ForageCast: Week of June 26, 2011

The last black trumpets we ate in 2009 before they checked out for a season.

My tongue has been reunited with an old friend – the black trumpet. Last summer’s drought took its toll on the trumpet crop, and this already hard to spot mushroom disappeared from Ithaca’s forests altogether. Despite many hours spent on hands and knees combing through moss patches, I did not find a single black, fragrant morsel.

Then, Friday I went to check on a chanterelle patch, only to find handfuls of black trumpets fruiting in close proximity to their golden brethren. Saturday delivered even more trumpets, including a few new patches that will likely become mainstays in my foraging rounds. Now that both the chanterelles and black trumpets have landed in Ithaca, my favorite part of the foraging season is upon us!

ForageCast for the next two weeks!