Soft Boiled To Perfection

This morning is so beautiful! There's a fresh blanket of snow outside and the sun is shining. This prompted me to have one of my favorite things for breakfast...soft boiled eggs. Yummy! It's like heaven in a cup! The first time I ever tried a soft boiled egg was at a little inn that I stayed at in Antwerp, Belgium. The proprietor of the inn made me one with my meat and bread for breakfast.

I used my little egg-timing gadget that I bought from Sparrowhawk, a local gourmet shop. Although I think you can find this little gem anywhere. It really takes the guesswork out of knowing when enough is enough.

Just slip the little guy in with the eggs (always use cold water if your eggs came straight from the fridge) and turn on the heat. I watched it here and there, and when the water started boiling I had to lift the little timer out to see the progress. It turns black as it's heating up, and when the black reached the "soft" mark I knew it was time to chow down.

A Bit Of Dark History & Weenie Royale

On the way home from work this morning I had one of those NPR moments where I had to sit in my car to finish listening to a story. Granted I could have ran into the house and turn on the stereo, but I didn't want to miss a moment.

It was a very interesting clip of "Hidden Kitchen" where Americans tell their stories of food and how they were influenced throughout life. This one was on Japanese internment camps during World War II. It was a dark and shameful time for the United States to imprison their own citizens only for the sole fact that they were Japanese American. One woman said if you had at least a 1/16th of Japanese blood you were interned.

Several generations were affected by this horrible act. It was hard times and they were given very little for provisions but they made due. Their food and how it was prepared was passed down throughout the family tree. This young woman was talking about her great-grandparents and how they passed down recipes, and to this day she still enjoys them. Weenie Royale was one of her favorites for breakfast.

Although processed meat gets a bum wrap, I must admit my fondness for it. I am guilty of enjoying hot dogs, bologna, and the dreaded four-letter word of canned meat...SPAM. My family also had a lot of Great Depression recipes passed down and SPAM was one of them. We ate simple things like boiled dinner (ham bone, cabbage, potatoes, and onions), fried noodles (just egg noodles fried in butter and bread crumbs), and tons of "hot dish" (any kind of casserole made with whatever meat, whatever vegetable, and a can of "cream-of-something") so I truly understand the concept of finding comfort in the foods we ate during not-so-comforting times.

Listen and read about the story featured on "Hidden Kitchen" on npr.org.

Weenie Royale
1/2 white or yellow onions, chopped 1 tablespoon
soy sauce
2 hot dogs
3 eggs
Cooked white rice

Saute the chopped onions with a tablespoon of soy sauce and cook at medium to high heat until they are caramelized. While you wait for the onions to caramelize, cut the hot dogs in julienne slices and beat the eggs. After the onions are caramelized, add the hot dogs and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the beaten eggs to the onions and hot dogs until the eggs are done. Serve on top of cooked white rice.

I made this for breakfast this morning. I actually dusted off the old rice cooker and went to 7-Eleven and bought a package of hot dogs. I don't think I've bought hot dogs since college!

I know that this really isn't the healthiest meal, but damn...it was pretty tasty.

Diversity is a good thing...and I think this country is slowly learning this.

Merry Muffins!

I made these Chocolate Chip Muffin Mixes to give out for Christmas this year. They are really very simple and pretty good too!

Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/8 t salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I found that mini chips are best for this)

Layer the flour, chocolate chips, and brown sugar in a wide mouth quart jar. Be sure to level and lightly pack each ingredient before adding the next. In a plastic sandwich bag put in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; close with a twist tie or I sealed mine with my FoodSaver by just putting on the edge of the sealing element.) and put this on the top. This will keep your leavening ingredients fresher for longer storage. Put on lid and ring and screw on cap finger tight.

I took a plate and traced out circles onto colorful Christmas wrapping paper and covered the jars. You can decorate anyway you would like. You can use fabric and ribbon and chose any print you'd like. You can give this gift all year long.

I made up my own recipe cards. You can write your out on a 3"x5" card and attach or make yours on the computer like I did. The card is as follows:

Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 Jar Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat is fine)
3/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened is fine)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 T vegetable oil
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, pour all of the Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix (be sure to add the ingredients from the sealed bag) and mix well with fork. Set aside. In a small bowl mix egg, buttermilk, applesauce, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Add this into the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Do not overmix. Batter will have a fluffy texture. Spoon into greased (or lined) muffin tins, filling 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cool completely on a wire rack.

These muffins turned out yummy! Nice and moist and they aren't too sweet. They are pretty springy and I think would go great with coffee or tea in the morning or anytime you want a snack.

I packaged these up and gave them to my neighbors. I think they will like them. I'll pass out my finished jarred mixes this week to my co-workers and friends. A gift of food is always welcomed at Christmas or anytime of the year!

Holiday Leg 'o Lamb, Solo Style

Well, I was going to throw my annual Christmas dinner party for 2007 last Saturday. I invited 9 others and I had the menu planned, the meat was nearly thawed, and some of the groceries bought. On the Friday before the do they made me work late on Friday, and then slapped 24 hour duty on me for Saturday.

Talk about embarrassing to call all of my (rightly dissapointed) guests and tell them that I had to cancel. That Saturday was pretty much the only time that I could have everyone over at one time. Okay, so no dinner party. What is a single girl suppose to do with the groceries she had on hand? Hmmm, the 2 lb. brie could be eaten slowly I guess. Although the thought of finishing off a 2 lb. brie over the course of a few weeks kind of sickened me....but it's not really stopping me!

I had planned on having roast pork loin, and roast leg of lamb. That's over 15 lbs. of meat total that needed to be cooked! I roasted the loin a few days ago, sliced it up, and sealed the slices up with my trusty FoodSaver. I plan on giving half of the loin to my friends, Albert and Joe. They always appreciate a gift of pork!

So, today I am making the leg of lamb. The recipe I found sounds wonderful, and here it is!

Roast Leg of Lamb with Dark Beer, Honey and Thyme
(by Tyler Florence)

7 to 8 lb. leg of lamb, boned and butterflied
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 T fresh thyme leaves
3 T extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Guinness (consume any leftovers as you have probably worked up a wee bit of a thirst anyhoo)
1/2 cup honey
1 t juniper berries (I just used crushed rosemary leaves...same pine fresh flavor)
2 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Open leg of lamb and season the inside with half the garlic, half the thyme leaves, 1 T olive oil, salt, and pepper. Tie the lamb up with kitchen string. Place in roasting pan, season with salt and pepper, and rub down with olive oil.

In a bowl (or small pitcher) mix the beer, honey, the remaining garlic and the rosemary, bay, and remaining thyme leaves. Stir and pour over lamb. Put pan in oven and immediately turn the heat down to 325 degrees F. Insert probe thermometer and set for 130 degrees F (medium rare). Baste every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, place roast on cutting board and cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

On high heat over two burners, de-glaze the pan with chicken broth. Once all the brown bits and caramelized pieces are up from the bottom of the pan, thicken into a gravy. Season with salt and pepper. It will be a bit sweet from the honey.

I boiled up some potatoes and enjoyed this as a late lunch with some green peas. I know it's a bit heavy, but I've got a lot of meat to be eating here!

This lamb was so tender and flavorful, and the beer and honey glaze complimented each bite.

Hmmm...where's that damned brie....

Doughnut French Toast

I just love watching Nigella Lawson cook on the Food Network. Her recipes are so comfy and cozy, and she makes preparing fun. Nigella is beautiful in so many ways. Her smooth British voice, her beautiful face, and her curves! She proves that you can be gorgeous and still love to eat good things!

Doughnut French Toast

2 eggs
1/2 cup full fat milk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 slices from a small white loaf or 2 slices from a large white loaf, each large slice cut in half (stale bread works best)
1-ounce butter, plus a drop flavourless oil, for frying
1/4 cup sugar (I put cinnamon in my sugar, yum!)

Beat the egg, milk, and vanilla in a shallow dish. Soak the bread slices in the egg mixture for at least 5 minutes on each side. This will let the bread soak up all that good stuff!

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and fry the custard soaked bread till brown on each side. I usually like to lower the heat after I get good color and cook throughly on both sides. Remember your bread has soaked up a lot of the egg and you don't want it to be soggy! Not good.

Dredge the toast in the sugar mixture and serve immediately. You can put syrup or jam or whatever you'd like. I used just simple syrup on mine. Lovely!

My Famous French Onion Soup

Albert and Joe gave me a cookbook when I had my "Farewell To the Ute" party. I love it because I'm a Foodnetwork junkie and this was the best from Foodnetwork. I adore Alton Brown and he had a French Onion Soup recipe that is just divine. Well, I've made it so many times that amongst my friends it's become my recipe!

So, here's the how to (thanks to Alton) and you too can wow your friends!

French Onion Soup

5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
3 T butter
1 t salt
2 cups white wine (use good wine that you would drink)
10 oz. canned beef consume
10 oz. chicken broth
10 oz. apple cider (unfiltered is best, but I used the clear kind as it's easier for me to find)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional but really does add a lot of dimension. I use Hennessey.)
1 c Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Slice all of the onions and expect to cry! I have a cheap slicer that's pretty slick. Just be careful not to cut yourself. NO one wants fingernails in their soup either so use the little safety handle. Cut onions in half and then slice into thin moons.

Preheat your electric skillet to 300 degrees F. Yes, this is something you should get for this recipe. They don't cost a lot and they have so many uses! It's awesome and keeps a constant even heat. Plus the nonstick makes clean up a breeze. Add the butter and when it's melted and begins to sizzle add some onions. You're going to put into the pan in layers all the while sprinkling a little Kosher salt in between each layer. Do this in roughly three layers.

Slap the lid on, set your timer to 20 minutes and LEAVE IT ALONE. You will be caramelizing (literally burning) the onions, but this is good!

After the 20 minutes are up you will see the onions taking on a lovely color. Stir and then keep caramelizing for the next 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. They will take on a beautiful mahogany color and smell divine! You should have approximately 2 cups of onions when you're done.

Add wine and turn the heat to high reduce the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler. Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler till brown. KEEP YOUR eye on it! I have burned these and it's not cool!

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac (this really does make it taste really good). Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden brown and delicious, 1 to 2 minutes. ENJOY!

This stuff freezes well so don't be afraid to make several batches if you want! Your house smells wonderful!!

Discover Your Inner Barista! It's Not Rocket Science!

Yum, yum! Warm grilled bread with peanut butter, some yogurt, and a cup of fresh hot coffee!! This is a great breakfast before I head off to Denver to drop off some friends to the airport. Making your own coffee is always good, grinding your own coffee and making it is better, but grinding and pressing your own coffee is fabulous!

All you need is a coffee grinder (most people have this once gourmet item), a good French press pot (got mine at Liquid Planet), boiling water, and four minutes. It's as easy as that!

French Press Coffee

French press pot (20 oz. travel pot)
3 T (rounded) medium coarse ground coffee, your flavor of choice (used Starbucks Guatemala Antigua today)
hot water

Put the water on to boil and place coffee into pot. Add hot water and stir the ground and water. Take plunger and just place on the top. DO NOT PLUNGE. Wait 4 minutes. This may seem forever but you will be rewarded! Enjoy!

Coffee is so comforting to me. I don't drink it everyday so it's more of a treat than a necessity. The rich aroma and the deep flavor is just heaven.

Whenever I go out to dinner and have dessert I always order coffee. It could be 11 at night and I'll have a steaming cup of java with my always-chocolate dessert. Go out and grab yourself a cup or better yet...brew your own!!

Maid-Rite! I found a Maid-Rite!

Some contacts in FlickrLand rant and rave about In-n-Out, but I long for a Maid-Rite. Growing up in the Midwest we had these in the college town that I spent a long time in. They are sooooo good. Kinda like a sloppy joe but no sauce. Very tasty! Better have a spoon handy! Read about the history of these tasty sammies.

I see that they have one in Loveland. Hmmm...not sure if I want to drive that far for one...but then again....

Loveland Maid-Rite
1490 S.W. 10th Street
Loveland, CO 80537

More Mandu Lovlies

More mandu for lunch! Hello Kitty helped me out here today!

Tea & Quesadilla

Love savory things for breakfast! Quick and easy! Yum yum!

Super Savory Lamb & Rosmary Onion Pizza

I was in the mood for my famous grilled pizza. Since it's transitioning to winter right now, I do these inside on my grill pan. Tonight I used leftovers from the freezer and fridge.

My buddy, Bill took me to The Palm last week for Halloween, and it was divine! He insisted that I take home the leftovers. OMG! Even better! Let me take a moment to share what we had. You know I'm a foodie and savor really good dining experiences and want to share them with others!

We had:
Lobster Bisque (shared)
Roasted Lamb Chops (me)
Ribeye (Bill)
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms (shared)
Potatoes Au Gratin (shared)
Creamed Spinach (shared)
Red Wine (shared of course)
Big Ass Chocolate Cake (shared, and it was heavenly...had genache instead of frosting)

We were so full when we left! Very nice B, thanks again!! Okay, back to the task at hand!

Super Savory Lamb & Rosemary Onion Pizza

Pizza dough (I get mine from Sam's Club...frozen...you just cut off a hunk and stretch it out)
1/2 small onion, cut in half, then sliced thin
1 small clove garlic, crushed and chopped
1 t fresh rosemary, stripped from stem (or you can use dry, just use a bit less)
olive oil
1/4 cup red wine (leftover from the other night...thanks Nick for bringing the wine to movie night!)
water (you gotta eyeball this)
1 T tomato paste
6 oz. lamb chop (leftover) sliced into thin strips, off the bone
1/2 cup cheese, I use an Italian blend of mozzarella, asiago and Parmesan
fresh ground black pepper

Alrighty, utilize the mise en place technique and prepare. Slice the lamb and set aside. Yes, I gnawed on the bones.

In a small fry pan over medium high heat pour in olive oil and sweat the onions. Turn down the heat to medium to caramelize the onions. This will take some time (about 15 mintues) but well worth it! Pour in the wine to de-glaze, and add the rosemary and garlic at this time. Simmer and reduce and add the sliced lamb. Cook for a bit longer and then add some water (about 1/4 cup) then the tomato paste. This will thicken up and become your sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.
Okay, I chop off a nice sized ball from my dough (they are 16 oz. each) so it's about 1/4 of it and stretch it out. Turn on the fire under the grill pan to about medium high, more high. Slap the round dough onto the pan and let cook. You just have to keep an eye on it. You want some brown spots. Then flip. Put the lamb mixture on the crust, spread the cheese and cook some more. The cheese will start to melt. Grind some pepper on top.

Set your oven to broil. Place the pan underneath the the broiler until cheese is golden brown and delicious.

Transfer to a cutting board and slice . Note I did use my new CUTCO pizza cutter. Very slick! Enjoy!

Sunny Monday Morning

Good morning! Yet another week begins and the weekend seems so far away! I had 24 hour duty twice last week so it really seemed to drag! I survived though, and am ready for a new fresh start!

Today I'm just having something simple. I love these guys! Frosted Mini-Wheats. Well, the generic equivalent I guess that are bought in jumbo bags located near the floor in most grocery cereal aisles.

Along with a splash of rice milk, and a good cold glass of Nake OJ, it's doesn't really get any better than this.

Dukboki

This is one of my favorite Korean dishes. The primary ingredient is duk, which is a satisfyingly chewy Korean rice cake. This dish is popular out on the streets in Korea and great to eat on a cold day!!

My Dukboki

A good handfull of Korean Duk (rice cake)
large scallion, cut on the diagonal into large pieces and use the greens as well
On large piece of Eumuk (Korean fish cake) sliced into julienne strips
SPAM sliced into julienne strips (optional) however much you like
2 boiled eggs (chopped)
1/4 cup Korean gochuchang (hot red pepper paste)
1 heaping T Korean red pepper powder
water

Boils some water and start cooking the plain duk. When they start to get tender (15 minutes or so) drain some of the water off. Kind of eyeball it and see how much sauce you want. Set back on high heat. Add all ingredients and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the red pepper paste and powder. Turn down the heat and simmer. The sauce will be thin, but it will thicken the more you cook it and when it cools down.

Enjoy! It's super spicy, but in a great way!

Steamed Mandu

These are so delicious and so simple. I don't make them, but rather buy them frozen. These are usually available at most Asian food stores and some really well stocked ethnic food sections in local grocery stores.

I specifically used Korean dumplings, but you can use Chinese, Japanese...whatever you like. I don't have a steamer, but I use a make shift one.

I take a small pot, put in about 2 inches of water and bring that to a boil. Then I take a metal collindar that I have and once the water is boiling, set the collindar inside of the pan. Make sure that the water isn't boiling into the collindar. Spray the collindar with non-stick spray.

Arrange the frozen dumplings and cover with a lid. I use the one that comes with the small pot. Lower the heat so the water is aggressively simmering. In about 7-9 minutes your dumplings should be ready. Serve with soy sauce and enjoy!

Bacon 'n Eggs Are Back By Popular Demand!

I'm going to a Halloween party thrown by some friends, Tom and Shelly tonight. The last time I saw Shelly she requested that I make my famous "bacon 'n eggs" candies, and so I am. I usually have by the biggest and baddest bag of M&Ms just to get a mere handful of yellow ones for the "yolks". Are they worth it? Absolutely!

Bubble Tea

This is easy to make. I took some of the precooked black tapioca (cold from the fridge) and put some in the bottom of a glass. Pop this into the microwave because if you like your balls hard (tee hee), that's what they will be if you don't soften them up. After the tapioca is heated (will look dark and glossy) add some sugar to taste. The warmth will dissolve the sugar, so this is a good thing.

Put some ice in the glass on top of the tapioca. Bring water to a boil and brew your tea in a separate glass or cup. I usually use less water to make a very strong tea. You're going to pour the hot tea over the ice in the glass and this will dilute it a bit while cooling it down.

Stir, put in a big-ass straw (can usually find these in Asian food stores along with the tapioca) and enjoy!

The Black Pearl

Last night I was watching a movie, and wanted a snack. I don't know why I decided to cook some of this up, but I'm glad I did. It's extra large black pearl tapioca (served warm with cane sugar sprinkled on top). Where in the world does one find this you may ask? Well, that's exactly what I thought when I first tried these rubbery balls of goodness floating around in a "bubble tea" in Seattle several years ago. I had never known that there was such a thing.

My sister, Dori and I were hanging around in Seattle one spring, and stumbled across this Asian shop that sold these drinks. Bubble Tea is some sort of liquid (slushie or tea) with these little black pearls at the bottom of the cup. My sister wanted to try this new discovery of ours (saw bubble tea advertised everywhere) , but I passed at first.

"Eww, they look like fish eggs, or eyeballs." I just wrinkled up my nose. During our stay there she had enjoyed many of these cool drinks with the same tapioca. One day I gave in and just really fell in love with the drink. The tapioca was nice and gummy, they didn't taste like much, but were very satisfyingly chewy. If you like that sort of thing!

I was able to have bubble tea a couple times later in Manhattan and here in Colorado Springs.

When I visited her in Houston earlier this year we stumbled across another shop that sold bubble tea. The place was called Chewy Balls! What a funny name huh? They said that their last name was Chew and like the play on words, and that it was a bit naughty. You know how I like those naughty little sort of things! Anyway...I decided that I could make these myself.

Dori and I were out on a mission to find this tapioca. OMG! It was like searching for the Holy Grail I tell you! We did find it in a Vietnamese food market, and I bought several packages and stuffed them in my luggage for my use at home. I would have thought that I could find the black sort in most Asian food stores, but not so. Tapioca comes in many sizes and colors, but the black does seem to be my favorite.

Oh yea, I bought the big-ass drinking straws for when I make my own bubble tea at home.

Mise En Place

I made a smothered turkey burrito tonight for dinner. This is actually an encore meal since I had a jar of super hot green chili left over in my fridge, and I thawed out the last of the turkey I cooked in July. Yes, I have Thanksgiving in July sometimes. Doesn't everyone?

Cooking is really very simple. The key is the timing, and having everything ready before you cook and assemble makes it so much easier. I love prep work. I could work at a restaurant as a prep person. Cleaning, chopping, dicing, slicing...you name it! My knife work isn't very fast, but I do take pride that I can hack something to bits while keeping all of my digits!

I grabbed more leftovers and whatnot from my fridge. Thawed turkey breast, white onion, fontina cheese, and the green chili were all put into little monkey dishes. Those of you who may have had an illustrious time in a commercial kitchen know this phrase well!


With all of the main ingredients ready, I heated up my non-stick griddle on high heat. I get these "raw" flour tortillas at COSTCO, and you just finish them on the griddle. They are so tasty, and they're nice and thin which is what I prefer.

Cook the tortilla just until the transparency is disappearing and flip. Work quickly by putting the turkey, onion, and cheese on the tortilla and let cook a bit longer. Check underneath being careful not to over brown or burn.

Fold the tortilla around the filling to form the burrito. Turn over and let sit a minute more. You can turn the flame off at this time as it will still cook over the residual heat of the pan. Heat up your green chili. I do it in the microwave. Hey, I'm cooking for one here!

The tortilla is nice and brown while it's still soft and a bit crispy. Carefully remove the finished burrito (sad to have all the stuff fall out), and plate. Smother with the green chili and enjoy!



This jarred green chili is very good. I haven't come across a good recipe for it, so for the time being I'll just keep buying it from the shelf!

Toad-In-A-Hole & OJ Morning

I would have to say that this is one of my favorite breakfasts. I know that I could easily make a piece of toast and throw a fried egg on top, but it's not as fun! Only if I had some bacon....ummm...bacon.....

"The Mushroom That Ate My Brain"

Matt and his Puffball

My friend Matt in Minnesota sent me pictures of this mushroom that he found. Later today he called me for a chat and I begged him to tell me the details. I was totally fascinated by this queer oddity in nature, and even more aghast that he and his roommate, Rick consumed it!

He found this mushroom in their backyard one day while searching for the cat, Umbra. At first glance he thought that the white blob was a discarded grocery bag, but when he got closer he realized that it was a huge fungus. It looked like a head and had a gaping mouth that immediately reminded him of Audrey II from "Little Shop Of Horrors".

It just so happens that Rick had friends that had published a book called Start Mushrooming by Stan Tekiela and Karen Shanberg, and they were able to identify this colossus as an edible puffball (Calvatia gigantea). This puffball was in it's younger state. When they mature they become swollen with spores. All the time just sitting there hoping that something will come across it and burst it. This sends the spores out for future procreation. At this point in the life of the puffball it is poisonous. Ewww, very alien like. Does it have acid for blood? God, isn't nature just great? Better than most science fiction!

Matt also informed me that these usually grow in pairs or sometimes three. He stated that there were three indeed, but one was not fit for eating, and the other one was so small that he accidentally stomped the living daylights out of it with his foot!

So, upon the harvesting of this alien looking thing, they had already decided what they were going to make. They found a mushroom soup recipe, and then were going to cut hanks of it and make "steaks."

He also noted that it was rather hefty and had substantial weight. I don't think they they ever got the official weight or measurement of it. It was definitely bigger than his head, and for all of us who know Matt, that's huge! (Just teasing buddy! You know I love ya!)

He described the flavor as earthy but a little bland, and the texture is what really surprised him. "I'm not going to say that it was like tofu, because that just grosses me out...it was like fresh mozzarella cheese. Very creamy." I suspect much to his chagrin that he didn't experience any hallucinogenic properties!

How interesting. I am just amazed that they just happened to have access to this book, took the chance to pluck it from it's home, chop it up and eat it! I don't think that I would be that adventurous. I mean, I have eaten a lot of weird things in my life, but this would be for me like playing Russian Roulette.

Maybe now that I know they haven't died or suffered serious side effects, I would try something they would make from this one. Which could very well happen, because they weren't able to eat it all in one sitting. Or even a couple sittings. The rest of the 'shroom rests comfortably in cryonic suspension for a later day. All I need to do is get a plane ticket now!

I think I need to do more research on this gastronomical phenomenon. Being the scientist at heart, I bombarded him with all sorts of questions. Like he's a mycologist or something! I just love stuff like this!



When I look at these pictures it makes me chuckle. It's a bit comical to see a what-seems common thing so large like this. Kind of like putting us in the perspective of being a mouse and stumbling upon a huge piece of cheese or something.

"Yo dude...look what I found! We can feast for months!"