A Tale of Mushrooms

There I was in the grocery store, filling my paper bag with regular brown mushrooms. A man walked up to the mushrooms, looked at the variety, looked at me and asked, "Do you eat these?" pointing to the golden chanterelles.

"No, I don't think I ever have, " said I, "they're a bit pricey."

"I'm just checking them out," says he, "I pick my own." And he went on his way and so did I.

In front of the broccoli he approached me again. "I have some chanterelles out in my truck in the parking lot and I'll give you some."

I made a non-committal hmmm, a little taken aback. But he was there when I went out with my grocery cart and generously gave me the chanterelle mushrooms you can see in the photo. 

I cooked them with a bit of garlic and cream with a handful of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon for dinner this evening. Served over a salmon fillet they were mmmmm good!

I'm only sorry I didn't get the man's name to thank him properly.

Chanterelle mushrooms flourish on Vancouver Island. They are found up in the mountains, lurking under mossy trees. Chanterelles are especially prized because attempts to domesticate them have been unsuccessful. Every year many Vancouver Islanders return to their favourite mushroom patches to pick chanterelles and other varieties. Many are sold overseas. A kilo (2.2 pounds) of chanterelles sells for $400 in Japan, I was told. 

So, would you have eaten these mushrooms?