Potato pancakes with runny eggs and truffle oil

"Sundays are meant for two things. One is pancakes. The other one is R rated". ~Me

Oh how much I love Sundays! When getting out of bed in the morning is optional. Coffee in bed. Relaxing, feeling lazy and treating yourself to food. Quite often my Sundays end up being all breakfast food all day long - no restrictions, no diets, no promises to stop with this last bite, when you really don't want to. Sundays are so many good things. They just tend to end very quickly, but oh well - so do so many other good things.

This morning I think I already knew what I'm having for breakfast before opening my eyes! But then again - I have some studying to do, so this Sunday has some procrastination on the list as well... In such cases, of course, coffee, food and everything else "more important" comes first.

Barley soup with dried mushrooms

It's not a diet! It's called eating healthy!

'Tis the season! Days are getting shorter and the air crispier. It is the beginning of November and I can't help but notice how commercial Christmas is becoming - lights and decorations are already out in some of the stores. I guess it is human nature to do the opposite from what you are pushed towards to. They wanna make me buy more stuff? Well I get in the mood of spending less on everything. How about that? My wallet tends to go on a "no spend" diet, while my body starts craving comfort food with the weather getting colder. Those dark long nights make you want to crawl under a blanket with something warm to eat and read a book, watch a movie or just cuddle with the loved one.

Egg noodles with forest mushrooms and soy

"Fast food is popular because it's convenient, it's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu."

I think a lot of people over complicate things. In many aspects of life - and since food is one of the most important ones - in eating too. Lately mankind succumbs to the influence of fast paced days. Everyone is in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things simultaneously. And although in the end of the day the result maybe is not what we aimed for, but we sure did feel busy. Rush to work in the morning, early meetings before lunch, a quick bite on the way somewhere paying less attention towards content versus time getting on your plate and down your throat or lunch with someone important when you don't even taste what's on your plate, because the "deal" is more important. The perception is wrong! We need to slow down - allow ourselves to sit, relax and actually enjoy every single bite of what we're eating.

Curry crepes with mushrooms and veggies

“Love is like breakfast with Mildred. Who’s Mildred? How the heck should I know? I don’t eat breakfast.” Jarod Kintz

Spending a weekend over at friends' cabin with a huge and well equiped kitchen, it was beyond a pleasure to do all the cooking. Well, not all - my friend prepared the octopus (braised in Cava, with sun dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs - seriously, to die for and on my to do list for Raspberry-Flavor!) and eggplant lasagne with mushroom ragu (as good!). 

Omlette with false morels

“Although I can not lay an egg, I am a very good judge of omelettes.” – George Bernard Shaw

My kind of meditation is a walk in a forest. Picking mushrooms! There are slight inconveniences in winter with that, nevertheless, I still have this habit of looking out for mushrooms. Even a few nights ago, when I went for a walk with a few friends, I kept on looking out for mushrooms, although it was already getting dark. Maybe you wouldn't believe it, but I found one! These are among the first ones to come out each year - False Morel or Beefsteak mushrooms.

Barley risotto with porcini and fresh thyme

"Falling in love is like eating mushrooms. You never know if it's the real thing until it's too late!"

I'm back on track to empty my fridge! Last year was unbelievably generous with mushrooms. Facebook was loaded with everyone's photos of porcini. Those gorgeous mushrooms where growing even in places where usually you wouldn't find them. At some point it was even beyond a joke. One morning, when I was staying at my parent's cabin, we took dogs out for a walk with my Dad, while enjoying our morning coffee on the go. Found so many porcini on the side of the road, that we had to rush back for a huge basket! Needless to say, whatever we cooked included mushrooms!

Omlette with smoked mackerel, broccoli and mushrooms

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.”

― A.A. Milne

My favorite meal of the day! And I think I can claim that this is my favorite omlette - or rather one of the favorites - plus or minus broccoli, spinach or some other greens. The first time I ever tried an omlette with smoked mackerel was at a restaurant. With such amazing ingredients couldn't figure out how it could be that plain and bland. 

And what a treat on a day when you can sleep in, wake up when you're done with sleep and not when the alarm tells you to and then enjoy a long leisurely breakfast with a cup of coffee! 

Omlette with chanterelles and potatoes

“This recipe is certainly silly. It says to separate the eggs, but it doesn't say how far to separate them.” Gracie Allen

Good morning, Sunshine! For the time being - at least on the plate :). And but the way, this recipe doesn't require to separate eggs, unless you're after the super healthy white omlette. My weekend breakfast choices usually include eggs in some shape and form. My favorite combination ever - eggs and mushrooms. I tend to save mushrooms in my freezer and use them sparingly, so I still have some when there is little time left for their season to start and I can enjoy fresh ones. Needless to say, I still have some saved up.

Barley, chanterelle and spinach risotto

"The trouble with eating italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you are hungry again!"

I love risotto. There are many different risotto recipes with different ingredients, but they are all based on rice cooked in a standard procedure. I've always been cooking it with Arborio or Carnaroli rice. In Italy a much wider variety besides those mentioned is used - Baldo, Maratelli, Padano, Roma, and Vialone Nano. 

Risotto with porcini

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." Virginia Wofl

A while ago making risotto seemed like a big deal until I tried it the very first time, following the general rules of cooking risotto. It turns out to be a simple, subtle and very satisfying dish. My favorite is with mushrooms - usually porcini or chanterelles - and sometimes I go with the seafood.

And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE mushroom picking. Finding porcini is like the best treat or like finding real treasure on a treasure hunt. Here are some shots from this year's mushroom picking - just look at those beauties... Mmm... 

Egg muffins

"A hen is only an egg's way to make another egg". 

Samuel Butler (19th century British author)

I guess this is a perfect answer to the question "what comes first" a hen or an egg. For me eggs are one of the best and most rewarding ingredients ever! You can cook and eat them pretty much any way you want. I really cannot think of any other product that would be as versatile.

So... Continuing the "healthy stuff" story (in other words also - for those who are getting ready for the summer) - this is super easy to make, can be done the night before, stored in the fridge for a couple of days, eaten hot or cold. It makes a perfect snack in between the meals or can serve as the meal itself, depending on the ingredients. I stole the idea from one post on Facebook and improvised the way I saw fit.

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk Mushroom... (Also known as Leccinum aurantiacum)

"Falling in love is like eating mushrooms, you never know if it's the real thing until it's too late"
All mushrooms are edible. Some - only once, but this is not the case :).

Took me a while to find the right english name for this mushroom online. Unfortunately the dictionary didn't give any options, but the all powerful google helped.

I've been browsing through my Dad's photos last weekend and came across the photo that definitely wanted to post and praise this forest treat a little. So please meet Mr. Red-Capped Scaber Stalk Mushroom:

It's been on the favorite menu in our family as long as I can remember and has remained the status to date. When the time comes for them to show up in the forrest, it's already like a tradition - my Mom is the first one to go out and find it and then we follow.

In our kitchen at home this mushroom is dried, boiled and then cooked or cooked fresh, basicly - used in any shape and form, valued as highly as porcini/boletus. Often, when fresh out of the forest, cooked very simply - in butter with a bit of garlic, salt, pepper and herbs. Heavenly!

Let's go a bit "scientific" - as long as it can be refered to as such in wikipedia:

Description

The cap is orange-red and measures up to 8 in (20 cm) across. Its flesh is white, bruising at first burgundy, then grayish or purple-black. The underside of the cap has very small whitish pores that bruise olive-brown. The stem measures 4-7 in (10-18 cm) tall and to a ¾-1¼ in (2-3 cm) thick and can bruise blue-green. It is whitish, with short, rigid projections or scabers that turn to brown to black with age.
[edit]Distribution and habitat

Leccinum aurantiacum can be found fruiting during summer and autumn in forests throughout Europe and North America. The association between fungus and host tree is mycorrhizal.

In Europe, Leccinum aurantiacum has been traditionally known to be associated with poplars (Populus). There exists some debate about the classification of L. aurantiacum and L. quercinum as separate species. According to authors who do not recognise the distinction, L. aurantiacum is also found with oak (Quercus). Additionally, L. aurantiacum has been recorded with various other deciduous trees includingbeech (Fagus), birch (Betula), chestnut (Castanea), willow (Salix), and Tilia.[1] L. aurantiacum is not known to associate with conifers in Europe.

North American populations have been recorded in coniferous as well as deciduous forests, though it remains uncertain whether collections from coniferous forests are not L. vulpinum instead. In addition, L. aurantiacum may be absent altogether from North America, with collections from deciduous forests being attributed to other North American species L. insigne, and L. brunneum.[2]
[edit]Use

This is a favorite species for eating and can be prepared as other edible boletes. Its flesh turns very dark on cooking. Like most members of the Boletaceae, these mushrooms are popular with maggots. See reference below. Due to a number of poisonings and the difficulty identifying species, Leccinum may not be considered safe to eat. This species also needs to be cooked well (not parboiled) or else it may cause vomiting or other negative effects. It is commonly believed that this species can cause problems with digestion if not cooked properly. Portable kitchens and other simple solutions are therefore not recommended for cooking.

Potato gnocchi with creamy chanterelle sauce

Gnocchi (English pronunciation: /ˈnɒki/, /ˈnjɒki/; Italian: [ˈɲɔkki], singular gnocco)

Easily got addicted to watching the Top Chef series. I feel hungry for anything new I can get my hands on to learn more about food, cooking it, tasting it and pairing it with wine. And yet I must admit to having some blond gene... I honestly thought "gnocchi" is pronounced different - imagine reading this in english "gnochi"... So imagine my surprise when watching Top Chef, already in the first season I kept on hearing about it and was puzzled how come I don't know what it was untill I saw how the actual "gnocchi" look like... Once again - very blond... And would have remained as such if my boyfriend didn't spell it for me so I could google it... Had them a number of times, made them myself and yet - such a simple discovery! Unbelievable...

Mushroom and fennel risotto... Inspired by empty stomach and love for risotto!

"Rice is born in water and must die in wine." Italian proverb

Today is October 22nd, Saturday. It is sunny yet chilly and hard enough to believe that at this time of year I was still able to find mushrooms in the forest. After a long late breakfast with Zucchini - ricotta fritters, a long walk in the forest with my Mom and dogs was the perfect choice. Besides mushrooms, we also brought back some wild thyme and oregano that I used in making the risotto. 

Eggplant stuffed with dried porcini risotto oven baked with parmigiano reggiano crust...

Wikipedia: Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency

I absolutely love risotto! Especially with mushrooms - let it be chanterelles, porcini or any other kind of good mushroom. Top that with hand picked mushrooms in the forest by yourself - makes it so much tastier and exciting!

Mushroom picking in itself is already an adventure. Spending all of my summers by the forest while growing up kind of got it in my blood. When the mushroom season begins, I just have to spend time walking in the forest with the dogs and helping myself to all the treasure that can be found there. Last year was amazing for all kinds of mushrooms and I still have quite a stock of dried porcini and chanterelles. Well, correction - the stock is quickly reducing since I have been making quite a bit of mushroom risotto lately and also have used a part of it for the creamy pumpkin soup.