¡Felices Fiestas! & Merry Christmas!

 

Se Ha Ido un Buen Amigo

 El pasado Sábado Santo, en su domicilio particular, falleció el periodista Carlos Novoa a los 63 años.

Una p----------a.

Durante   los últimos 2 años en el programa de RPA "Oído Cocina",   tuve el placer de realizar  una colaboración de manera semanal con Carlos . 

Entre buena música, chistes y risas, hemos compartido recetas de setas, conservas tanto de  la cocina Asturiana  como de la  Inglesa. Una delicia.

Descansa en paz en su cielo "Azul"

Foto: Junto A Carlos en estudios de La Buena Tarde de RPA (El Llano-Gijón) 

Kenneth y familia

In English

Do you like our Blog?

As you can see, we're not pros but we really enjoy ourselves! Why not contact us from wherever you are,send us short friendly articles,ideas and recipes,foraging news from your area of the wide-world or anything else you feel might fit in.

Contact us on: micogastronomiaasturiana@gmail.com

Primeros Espárragos Serranos

 Jeremy nos enseña cómo coger estos primeros espárragos silvestres y nos da una pequeña clase de inglés.

¡Pronto llegarán la setas de Cardo!

¡Quedate en Casa!, Stay at Home!

Una versión  de Gaitas  a cargo de la Banda Gaita Avante (Cuideiru) y Banda El Carbayon.

¿ Y qué Hacemos con tantos Níscalos?

Pues ,¡ A congelar!.

A ver si Kenneth nos dan sus consejos.

NB-Hombre, esta maravilla hay que aprovecharla, por que esto no nos pasa todos los días y como buenos recolectores debemos aprovechar todo lo que cogemos y si no lo correcto es  dejarlo en el campo.

Preparación:

Una vez limpios y troceados, poner una sarten con 50% aceite de oliva y 50% de mantequilla, calentar y meter setas 5 minutos(sin frier). 

Se sacan y se dejan enfriar para una vez frios se guarden en bolsas de congelación o tuppers.

Kenneth.

Cuando hay esos días de lluvia , oscuros  y no sabemos muy bien a donde ir   en cualquier mañana, una buena opción es ir a visitar nuestro maravilloso Jardín Botánico y disfrutar  del maravilloso trabajo  en Forma de Catálogo dirigido por Enrique con especial mención a nuestra querida Marta.

ENHORABUENA.

Kenneth

BACK TO NORMAL.

Little time have we had since Christmas to dedicate ourselves to The Blog. 

Hospital visits, dodgy knees, U K trips, a great Wedding, a splendid Confirmation,

Jose Manuel overworked but satisfied, my new radio programme taking up a lot

Of my time and more things not worthy of mention.

Even so, some foraging has been done, first Morels and now the first Chanterelles.

So here at the end of June we need rain in the mountains and sun on the coast.

From figures published this week, seemingly more Brits are visiting Asturias, keep

It up, we need the income! 

Kenneth.

AUTUMN 2014 PART 2.

  By the 12th of september we were foraging in Western Asturias for Juan´s favourites,Lactarius. Over the mountains down in Leon,they don´t start getting these until well into Octobre so we were eager to get into our old hunting-grounds among the pines.

 But by the beginning of October things changed.The first two weeks with baskets full of Deliciosus, Semisanguiflous and others which are all edible, but not being mycologists we are not sure on the species.

 Then,the weather changed from cool rainy days to warm and humid and we began to find carpets of mushrooms full of bugs and creepy-crawly things.The same happened with Boletes and Russulas,but anyway in Asturias with breathtaking views,impressive woodlands,wonderful food and great company, who can complain?

 In the 3rd part,i´ll tell you about Novembre and December,the best for foraging and time-out to get on with preserving with several new and unusual recipes.

Kenneth

2014-AUTUMN IS A SEASON FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING

I´m getting told off for neglecting this blog but here we are again and i´ll try to put you up-to-date on happenings here in Northern Spain.

 First let me tell you it hasn´t been up to other years but it´s been enjoyable. As I mentioned earlier on,Summer was great.Warm,rainy and not as hot as usual,so my favourites were in abundance; cantharellus cibarius,tubaeformis,litescens and craterellus cornucopioides.In fact, taking away The horn of plenty,the others stayed on until almost Xmas!

 It´s funny with Chanterelles,in the Summer they´re much smaller and  with a robust flavour whereas by Novembre their size can be impressive and with that apricot flavour and a bit more chewy.

 I never dry them them now but the others before-mentioned have dried better than ever.

 Next day i´ll go on to Lactarius and Boletus and how we got so let down.

Kenneth.

  

SUMMER IS A-COMING-IN.

I thought i´d  get down to bring you up to date on life up here in rainy Asturias,beginning with a very useful Xmas present from my children. They,ve tried my dehydrated mushrooms over  he years  with their favourite being the ground-up boletus flour.

So i now have a Rommelsbacher food dehydrator,model  DA750 and experiments are the order of the day.I´ve dried morels and St George´s and they seem to be o k but now i´m drying stawberries, cherries and i´m now trying figs.

The only problem i have is it´s a bit too big,if you´re starting out,buy a smaller model.
Spring has been really positive on foraging,in March we began with morels,pine boletus in May as well as russulas (virescens and vesca), believe it,bug-free and now timidly getting chanterelles due to dry spells and hot weather.

Therefore in the mushrooming world,Summer will be holiday time except for get-togethers over a few wines or a bottle of local cyder chatting about plans for Autumn.
Even so,i´ve made wild cherry brandy,raspberry and strawberry vinegar and raspberry liqueur.

Hopefully this weekend i´ll pick the first gooseberries and i´m going to try for the first time to make goosegog chutney.

I wish you all a very FRUITFUL Summer.

 

Kenneth

SUMMARIZING 2013.

A big hi and hello to anybody out there who might be interested in my terrible articles about foraging here in Asurias,Spain. Most of this has been put in the Spanish section during the year so i'll be as brief as poss.

Winter and early Spring were atrocious  with heavy snow and rain and then high temps bringing swollen rivers and flooding.So,except for some lyophyllum decastes,not such a bad taste,also a few camarophylus pratentis-these i like,we really didn't start  serious mushrooming until middle of March.Where Ash and Elder grow by the salmonrivers in Eastern Asturias is where we find Morels from then until May.

We really had a good harvest this year so drying was the order of the day in the old tradition,sunny window or radiator-slow but sure.By the way,don't forget to cook up before using fresh-they are toxic in raw! When dried they are perfectly safe and very tasty in lots of dishes.

April was a dry month so few St George's mushrooms,but after a couple of weeks of perfect temps and light rain we were down in Leon province getting the first Boletes.

These are not Edulis, but B Pinicola as we were in Pine-forests and we usually get Edulis later on.

Then after some 3 weeks,disaster-high temps,no rain and all mushrooms soon full of bugs and little creepy-crawly things.So,it was down to picking fruit and veg, bottling, preserving,making chutneys and pickles and God knows what else. Well,more next day-any opinions,questions or whathaveyou,don't forget to contact me on

micogastronomiaasturiana@gmail.com

 

SUMMARIZING 2013-SECOND PART.

Septembre was a great month,one of the best for years! By the 10th of Sept we were over in Western Asturias getting our oldfavourites Lactarius Deliciosus-Saffron milk caps,a beautiful sight to see in a middle of nowhere pine-forest.The area called Los Oscos is out of this world,we only see animals,an odd cattle-farmer,shepherd or hunterand no mushroomers-don't tell anyone!

We don't sell mushrooms,friends are always pleased to have them ,oftenin exchange for fruit  veg and wine etc,so all in all,everybody's happy.A very busy month also making chutneys,pickling onions and freezingmushrooms and a long etc.

Also in the woods we began to find Amanita Rubescens-The Blusher( Careful with this,must be well cooked before use),on open grazing-ground were the first Macrolepiota Proceras-Parasol,almost my favourite-always battered or stuffed in the oven,some Coprinus Comatus-Shaggy Ink Cap-pick and cook in the day,Assorted Russulas,delicious,Boletes of course,most for drying and freezing for Xmas,and last but not least,Cantharellus Cibarius-Chanterelle for  my tradionalhome-made liqueur.

October and Novembre were also full of good vibrations,visiting otherprovinces south of here,standing out trips to visit P in Burgos,getting reallygood mushrooms and seeing how she makes  different mushroom jams.Back in Asturias we were usy right up to Xmas getting Tricholoma Portentosum-the dingy one and Trich. erreum-the grey one i love these Winter treats with assorted dishes and if there's any room left in the freezeri freeze up a few packs.Well,i think i've bored you enough for now,so good hunting and cooking anddo keep in touch.

 

 

CARAMELIZED CHANTERELLES.

This is a recipe from my friend's Roberto and Ana of the Madrid Micological Society.

We need around 1/2 kilo of fresh small or medium Chanterelles,250 grs white or brown sugar,some 250dl of mineral water and a glug of brandy.

So,let's clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth(try not to break them). In a saucepan,mix in water and sugar,the brandy,then add mushrooms.

Boil up slowly(take care not to burn) until water has all gone Let the mushrooms cool and cover with a light covering of granulated sugar before serving.

I also make up a creme caramel, flan or jelly and use these as decoration.

Kenneth.

A BUSY TIME AHEAD

19-JULY-2013.

 

Tomorrow, i'm off to a friend's fruit farm to collect what's available. At least raspberriesand srawberries for vinegar and redcurrants for jelly and cordial.

Sunday we're off to Leon again(5 days of heavy thunderstorms) to get chanterelles and maybe if we're lucky some boletus aestivalis, one of my favourites.  So, chanterelle liqueur recipe coming up soon.

Talking of mushroom liqueurs., has anybody made liqueur with clitocybe odora (the blue-green one),or with marasmius oreades (the fairy ring champignon) ? I usually make up a couple of litres of each one around september and filtered and racked after 6 months and very tasty indeed.

By the way, i've just filered some of my sloe-gin and damson liqueur made with vodka-Great!

So tomorrow, some recipes

Kenneth

CHANTERELLE LIQUEUR.

18-7-2013.

I don't know the real origin of this recipe, except that my great-aunt gave it to my mother around 1945 and mum handed it down tome years later when she knew of my craze for mushrooms.

I haven't changed the recipe very much, it's so simple, so here goes. Use a wide-necked flaskor bottle, cork or screw-lid or kilner jar, 1 to 21itre capacity. Fill with young fresh chanerelles, add a stick of cinnamon, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, the peel of a whole lemon and cover with gin or vodka.

Close down and shake for around 10 days until sugar has disappeared. Keep in a dark, cool and dry place for AT LEAST 4 months and then filler. You can use this in desserts or even better, as a liqueur, slightly chilled.

 

Kenneth

SUMMER IS COMING IN-JUNE 2013

We've been spending the last 2 weeks going down to Leon province,mainly for Boletus Pinicolas,but we've given up at long last due to the fact that more than 90 per cent are full of bugs!

Where we've been,you can find on google map-San feliz de las lavanderas(Leon), Campo Sagrado(Leon) and varios forests around La Vecilla de Curueño(Leon). Now we'll back mushrooming in Asturias,not so many klms to travel and the food is even better!

So,foraging in oaks,chestnuts,birch,beech and pastures. Prime objective is Cantharellus Cibarius (Chanterelle), then, Amanita Rubescens and we mustn't forget the Fairy Ring Marasmius, plentiful in early summer.

And in the kitchen? Well first,Chanterelle liqueur,from my great-aunt's recipe, perhaps a chanterelle pizza for the youngsters and also some caramelled mushrooms and who knows what else!

Let me know if you would like any of these recipes and i'll be pleased to put them on the blog.

UP-TO-DATE ON FORAYS IN ASTURIAS, LEON AND BURGOS

We finished our Morel hunting on the 6th of may,it's been really good this year and i'm well stocked up in the kitchen with dried morchella esculentas and fresh mushroom powder.

By the 8th of may we went down to Leon province and we've already got 3 lots of Boletus Pinicola,so far,touch wood,bug-free! This is the problem with may,june,july Boletus,sometimes a carpet of aestivalis and very few edible.

I popped down to see P for a few days in Burgos,there, the activity is more with St George's Mushrooms and they were on sale at 36 euro a kilo. On a trip out in the country we saw a few people with baskets in holm-oaks after some kind of  Boletus, possibly a Leccinum or  Boletus Aereus. We were visiting friends and only had time (and good luck) to find some lovely Agrocybe Aegerita (Cylindracea),locally called Poplar Mushroom. We've already eaten them in an oxtail stew-great!.

I do hope there's someone out there interested in what we get up to, if so,let me know and i'll keep you up to date over the next few months. By the way,you can see photos in the main Spanish section.

Kenneth

A BREAKFAST FIT FOR A KING.

So, after filling the baskets with lovely exotic morels yesterday,boiling up for eating and trays filled up for drying by the radiators,today was a day of rest-you must be joking. 10 a m,there they were,ringing my doorbell the 3 day before mushroomers-handsful of cured ham,farmhouse eggs hot freshly baked bread and,why not,a bottle of verdejo white wine.

We've come for breakfast! So,pan on,a glug of sunflower oil,throw in a couple of chopped spring onions,lots of sliced morels and a few bits of cured ham. Meanwhile,a young lady beating up eggs with a drop of milk,grated cheese, parsley and perrins and a pinch of salt. All in the pan,wooden spoon mixing up, and then onto buttered bread.We were like a good hour over breakfast,my doctor,my daughter and P will kill me if they read this but when in SPAIN etc, etc.

Kenneth's korner-14-4-2013.-

Wild-life in asturias,part two.

Wild-life in asturias,part two.

Yes you're right,i forgot about the WOLVES! We've got lots up in the mountains and this last autumn they have killed lots of cattle and they roam quite freely without being culled or hunted.The stock-farmers get compensation but are most unhappy about things.

So, all in all, we're very fortunate up here in Asturias as ,not only as far as mushrooms are concerned,we still have many positive things even if there's not much work around.

Kenneth