Taking the humble mushroom to a whole new level! A little bit of fun dedicated to @fungifriday by @ewkaw and to my fungi friends here. ;)
A gloomy day today, I went on a venture to hunt some mushrooms.
It is human nature to look for what we don't have. After a few weeks of searching for nonexistent mushrooms, I stopped and made the most of what I have: wood ears!
It is good practice to be content and thankful for what we have.
And I always try to make the most of what I have!
Mushrooms are in a low season from December to March; it can be very disappointing, but wood ears are always appearing, lush, and prolific. Then we say, "Oh, wood ears again." :)
To give some justification of how versatile this mushroom is, I pimped it up.
I crossed one of the slippery bridges to get to the other side of the woods to pick some wood ears.
I was not disappointed. They are growing prolifically, and all pristine.
I picked a few.
Back home, I washed and boiled them.
Then put in the dryer for an hour.
I put them in a jar and added my homemade blackberry wine. I waited until they rehydrated and plumped up.
After few hour, the wood ears are plumped up and have absorbed most of the wine.
I pat them dry, they are now blackberry wine flavoured and still crunchy. The amazing thing about wood ears is they absorb flavour nicely.
I separated the good ones from the misshaped ones.
I chopped the misshaped ones and flipped back the good ones.
Using the finest needle and syringe, I injected the good ones with brandy, .5 mls each.
Swollen ears filled with brandy.
I melted the finger-licking milk chocolate and dunked each wood ear in it. Smothered them with sweetness.
I chilled them to dry into crunchiness.
And sprinkled them with fine cocoa powder.
In every bite of these wood ears, you'll first get the rich, deep, and slightly bitter cocoa powder, followed by a burst of brandy, then the chocolatey sweetness, and you'll finish up with the crunchy mouthwatering blackberry wine! An extraordinary delightful treat from Nature!
Then, here are the chopped ones waiting...
I added a little bit of cream to the left over chocolate.
I mixed the chopped blackberry wine-infused woodears.
I let them cool down and shaped them into balls.
I rolled them in crunchy roasted nuts.
others rolled into temptous roasted coconuts.
and the other ones in tangy sumac berry powder I gathered last summer.
They are all pimped up and ready for the party.
I pampered them with dried rose petals.
In every bite is a mouthwatering taste with some crunch. The coconut, peanut, and sumac dress them up to perfection; they are incredibly delightful. I wish I could share them with you!
I hope you enjoyed!
Thank you for looking.
Have a lovely day, everyone.
Mariah 😊