Or should I say, my favorite opening credit sequence of all time is from Know Your Mushrooms, a documentary that came out in 2009 by Ron Mann. Of course the Flaming Lips help, with an amazing new song, “Anything You Say Now, I Believe You.”
Best Opening Credit Sequence Ever
Feb 28th, 2010 by feralkevin
Chanterelle Wandering
Feb 21st, 2010 by feralkevin
It seems this time of year I don’t make a lot of posts or videos. I find myself hunkering down inside, as it’s cold, rainy, and dark outside. When I am out, I’m foraging for mushrooms and fruit tree pruning. Harvesting wild greens, making soups. Why don’t I film this? Partially because the rain deters me from bringing the camera. Often it’s too dark out to make good video. And partially because there’s a total quietness that I like to get when I’m in the forest wandering, listening for the call of the Chanterelles. Talking to the camera and the awareness that it brings seems like dropping a cannonball into a perfectly still mountain lake. That tranquility, that baseline state of awareness that Chanterelle hunting often leads to, is one the most healing things I do. But I should bring the camera out at least one time, no?
Well, I’ll do one better. In March, I’ll be leading a wild food walk in the spirit of Chanterelle Wandering, looking at all the wild foods that grow near and around Chanterelles — the magical golden flesh of our oak/bay forests.
Never eat a wild mushroom unless . . .
Jan 10th, 2010 by feralkevin
Well, unless a lot of things actually. Like you consult with a local expert. You “see through native eyes” and are intimately familiar with the mushroom. But the one that I really want to reiterate here today after my class (which was a lot of fun, albeit not a good foraging day) is this:
Don’t eat a wild mushroom unless you can identify it as a species (scientific name). Using at least three different sources.
“I’m eating a slippery jack” (which I do not recommend!) is not going to cut it unless you are very daring or perhaps foolish. You should be able to know exactly what Genus and species it is. There are different types of slippery jacks, and not all sources say the same thing about their edibility.
Just because someone tells you something is edible, doesn’t mean you should eat it! Now if I’m eating something with you, then you should at least seriously consider it. 
Just be careful.
Mushroom Identification for Beginners
Jan 4th, 2010 by feralkevin
On Saturday, I am teaching a class on Mushroom ID for newbies. (location listed with map below) If you are out picking wild mushrooms and eating them already this class is probably not for you. This is the class that I wish I could have had when I first started learning about mushrooms. I remember going out, despite that I had the best field guide I’ve ever owned, and finding all these mushrooms and not really able to identify any of them. Even after bringing them home for further study. I remember throwing out a chanterelle because when I got it home and I couldn’t safely ID it. (long time ago). I remember almost eating a toxic Lactarius thinking it was a candy cap. These mistakes seem ridiculous to me now, but when you’re just starting with mushrooms, it can seem overwhelming and intimidating. And it’s your life on the line potentially, if you don’t even know how to steer clear of the deadly ones. I remember thinking how I didn’t read about hardly any poisonous lookalikes, but yet I was discovering them all the time. I think the problem is that to mushroom guide authors and experts, they don’t look the same. But to me then, they certainly did (and perhaps to you now).
I grew up like most Americans thinking mushrooms are scary poison, and not having a clue about their virtues or differences. Top this with nature illiteracy and a cultural fear of them, it is a wonder how I’ve gotten this far in my learning and understanding. Nature will show you the way if you are willing, and it always helps to have lots of human guides along the way.
Most people here are afraid of mushrooms. And you should be!! — that is, if you plan on eating them. Many mushrooms are deadly or dangerously poisonous when ingested, and I do not recommend eating any mushroom raw. For those of you that already do and don’t plan on stopping, some species won’t let you get by with this.
It takes a keen eye and an attunement to the natural world to be able to see their patterns successfully. My class aims to remove some of the mystique around mushrooms, and introduce you to a few, distinctive families and groups, and give you some training on how to begin your immersion into the world of fungi.
We’ll look at lots of different mushrooms, learn about their cycles and environment, use a key to identify some unknowns, and go on a fungal foray into the woods of the beautiful Oakland hills!
The class will meet at the Sequoia Arena gate, in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, right off of Skyline Blvd. There should be parking, but if not, there is easy parking just across the street as well.
The address is:
Sequoia Arena Gate
10013-10553 Skyline Blvd
Oakland, CA 94611
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sequoia+arena,+Oakland,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.910058,66.533203&ie=UTF8&hq=sequoia+arena,&hnear=Oakland,+CA&ll=37.816476,-122.18042&spn=0.001818,0.004061&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A&cid=12471166536182921240>
–
Please let me know if you have any further questions . . .
– Kevin
FeralKevin.com
An assortment of edible and toxic mushrooms
Mushroom Class and Purple Cortinarius
Jan 3rd, 2010 by feralkevin
The mushroom class that I taught with Mia Andler today was a success! 24 people showed up and we found all sorts of mushrooms on our short walk, including blewiitts (Lepista nuda), various milkcaps (Lactarius) and little browns (LBM’s.) But we also found today a purple Cortinarius! The first one I had ever seen. And it did look a lot like a blewitt (a delicious edible). I could tell them apart only through familiarity with texture and smell. And the bit of rusty brown on the gills where enough spores had gathered. Some sources say purple Corts are potentially DEADLY poisonous, others suggest otherwise, but no source recommends eating this mushroom. DO NOT EAT PURPLE CORTS! Blewitts have a pale spore print, either pinkish or buff, the Cort look alikes have a rusty brown print. But otherwise to the untrained eye, they look uncannily similar. Because all the purple mushrooms I’ve ever seen in person up until now have been blewitts and purple Laccarias (both good to eat), I’ve often thought purple meant good. Well, unless it’s a deadly Cort.
So with mushrooms, beware, and . . . beware. . . and beware!
Is there a deadly Cortinarius among us?
Mallow Leaves — Edible Weed
Dec 12th, 2009 by feralkevin
Physalis peruviana — Incan berry and the plant of many names
Nov 30th, 2009 by feralkevin
David Wolfe has called these fruit, (not actually berries) Incan berries. So you can buy them at Whole Foods or whathaveyou, often as Incan Berries. You can even go to this site and go to products and buy them.
They are also known as:
poha,
Cape gooseberry
ground cherry
golden berry (or goldenberry).
These superfoods should not be eaten green. They are in the same genus as tomatillo, which is what salsa verde is usually made from. Tomatillos are larger, and ripe when green.
Enjoy the video!
What do you want?
Nov 30th, 2009 by feralkevin
I need input! What would you like me to do on this blog? Topics? Directions? Humor? More videos? More articles?
More big picture, less how-to? The other way around? Just leave a comment below or use the CONTACT tab above. Thanks!
Edible Urban Container Garden Balcony Green Superfood Smoothie
Nov 27th, 2009 by feralkevin
One of the big things I try to teach my students and coach my clients on, is the importance of choosing the right plants. Most people only know a handful of plants to start with, and have eaten about as many. So they typically want to choose plants that are
1. already overrepresented in the marketplace
2. inappropriate to their climate
3. more trouble than they are worth in nutrition and/or calories
Growing things like Stinging Nettles, chickweed, Prunella (Self-Heal) give you more bang for your buck, so to speak. They are superfoods, and they are easy to grow in most places. They don’t provide calories, but they provide vitamins, minerals, anitoxidants and other amazing phytonutrients — with little effort and little space.
Enjoy the video . . .
How to Eat Bay Nuts (Umbellularia californica)
Nov 26th, 2009 by feralkevin
You roast them until dark brown, almost black. Like dark roasted coffee or dark chocolate. They contain caffeine like stimulants and an extraordinarily rich flavor profile.
They are related to avocados, in the Laurel or Lauraceae family, and their fruit when fully ripe can be eaten like an avocado. The leaves, although 3 times as strong, can be substituted for the European Bay Leaf, the “Bay leaves” you buy at the store, Laurus nobilis.
The edible uses of these trees and their growth were covered in my recent class, How to Eat Acorns and Bay Nuts.
California Bay Laurel trees are also involved in the phenomenon of Sudden Oak Death. Ask me how.
-
Wild Foods in Season (Bay Area, CA)
FeralKevin episodes!
-
Recent Posts
-
I CAN'T DO THIS WORK WITHOUT HELP!
-
When I don't grow or forage for them myself, this is where I buy all my herbs
