morels? no problem!

A friend of mine, an avid mushroom hunter, gave me some of his most recent morel haul. So generous! It was my first time having morels to cook with, so he also gave me preparation and cooking instructions.



Soak them for about an hour in salted water? No problem!


Drain them, dust them with flour and fry them in butter? No Problem!!


Enjoy these simply-cooked, luxurious morsels with a beer? NO PROBLEM!!!

Meaty and earthy yet delicate...I can see why people are maniacs for these shrooms. And darn! Apparently I missed a class dedicated to these fanatic-having fungi at the Kitchen Conservatory this week. Kelly from Sounding my Barbaric Gulp went, and was in charge of the ravioli. This was just after she posted about her fried false-morels (heh. peckerheads!). Now she needs your help, morel-ites...are these morels she found too dry?

So now I need to get my butt in gear and go hunting...the season is short!

grilled salmon with white bean salsa and grits

This was our Saturday night dinner. I had my eye on this white bean avocado salsa from a Schnucks Cooks recipe card, and asked Jack to figure out what to grill to go with it. He had been wanting to grill fish, so he chose salmon. We put everything on a bed of grits (instant, cooked with milk...) The Salmon was simply seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder.

The salsa was really tasty. I tweaked the original recipe to personal preferences...adding more jalapeno and a little bit of fresh garlic. I would eat this as a side salad, also.

White Bean and Avocado Salsa

6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1 can (15 oz) navy beans, rinsed & drained
1 large tomato, diced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded & diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt to taste

Stir everything together (gently) and chow down.