Conk Fruit Exploration

Mushrooms on the Trail
Photos by: Chandra Brown

It's always interesting walking the 360 Trail. The terrain always gives up its secrets but you have to go at different times of the year to see all that it has to offer.  These glorious mushroom varieties were all taken at different times of the year.  It's said that one sign of a healthy forest is by the mushroom population.

We noticed many polypore mushrooms growing on the fallen trees. Their job is to help in the decay process, balancing the carbon cycle in the ecology of the forest.  Mushrooms are fascinating subject matter. I could spend hours studying their ornate growing patterns. Their dual function of helping in the death process for trees and their life giving properties for human ailments adds to their interesting complex nature. They bring balance to the forest and human ecosystem.

Look at this wonderful list of nutrients mushrooms provide: "Mushrooms are rich in B vitamins such as riboflavin, folate, thiamine, pantothenic acid, and niacin. They are also the only vegan, non-fortified dietary source of vitamin D. Mushrooms also provide several minerals that may be difficult to obtain in the diet, such as selenium, potassium, copper, iron, and phosphorus."


They taste great too! 

I have always loved sautéd mushrooms on my cheeseburger, and tell my daughter and husband to save their mushrooms for me when we eat a meal that adds them as an ingredient.

I'm not confident enough to forage in the wild for mushrooms just yet, picking a poisonous one scares the bajeebees out of me. For now I'll admire them from afar while in the wild and stick to buying them at the store for consumption. I may try to grow some from a kit, as a fun solution to my mushroom habit.

Natures' Instrument

Mom: " What did you think of our adventure on the 360 trail this year Alex?"

Alex: "It was pretty good, I saw some cool stuff, things got real when we got to the water."

Mom: "Yes, I heard the rushing water and the sound made me want to find where it was coming from so I could see what was making that loud noise. I knew in the back of my head large rocks had to be ahead in order to make that sound. Amazing how the terrain is like an instrument and the water plays off of it making a distinct sound. What name would you give Natures' Instrument or what instrument you know of would be the closest to a river bed and water?"

Alex: "Hmmm… (thinking)…. it sounds like the Spacedrum.

Mom: "Most people haven't heard of the Spacedrum, but you are right. I do think the space drum sounds like small water droplets running over rocks but also sounds like those small water droplets collect into a bigger cohesive sound like water rushing down a river filled with many rocks. How would you describe the space drums sound?"

Alex: "Well it sounds natural, it reminds me of caves, crystals and waterfalls."

Mom: " Yes, when you hear one played the high timbre gives a glass clinking sounds that would remind you of crystal and the water reflecting light also gives definition to the look of water. Can a look  be defined by sound?"

Alex: "Yes, this happens to me all the time. When I draw, sometimes the sound in the music inspires me to draw a certain picture."

Mom: "Interesting! Art, nature and music all have a certain relational aspect. I would love to see more of your drawing inspired by music. Sometimes nature inspires me to write and the sound of certain music calms or excites me. I think creativity has inner and outer levels, wavelengths and stimuli that can be individually interpreted, yet have meaning others can imprint their creativity on as well. Any thoughts on this?"

Alex: "Yes, We both see the river with scientific eyes that make us think of natural laws but we also see the river with artistic eyes that makes us think of beauty. One thing I noticed was the deception water conveys with depth. When we walk the river bed when it's dry, we are on solid, flat ground, once it fills with rain it shows that certain parts of the bed are deep and can cover your head even though you can see the bottom clearly. Adding the element of water changed the entire river bed canvas."

Mom: "I love being in nature, one thing I like about hiking a flowing river path is I tend to lose track of time and don't feel the need to be anywhere else but where I am at. Noticing all the different aspects of the terrain and how it interplays with you in the mix tends to make me think of God, who created it all for our good and pleasure.  I love that we noticed the sound nature makes this time on our adventure."

Enjoy this 'Spacedrum' Solo (technically called a Hang, pronounced Hung) by Yuki Koshimoto

Can you hear the 'water droplets' converge into a river in this song?
I can!

When Life Needs Spice: Add Indian Food

I will let you in on a secret. I hate cooking. Yes, my husband and I used to own a restaurant. Yes, I can apply myself in the kitchen and come up with some interesting dishes. Yes, I enjoy talking about foreign, exotic dishes but I just have to get that little secret off my chest. My husband always finds it odd I never taste what I'm cooking and always serve the meal with a disclaimer, "I don't know if it turned out or not so try it at your own risk." Definitely not a good cook's habit. Alas, I do not let my disdain for cooking stop me from actually doing it.

I've posted about my love for Tiki Masala a few years ago on this blog. I came up with a flotsam and jetsam crockpot recipe I was proud of at the time. I was desperate. I needed the flavors of home, I needed that comfort food to help transport me to a place of great aromas, mixed with family, friends and  familiarity. I still need it, so I decided to fine tune my minuscule Indian cooking skills over the weekend and try to be authentic to some of my favorite Indian food dishes and see if I could get close to the tastes I remember.

Masala, Saag, Somosa, Naan
Made by: Chandra Brown

I have been working on Tiki Masala (without the crockpot this time) and finally have this one down to memory.  I even make my own garlic, ginger paste from scratch. I love Saag and found an authentic recipe online. The ingredients made me venture to our local Indian Grocer, Man Pasand. I found the paneer, and fresh spinach I needed and even brought home Somosas for an appetizer.

I used every pot and pan I own, my food processor did double duty, my grill was fired up in the wet, cold outdoors and my oven was cranked to 400. This meal was firing on all cylinders, my spice cabinet was half emptied onto the countertop  and I just dove in and did it, not tasting as I went but waiting until I sat down at the table to share with my family.

I must say, the Saag Paneer was the real deal. My husband even replied, "You made this!" Ha, his surprised comment was a compliment, if it made him think of authentic Jewel of India's recipe, then I was successful.

I have to thank my parents for the success of this cooking ordeal. They recommended I watch, The Hundred Foot Journey, a delightful, clean, culinary movie about an Indian families' restaurant venture across from a successful, snooty French restaurant. There are hints of Romeo and Juliet and the Father's attitude in the film will make you giggle. I loved the son's passion for food and thought if I could just mimic that, I may come up with something enjoyable.

What foreign food do you want to try to learn to make?

I recently just tried making my own fermented kimchi (Korean). I made some pulled pork to go with it, added BBQ sauce and placed it all in a Romaine Lettuce leaf from our Winter Garden. It was wonderful!