Imagine my surprise one day when, reading The New Yorker magazine, I unearthed a feature story on Oregon mushrooms. I found it difficult to link memories of my friends and me tromping through the woods with images of Times Square and hotdog stands. Seems as though our drippy climate and fertile forest floors take a curtain call of their own in Times Square. This is because Oregon fungi - mastutakes, morels, chanterelles and those incredible, elusive truffles - add delicious, exotic and subtle flavors to food, and are coveted the world over. READ MORE

Matsutake photo courtesy of USFS

Mushrooms can kill you. But they can also make a mean omelet. And in Central Oregon you're in reach of some of the most plentiful hunting grounds in the northwest for the allusive morel, chanterelle and matsutake. Wild mushrooms are a treasured ingredient in kitchens across the world - coveted among chefs, connoisseurs and every-day-cooks, like me.
     The first time I went mushrooming, however, I was surprised to be alive the next day. I brought home a handful of morels, sautéed them, mixed them with eggs, topped them with cheese and fed them to my husband for dinner. Then we waited. READ MORE