unnamed (3)It would make a cool centerpiece, if only it stayed like this forever!
unnamed (1)So all my Eastern European readers will understand this activity: Mushroom picking . When my sister and I were younger, instead of going to an amusement park on the weekends, we would grab some plastic bags, a knife and head out to a forest to go mushroom picking. Might sound kinda lame, but in Eastern Europe – specifically the Ukraine and Poland – this is something the kids get excited to do! It was kind of fun to “hunt” around for different mushrooms with my Dad and Dziadzia (grandfather) and learn about what features to look for to make sure it was safe.

Bringing them home and prepping them to eat was the BEST. We would clean them, saute them with some butter and onion and eat with some Polish Rye bread. The taste is so unique – you cannot get that from your local supermarkets!!

My neighbor went mushroom hunting (his grandfather was Polish) in the woods in our neighborhood and brought back some enormous Hen-of-the-Woods (Grifola frondosa) these can usually be found at the base of oak trees – which is exactly where he found them!He sold one to the chef at the hotel he works for for $100 , grilled one for his dinner and gave one to me to take home to my dad! We had some last night with some pierogi and it was amazing!! Check it out ( weighed 1.6 lbs)

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There is the Hen of the Wood restaurant in Vermont – wonder if they serve this!!? I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in that area.