I have another hike coming up and now with the trees blooming the scenery is going to be awesome. This next hike coincides with the morel (mollymoocher) hunting season. This year should prove more productive in finding the elusive yet very tasty mushroom. Last year the weather remained dry up to and through the normal time to find the morel. Which is in the early spring and usually following a good spring rain.

Recipe -

DEEP FRIED MORELS

Fresh Morel mushrooms
Egg wash (2 eggs beaten with 1/4 c. milk)
Crumb mix (1 c. crackers, 1/2 c. corn flake crumbs)
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt to taste

Split Morel mushrooms lengthwise. Rinse in several changes of cold water and drain. While heating oil to 370-375 degrees, dip Morels into egg wash, roll in crumbs. Cook Morels 4-5 minutes, stirring and turning while cooking. When golden brown and floating, remove to rack to drain. Salt to taste. Place on paper towels.

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Warning - Morels should never be eaten raw because they contain a volatile compound that can be removed only by cooking or drying. Some “false morels” are poisonous. Also, morels have a hollow center, which can harbor insect larvae, so be sure to cut all mushrooms in half to check for bugs.

I finally got to go on my hike. It wasn’t a multi-day hike like I originally intended but it was an all day hike. Two days later I am still feeling this first hike.

I took a lot of photos covering more than one subject. If you go to the Stop MTR blog you will see photos I took of the mountaintop removal site in Clays Branch. If you go to the BackWoods drifter site you will see photos of a ramp (wild leek) patch I happened across. On this site, I have some scenery to show you.

All of these photos and the ones on the other blogs were taken from the ridge that separates Drews Creek from Clays Branch.