Borscht and Biscuits for Dinner

 Simple vegetarian borscht, with some gluten-free "cheesy" herb biscuits.

I Tried Amanita Muscaria for the First Time

...and they were delicious! Kate and I harvested some from a nearby schoolyard, and carefully prepared them by boiling twice (throwing out the water each time), and then sautéing. Surprisingly, these mushrooms still have a good texture and nutty flavor, even after all the boiling. 

To be clear -- because I know some folks will be concerned -- yes, Amanita muscaria, also known as the fly agaric, is classified as poisonous and/or hallucinogenic. The main psychoactive substances in this mushroom are the neurotoxins ibotenic acid and muscimol. However, paraboiling and draining out the water will break down the psychoactive and toxic components. It's worth mentioning that this method doesn't work for other, truly poisonous mushrooms, like Amanita phalloides (death cap mushroom), which contain deadly amatoxins that cannot be cooked out of the mushroom.

We successfully prepared these mushrooms and did not experience any ill or psychoactive effects (and from what I hear, the mind-altering effects are rather unpleasant anyway). If you do find these in the wild and want to give them a try, do your research and make sure you have a positive ID, which tends to be pretty easy with their red caps and white spots.

More Potato Shenanigans for Dinner

 Tonight's menu included potatoes au gratin, creamy potato mushroom soup, and sautéed inky caps.

Potatoes Au Gratin

 Kate and I turned our recent potato harvest into this delicious casserole of creamy, cheesy, scalloped potatoes. This is the prefect dish after a hard day of fall labor. It's soooo good -- the ultimate comfort food.

Veggie Fried Rice

Here's tonight's dinner, which has been one of our favorite meals to cook this season:

And here's another organizing shelf, this time made out of Duplos:

What's for Dinner? Roasted Root Veggies

 

Dinner: Quinoa Veggie Vegan-Cheese Stuffed Squashes

 

Lots of Culinary Adventures

Harvesting and cooking and preserving is what this season is all about. Here are tonight's adventures in cooking:

More Gourmet Vegan Grilled Cheese

 I made more zucchini bread-like substance, and filled it with a homemade cashew "cheese." I know, it sounds and looks weird, but trust me, it's damn tasty. Don't ask me to repeat it, because I just flew by the seat of my pants. Of course, if someone were actually reading this blog and just needed to know the recipe, I'm sure I could figure out some sort of vague instructions.

Overwhelm, Serendipity, and Today's Harvest

This year is surreal, and infuriating in so many ways. Death and illness and cruelty abound, and I'm grasping for a rock to cling to in the storm. I'm grateful to have a wife and a partner, and to have a little space to garden. I'm also grateful for our cats, who live up to their role as emotional support animals, even while they've been unwell.

Kate and I work almost every day on the mandala, and we take daily walks down our suburbish rural road for exercise. I cook and take care of the household while Caera goes to work at the crisis center. I still help with landscape maintenance at a Bellevue account a few times a month. Telehealth therapy every week. I continue to meet virtually with Camp Quest NorthWest, Stronger Together, and Rooted NW, though I don't feel I've contributed much to any of these groups in my current mental state. 

Is this the best use of my time in quarantine? Who's to say? I'm tired, and doing what I can to stay engaged. I've let parts of the garden do their own thing while I've focused on construction and hand-watering the plants every day.

The tomatoes have become a monstrous mass without pruning or staking, and I've let it go. However, I've got hope for our short corn stalks after we attempted to increase pollination by hand. The squash section is doing well, and the sunflowers keep getting taller. I'm amused at how the marigolds have become a trellis for the cucumbers, which was completely unexpected. I like it so much that I'm tempted to replicate it in the future. I also harvested some potatoes recently and made hashbrowns. That's the best I can do for now.