lunch etc.
We only ever eat field mushroom and I have been eating them since I was a child, as has the farmer. I wouldn't attempt to eat any other kinds, although I know lots of people who forage at other times. Eastern Europeans in particular seem to know such a lot about which to pick and which are not safe.
Thanks to everyone.

Midmarsh John said...

I saw one report that stated there were over 10,000 lightning strikes recorded across the UK on Saturday.