You can definitely find ceps under a fir.
yep , near beech as well sometimes but i recon birch are a preferred and common symbiote
sgt.colon
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Thank you both. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few weeks.  Fingers crossed.
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Mistress Rose
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We have boletes sometimes, but never quite identified them. I don't think they are ceps, but not too sure what they are. Generally a rather dirty coloured top and underneath.
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dpack
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iirc there are only a few nasty boletes , learn them avoid them. B. satanus is the really nasty one but is easy to id
the safe ones vary from delicious to not much point as they taste like kitchen roll in mud but you won't get poorly.
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Mistress Rose
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I don't think it is the B. satanus, but could be one of several others. I must take the book up and have a really good investigate this year when I see them.
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jp
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This rain is finally kicking things off. Not many CEPs yet - hopefully still to come. But amazing year for Cauliflower fungus. Normally only see one every couple of seasons - but seen loads this year. Here’s a big one I found a few days ago & saw 2 or 3 others.
[img]
 [/img]
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dpack
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i saw one in surrey years ago but have never seen one up here.
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Mistress Rose
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I have never seen one of those, but will keep a look out. We sometimes get some unusual ones in the woods, but not every year. We have had some magpie inkcaps already this year, and stump puffballs, but not many more that I have seen so far.
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sgt.colon
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Great picture JP. Is it edible?
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gz
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On a root of a tree cut off at ground level in Culross school yard
And on an old road, now used as a path, with a steep gradient
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dpack
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do they have any other trees or shrubs they are fond of ? 
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Slim
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Did I already mention the approx 1.5 lb Lions mane we found in the back woods? Mrs. Slim turned it into "crab"cakes. Pretty good.
Also found a nice grouping of black trumpets that we dried for adding flavor to Winter meals. Love how easily they dry
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Mistress Rose
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We had a lions mane fungus once, but sadly the tree it was in fell down, so haven't seen another one.
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Slim
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Gz, that's probably an armillaria, yeah?
Could take a spore print and gill photos to reddit.com/r/mycology to get ID help
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jp
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Great picture JP. Is it edible? |
Yep & very nice too, though you have to carefully remove pine needles & wildlife from all the folds 
They dry very well too.
dpack
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umm wildlife
a good shake gets quite a few out.
i'm not too fussy after the needles and bigger wildlife are evicted
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jp
|
umm wildlife
a good shake gets quite a few out.
i'm not too fussy after the needles and bigger wildlife are evicted |
Yup - think of it as extra protein. Yummy 
jema
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We had some Parasols yesterday, our first foraged mushrooms as prior finds have never seemed quite as solidly identifiable.
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Shan
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I have been banned from picking Shaggy Parasols. Mr Shan suffered from a 'mild tummy upset' after eating them and he claimed I had tried to poison him. Honestly, if I'd wanted to poison him I'd have done as far better job of it.
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dpack
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not the tum upset but the sentiment
"parsnip" soup milord to be followed by a fish delicacy and after that the dining surprises continue
i am not certain if parasols do or dont have a trace of the stuff that some of their close relatives have, the synthetic version is antabuse but the natural ones have a similar effect with alcohol
re a "trace" with shrooms that have active compounds the variability between individuals, climate when picked or local type is remarkable.
old and going off can be an issue with shrooms as can some sorts do not suit some folk (than can be dont suit unless cooked that way)
more for you 
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Shan
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I thought they were delicious. Mr Shan spent the night vomiting loudly and was offended when I asked him to keep the noise down. I did point out that we had both eaten the same batch of shrooms... he claims intent to do severe bodily harm. It would have been a shoddy effort on my part.
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dpack
|
it may be unconnected to dinner or he might have become sensitized to them.
i am well cautious with shrooms, if you were ok you probably will be eating those in the future, mr shan might be wise to be a bit shy of them.
if he wants to try rubbing a bit on his lip that should give an indication if it was the shrooms, most sensible folk would decide not to just in case .
plenty of other shrooms
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Shan
|
Don't worry, he won't be going near them again. Oddly enough, he doesn't react to Shaggy Ink Caps.
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Jam Lady
|
Coprinus mushrooms, shaggy ink caps or shaggy mane, (they quickly deliquesce after picking) contain a substance that will not affect people UNLESS you drink alcohol while partaking. The substance is released in the alcohol. It is similar to the Antabuse prescribed for alcoholics in the hope it will so nauseate them they will stop drinking. As if.
How do I know? Try sauteed coprinus on toast with a couple of glasses of sangria. A few people are immune to the substance, can eat the mushrooms and glug the wine with no ill effects. Like my friend who did not think to warn me because it doesn't affect her.
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Mistress Rose
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My DIL seems to react in the same way as Mr. Shan to quite common bought mushrooms but hasn't altogether pinned down which, so she has to avoid all of them. Unfortunately last time she had an incident was after eating a pie she was assured didn't have mushroom in it, so she has to be very careful. As she is disabled, it makes it particularly hard as she can't get to the bathroom very fast.
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Shan
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Alcohol was of course involved.
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Mistress Rose
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Not with DIL. She seems to have a reaction to some mushrooms.
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Shan
|
That is awful I absolutely adore mushrooms. I have a friend whose young daughter is allergic to tomatoes and the poor girl adores them.
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sgt.colon
|
Neither of our two boys like mushrooms. It's just CRAZY!
I'm checking under the trees but no edible shrooms as yet.
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Shan
|
Neither of our two boys like mushrooms. It's just CRAZY!
I'm checking under the trees but no edible shrooms as yet. |
Disinherit them.
Mistress Rose
|
Husband thinks son and I are odd because neither of us eat bananas or Marmite. I ate them as a child, but wasn't keen, which surprised my mother as they had been a real luxury when she was a child and virtually unobtainable during WWII which was still fresh in the minds of her generation.
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Shan
|
I like bananas and will eat marmite but I prefer Bovril. I don't think there are many fruits I don't enjoy.
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sgt.colon
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Avocado  
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Shan
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I love avocado. We used to have an avocado tree in our garden in SA. Enormous avocados on it. Bloody dangerous standing under the tree!
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Mistress Rose
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I only had avocado once and have never had the urge to eat it again.
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Slim
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Avocado |
You people are insane.
(Avocado by itself isn't good, but on a tortilla chip it's almost impossible to have enough. Fifty times that if it's in guacamole form.)
sgt.colon
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Insane in the membrane!
Never tried guacamole, so I couldn't say. Some people have on toast over here Slim. :shudder:
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Slim
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Homemade guacamole with ripe avocados, on tortilla chips. Only then can you declare avocados good or not!
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Shan
|
Homemade guacamole with ripe avocados, on tortilla chips. Only then can you declare avocados good or not! |
Absolutely!!!
I suspect part of the problem here is that people don't actually know the difference between a ripe avocado and an unripe one. Firstly, supermarkets store them in refrigerated sections, which alters the flavour and secondly, they sell them as ready to eat when they are clearly massively under-ripe. Vile.
Slim
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They are not sold refrigerated here. Ours travel all the way across the country, but that may still be shorter than the journey yours require?
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Shan
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It depends entirely where they have come from. They are also grown in Europe.
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sgt.colon
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It's more the texture than the flavour for me. It's just.......I can't find the words.
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dpack
|
i feel your pain, not with avocados but the texture of an under cooked carrot is appalling.
a poor avocado is pretty disappointing but a good un is a delight
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Shan
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It's more the texture than the flavour for me. It's just.......I can't find the words. |
The texture should be beautifully creamy.
gz
|
It is the same with any fruit picked too early in order to travel..it never develops the proper flavour
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Mistress Rose
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I think the one I had was creamy, but it didn't really work. It looked like a pear, was creamy in texture and didn't really taste of anything as far as I recall. It was back in the days when avocados were served with prawns, so a long time ago, which shows you how much it put me off.
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Shan
|
My Version of Guacamole:
Halve, pit and skin a large ripe avocado or 2 to 3 small ones; chop up and put it into a pestle and mortar, Finely chop some jalapeño chilli (or other chilli) and add as little or as much as you like. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Squeeze a little lime over and mash in the pestle and mortar, adding more lime to taste. Finely chop the white of a spring onion plus a tablespoon of fresh coriander; finely chop half a medium sized ripe tomato (if it is not a decent flavourful tomato, it is best left out). Stir through a tablespoon of creme fraiche (optional - if I want the guacamole to be more punchy, I leave it out) Check seasoning and serve.
The pestle and mortar allows you to control how chunky or smooth you want it. Serve with tortilla chips.
The recipe is quite variable and lends itself to adaptation.
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sgt.colon
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Well I think I'm going to have to try a ripe one then. How do I know when it is ripe?
Thanks for the recipe Shan. One to try then next time we have a bag of Doritos.
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Shan
|
Gently feel the area around where the stem would join onto the fruit and give it a light squeeze, it should give have a bit of give.
PS Always buy more avocados than you need - the ones here in the UK tend to be a lucky draw as to whether they are ripe, under-ripe or rotten.
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Slim
|
Was Doritos a joke or is this a transatlantic naming convention oddity?
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Shan
|
I tend to have tortillas as a staple in the cupboard (I imagine many don't but then I do love avos and Doritos are 'technically' an easily available corn chip.  ) but then I also took a tortilla press through the airport (I made Mr Shan take it in his carry-on bag, so he got the questions )
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sgt.colon
|
Thanks for that Shan.
No, Slim. If we're making nachos that is what we use. Is that wrong?
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Shan
|
In my book, nothing is wrong if it ends up tasing good! No point in being prescriptive about cooking!
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Slim
|
I don't know anyone that uses doritos for nachos or for dipping in guacamole. I think that's because they already have flavoring on them (and most folks I know don't buy doritos anyway, but I'm sure there are plenty who do, so maybe they use them?)
We just use straight up tortilla chips, though often made from blue corn.
Garden of eatin' is a common brand, but probably not as mainstream as Tostitos
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91xSNnxbYCL._SL1500_.jpg
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dpack
|
blue crisps
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Mistress Rose
|
I don't think we have those in the supermarkets in the UK, but they may be there as that is one aisle I always miss out. Neither they nor the guacamole to my taste I am afraid, so think I will continue giving avocados a miss. Interesting that the ripeness test is the same as for pears though.
|
Shan
|
I don't know anyone that uses doritos for nachos or for dipping in guacamole. I think that's because they already have flavoring on them (and most folks I know don't buy doritos anyway, but I'm sure there are plenty who do, so maybe they use them?)
We just use straight up tortilla chips, though often made from blue corn.
Garden of eatin' is a common brand, but probably not as mainstream as Tostitos
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91xSNnxbYCL._SL1500_.jpg |
I buy mine from an online Mex grocer.
Slim
|
blue crisps |
A marginally healthier form of a not so healthy snack!
sgt.colon
|
I like the look of those. I'll have a mooch down the crisp isle and see what other things are on offer but I'm suspecting nothing as funky as a blue tortilla.
|
Shan
|
https://www.mexgrocer.co.uk/Corn-Tortillas-for-Frying/
Unfortunately, they are out of the blue ones but you can make it yourself with the Blue Masa Harina Flour.
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sgt.colon
|
Thanks for the link Shan.
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Shan
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Not a problem.
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