puffball!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oooh.....DH and I spotted a nice big soccer ball sized puffball on the side of the road this morning on our bike ride! It was just perfect and white and fresh. Smells like fresh mushrooms.
We couldn't take it because there was no way to carry it on our bikes and not damage it. I worried that it would be gone if I came back later, but DH said "If it is meant to be, it will be." (he's very wise.)
After our ride a couple hours later, I went back in my car and it was still there!

We were invited to a friends house for dinner tonight and other friends are coming too, so I'm bringing it and will slice it, bread it and fry it up for all of us at dinner! Woo-HOOO!!!! Sort of what you do with sliced eggplant...

[Wahine]

Cooooool!!

I've never had breaded and suateed puffball. How interesting. Do you have a photo of it?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Cooooool!!

I've never had breaded and suateed puffball. How interesting. Do you have a photo of it?

Yes, i just now took a photo!
Here it is.....

[mimitabby]

Lisa, what happened to your velo orange bag??

it is beautiful. i didn't know they got that big!

[Wahine]

Wow! That is one big puffball.

I love the photo too, nice textures with the patina of use on the wood, the steel of the knife blade and the other produce int the background.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, what happened to your velo orange bag??

it is beautiful. i didn't know they got that big!

Whaddya mean?- nothing happened to my VO bag!

I once got a bunch of puffballs that were more than twice that big- bigger than basketballs...you had to carry each one in a paper shopping bag! I gave some to friends that time.

Wahine, thanks for the photo compliment.

Those are our tomatoes, and some of the 200 or so organic apples we picked on Monday.
A farmer gave us the 3 sweet little Indian corns from his truck.
I also got some home made pickles and tomatoes from a woman in exchange for a banjo lesson.
Lots of harvest stuff going on around here right now!

[LBTC]

Yup, it's a gorgeous photo. I didn't know you could eat puffballs, though. Of course I've never seen one bigger than a golf ball!

H&B
~T~

[kelownagirl]

Wow, that's huge! I've never tasted "puffball" but it sounds interesting. It's like a mushroom right? Does it taste like mushrooms?

[7rider]

I had mentioned this to Lisa via PM, and now I thought I'd share it with the group...since we all survived!
DH found a humongous puffball in our backyard on Thursday (that's him, holding it in the picture (cellphone camera - sorry for the quality)). He was very excited, as it's been the topic of several conversations recently.
We had a few friends over on Friday for a dinner party....and as Lisa did, we cut up the puffball, dredged in eggwash and breadcrumbs and munched away. We also tried some sauteed (sp?) in a little butter and olive oil with some balsamic vinegar on the side (I used to marinate portabella caps for the grill with that, so figured, what the hay?). All were yummy, but I think my favorite way was the next morning, when I cut up a few slices into cubes, fried them up in butter, and then added them to scrambled eggs and cheese. Subtle, and very good. (and yes, Lisa, after friday night, I ended up peeling off the skin).
We gave a big hunk to a neighbor (who wants some of the soil where it came from in the hopes of propogating some more), but then we were stuck with "what do we do with the rest of it?" We actually had TWO puffballs...the big one, and then one the size of a grapefruit that was attached to it. So...I did some google searches, and found out that you could dry and pulverize it and use the powder as flavoring in future dishes. So I did. Our oven has an awesome drying function, so the pictures below also show the slices drying in the oven and grinding into powder (I filled that peanut butter jar....although I suspect it will settle a bit lower). I may try some in the Thanksgiving gravy.
We have our friends all on puffball hunts now!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Regina,
That's amazing! I never even heard of drying/powdering mushrooms. What a great idea to be able to use the mushroom flavor for months to come in dishes.
Thanks for the photos. That one of DH looks sort if sci-fi spooky.

[violette]

What the ^%$ is a puffball????

[malkin]

I love the first pic in #17!
It could be from the original Star Trek.