Gail’s photo of some of 2011′s bounty

Ah, the season of bounty! Morels started popping weeks ahead of schedule here in northern Michigan and are still going strong. I found a couple on March 26, a consequence of that freakish spell of hot weather that everyone is still talking about — first time ever I’ve found them during that month when the woods are usually still clogged with  snow. Now the big whites are showing up in the usual places: along roadsides, in grassy patches around ash and apple trees, in the neighbor’s yard.
And morels are just the start of it. As always in spring, it’s tough deciding whether to spend my free time hunting mushrooms, fishing, canoeing, or birding, so I’ve been combining them all into weekend Bacchanalias. Here’s to trout, warblers, ‘shrooms, and J-strokes! As the great Kinky Freedman said, find what you love and do it ’till it kills you!

With morels on everyone’s minds, it’s a great time to check out this splendid new book from The University of Michigan Press: The Art of Cooking Morels.
And though many of Ruth Johnston’s recipes are a bit elaborate for my taste (and abilities — I’m a toss-’em-in-flour-and-fry-’em-in-butter guy), they might inspire you to try startling and innovative ways of preparing this tastiest of fungi.

And there’s a terrific bonus on the cover and throughout the book: The stunning illustrations by David McCall Johnston, as below. An utterly delightful — and delicious — book.