Illinois Press Book Blog

Joe McFarland, co-author of Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States, shot Chef Lasse Sorensen in the kitchen of Tom’s Place in DeSoto, Illinois, during the recent mushroom dinner, holding the Oyster Mushrooms with roasted oysters.

Here’s the recipe for Hedgehog Mushroom Salad (courtesy of Chef Mark Fontana, Bogey’s at Stone Creek, Makanda, Illinois) that was also served that evening.

Janine MacLachlan, author of the forthcoming University of Illinois Press book Seasonal Markets of the Heartland, has been blogging about her recent road trips. And, she’s taking pledges to help fund her travel:

Pledge $100 or more
LIMITED REWARD 4 of 6 remaining

Naming rights one of the first trees in my own small but growing orchard. You’ll have a choice between seckel pear, two Idareds or three unknown apple varieties initially planted by birds but transplanted and lovingly cared for. Plus an invitation to visit your tree if you find yourself in Fennville, Michigan. Homemade ginger ale included as you gaze at your tree from the red Adirondack chair.

The September 2, 2009, issue of the Chicago Tribune includes a profile of Joe McFarland and Gregory Mueller’s new book Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States.

If you thought wild mushroom hunting ended with the spring, then perhaps you’re hallucinating.

Joe McFarland and Gregory Mueller, authors of the new book Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois & Surrounding States, were interviewed August 4, 2009, on WGN-TV’s Midday News program.

The July 10, 2009, edition of Science Magazine features a review of The World of Soy.

Du Bois, Tan, and Mintz have done an excellent job combining a series of chapters from diverse authors into a seamless read. The World of Soy provides an informative account of a legume equally ancient and modern.

The new issue of Fungi magazine enthusiastically recommends Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States: A Field-to-Kitchen Guide.

Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States should be required reading by all wild mushroom hunters in the Midwest, especially beginners. It will be an instant success throughout the Midwest and beyond!

Growing in Chicago adds:

There are lots of luscious pictures of fungi, many of which will look familiar if you’ve ever taken a walk in the woods in spring or fall.

It’s all over for the majority of wild mushroom hunters in Illinois. That’s because the only wild mushroom most people trust and recognize—the morel—has now faded from the forests of Illinois.

Morels are spring mushrooms. But they’re finally finished for the year, and already morel hunters have wandered off to their different pursuits, none of which ever matters as much as the pursuit of morels. Morel hunters are now playing golf or maybe signing up for summer softball leagues. Some go fishing. Others are gardeners, preparing to grab weeds all summer. Still, ask any morel hunter and everyone will agree nothing compares to the hunt for wild mushrooms.

The thing is, all of those recent morel hunters honestly believe mushroom hunting is finished for the year simply because the only mushroom they know—the morel—is now history. For the record, I am perfectly happy to walk alone in the woods. I’ll hike in solitude for many months after morel season, quietly hunting for mushrooms nobody else picks, even in December. If nobody else realizes there are fresh wild mushrooms available nearly all year—some of those mushrooms better than morels—I am happy to appreciate them alone.

I’ve always believed a person ought to spend some time alone in the woods anyway, just to be out there.

*****

Joe McFarland is a staff writer for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources magazine Outdoor Illinois and co-author of the new book Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States.

The Chicago Sun-Times suggests that you attend the launch party for Joe McFarland and Gregory Mueller’s new book Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States at the Chicago Botanic Garden on May 23.

You get about a month. That’s as long as morel mushroom season lasts wherever you live in Illinois, starting from the very first morel somebody shouts they’ve found—the first morel of the season—until the last fresh morels aren’t quite fresh anymore and begin to rot away in the forest. In a good year, a good morel hunter might manage to find a few reasonably fresh morels in the fifth week, barely. It’s a stretch. But then they’re finally all gone.

It’s now the end of fresh morel season in southern Illinois where I live. The first morels were picked in late March, and it’s been a very good year. There was plenty of rain with moderate, cool temperatures and, until the last days of April, there hadn’t been any hot, windy days in southern Illinois. Morel hunters are now satisfied, and that’s a mood that happens only once every ten or fifteen years during these great morel seasons. (more…)

Claudette Roulo went mushroom hunting with Joe McFarland, co-author of Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States.