Treasures from the Deep

No, I haven't taken up deep sea salvage, this is about something entirely different.

I recently found treasure in our garden - treasure of an edible kind.  I was feeling particularly frustrated because I was struggling to get a new blade sorted out for the lawnmower, which seems to have become obsolete.  As I tugged the machine out through the crooked door of our old back shed something caught my eye, I looked down and saw an odd looking mushroom.  I'd seen pictures of ones like it - in fact I'd even seen some in the grocery store - they were called morels.



As I looked I noticed more of them - probably 20 or so in total, strange looking alien things growing in the garden.  I had never seen them there before!  Something inside me told me that was what they were - morels - but I know better than to guess at whether or not a mushroom might be edible.  This is where the technology of today is really serving us -- a little research, a few questions and I was 97% sure that they were indeed morels and not 'false' morels which can at best cause stomach upsets and at worse can cause death.  Because of their elusiveness and flavour they are quite highly prized these strange blossoms from the darkness, sometimes selling for $40 or even $60lb!



We decided to try just one, fried in butter to see what happened - oh sweet deliciousness!!  I couldn't describe the flavour, it was somewhat familiar, earthy, nutty, mushroomy and quite delicious.  These had much more of a meaty consistency than the usual mushrooms we get at the grocery store.  Seeing as we were still alive with no ill effects the following day we decided to cook some up for a proper a meal - pasta and morels!



 

What a complete surprise and wonderful treasure to have found.  Looking for information on morels it turns out they are a little mysterious - some people would say they are a yeast and not a fungus or mushroom.  There is no guarantee where they might pop up although it seems they favour disturbed land, land that has been cleared or suffered a recent forest fire.  I had done some clearing around the shed earlier in the spring, and trimmed some wood there in the fall and can only think that this is what caused them to grow.

I got to thinking about the mystery of their appearance, how such  treasures as this can appear from out of the dark earth and how this relates to life.  Treasures and growth can come from the dark places and times of our life - sometimes drawn out by disturbances to the routine and safety of our everyday lives.  Very often an upsetting experience, a loss, or breaking of something can allow us to grow, evolve and learn in unexpected ways.

My garden is a wonderful teacher!

Moonlight Oatmeal?

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups of Steel Cut Oats


• 6 Cups of liquid - Milk, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Water - or a mixture


• 1/2 Cup of shredded Coconut (more or less to suit your taste)


• Tablespoon Coconut oil - or butter


• Handful or two of Dried Fruit - Blueberries, Cranberries, Black currants - whatever you like -- or even fresh fruit but NOT citrus if you are using milk ;o)


• Dash of salt - if you like


• Sprinkle of dried Ginger - if you like

[caption id="attachment_66" align="alignnone" width="300"] Moonlight Oatmeal[/caption]

Mix ingredients in a casserole and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

You can probably guess I'm pretty slap-dash in the kitchen - I'll use a recipe as a guide but generally wander off course and switch things up without too many disasters.

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Have you ever made Moonlight Oatmeal?  I have!  Prepared with love and little light-heartedness it tasted just delicious!

I came downstairs a couple of mornings ago and found an almost full moon shining in through the kitchen window.  It was bright enough that I decided not to turn on the light.  I gazed up as I filled the kettle and started to make my tea.  Realising we needed oatmeal for breakfast the idea popped into my mind of making it by moonlight.

Of course making oatmeal by moonlight presents a few challenges, I'm not sure I got the oatmeal measurement entirely right, I couldn't quite find where the black currants spilled in the dark and I almost added rice instead of shredded coconut.

I did decide that once everything was in the dish that I should give it a good stir - clockwise - preferably 13 times, one for each moon of the year (I forgot to count so estimated but the intention was there).

After an hour in the oven it was ready to come out - I usually let it sit for about ten minutes to cool and thicken a little.  This has become a staple breakfast in our house, though not always made by moonlight!  If you've never tried steel cut oats, well, all I can say is you owe it to yourself to give them a go!  Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmmm.... it's like eating dessert for breakfast!