Magic of the Mushrooms: Family Memories Spun Around Morels

These photos of long-ago mushroom hunts carry special memories for Angela Vespa and her family, who are selling a cabin near HIggins Lake where they enjoyed many of the tasty spring delicacies over the years. (Photos courtesy of Angela Vespa)

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Angela Vespa and her family are selling their cabin near the the glacier-formed crystal clear Higgins Lake, but not the 30 years of memories that go with it.

At this time of year, those memories are centered not on boating and fishing the lake’s perch, trout and pike, but another sport – morel mushroom hunting.

The family decided to keep the cabin after Vespa’s father died of lung cancer seven years ago, but when her mother was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December, they decided to put it on the market.

But will they make the big reveal – the places morels usually pop up that Michigan mushroom hunters hope will be shared, but rarely is. Perhaps the right buyer will get the carefully guarded secret.

Related:

• Michigan Morel Mushrooms Popping Up: Share Your Photos

“My parents knew every spot in south Higgins Lake where to find morels,” Vespa said in an email to Patch. “However, if you didn’t go at just the right the time near Memorial Day, you weren’t going to find any.”

She said her dad had a sixth sense when it came to finding the early spring delicacies.

“My dad would just be driving down the side of a country road and would pull over out of nowhere and would see mushrooms and go pick them,” she said.

He also found them near Wayne County’s Hines Park. Before he died, Vesper and her husband, Gino, took him to the park in his wheelchair and pushed him around, but the search turned up empty.

Since her husband died, Vesper’s mother has lost interest in mushroom hunting, especially with arthritis taking a toll.

Finding and Cooking Morels

The Michigan Department of Natural resources says the elusive delicacies can be found in fields, forests, on the edges of paved roads and even in landscaping mulch in metropolitan areas – but don’t expect morels to pop up the same place every year.

If you find them, mushroom-appreciation.com has some tips for cleaning and cooking morel mushrooms. Here are a few of them:

• Slice them the long way before cooking, which gives you the opportunity to remove any dirt or slugs lingering after you clean them. It’s fine to cut them in quarters, too.

• Cook the mushrooms as soon as possible after picking while they’re still fresh. If you must wait, cover them with damp paper toweling and keep them in the refrigerator. Never store them in a plastic bag; they’ll become mushy if you do.
• The simpler the recipe, the better. Why mask their unique taste with a lot of spices and strong ingredients?

It’s common to dredge morels in flour and then fry them in butter. Just make sure the butter doesn’t burn or you’ll spoil the taste.

Another website, thegreatmorel.com, offers more inspired recipes for morel mushrooms. Here’s one, originally from Gourmet’s April 1993 issue:

Fettuccine Alfredo with Morels

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons Cognac

1 1/4 pounds fresh morels, rinsed, drained, and patted dry, or 1/4 pound dried (source above), soaked, drained, and patted dry

1/2 pound porcini fettuccine

1/2 pound scallion fettuccine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan plus, if desired, additional as an accompaniment

Preparation: In a skillet melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over moderately low heat, add the cream, the Cognac, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the morels, simmer them, covered, for 10 minutes, and keep the mixture warm.

In a kettle of boiling salted water cook the porcini fettuccine and the scallion fettuccine for 3 minutes, or until it is al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large deep skillet melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter over low heat. Drain the pasta, add it to the large skillet, and toss it with the butter, lifting the strands. Add the morel mixture, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and pepper to taste and toss the mixture well. (Alternatively, the 2 kinds of fettuccine may be cooked and sauced separately.)

Serve the pasta on heated plates with the additional Parmesan.