This month's meeting will be at 7:30 on Thursday, the 19th, at the Natural History Museum. For the program we will view the winning pictures from the 91-92 NAMA Photo Contest.
Chuck & Kris Segerstrom have organized a field trip for the 21st & 22nd of September. Those wishing to participate need to meet at Three Rivers Campground (just north of Alamogordo, off of Highway 54) at noon. The Segerstroms provided the following description.
NMMS thanks the Segerstroms for organizing the '96 Foray in Las Vegas. We should also express acknowledgement to the staff of the Plaza Hotel, whose hospitality made the Plaza our home away from home during the Foray. And thanks particularly to Steve and Sally Trudell for their interest and involvement. Steve, during his two nights of lecture, explained the importance and intricacies of mycorrhizae and also treated us to some artistically superb slide presentations.
In addition, we enjoyed slide shows shared by guests Maggie Rogers and Billy Stone. Billy, a professional photographer and misplaced New Mexican, entertained us with a collection of his mushroom pictures and pictures of his mushroom collections. His presentation and narration were very creative and extremely clever. Maggie presented pictures illustrating the process of making paper from polypores. She also brought paper samples, each of which was a work of art. We appreciate Maggie's sharing with us her time, experience, and charm.
Also sharing his experience with us was Bob Chapman. Bob put considerable effort into sorting and identifying the numerous specimens which came pouring onto the collection tables.
The Foray was a success. The weather was wonderful, and participants harvested baskets of boletes, armfuls of agaricus, and carloads of chanterelles. Well, actually it rained regularly and pocketfuls of puffballs is more to the point. Really, collecting was quite productive, with over a hundred species brought to the table; we even added at least eight new species to the list. Enough edibles came in to provide several skillets of appetizers for Saturday's dinner, including ample Amanita caesaria, lots of little puffballs, and a crop of Coprinus comatus. We were also graced with an impressive amount of distinctive-smelling Armillaria which arrived mysteriously late Friday night.
On Friday of the Foray, NMMS members joined Park personnel in the last field session of the Fungal Diversity Survey at Pecos National Historical Park. Although participation was good and we brought in a fair number of specimens, positive identification continues to be a challenge. It appears that the project may be beyond the capabilities of the Mycological Society.
I was at a loss for a recipe this month, so I grabbed this one from the Albuquerque Journal - Sunday, September 15, 1996, page C5. The recipe comes from an article about the City Tavern in Philadelphia. It's up to the reader to interpret what is meant by "exotic mushrooms."
Wash exotic mushrooms thoroughly; drain excess water. Using your hands, grind the mushrooms roughly. Over high heat, combine beef broth, bay leaf and finely minced garlic. Bring to a boil and add mushrooms. Reduce mixture to half. Remove bay leaf. Add heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste and again reduce to half over high heat. Caution: After adding heavy cream, adjust heat if necessary to avoid having the mixture boil over. Again, taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and white pepper as necessary. Remove mixture from heat and puree in blender until mixture reaches a smooth consistency. Strain in a fine mesh strainer. Add strained mixture back to high heat in new pot and bring to boil. Then add dry sherry and boil for 6 to 8 minutes. Pull from heat and slowly stir the unsalted, room-temperature butter into the bisque and serve. Makes six to 10 servings. |
