image by (simonsterg)

Can you count the times you rocked your own ‘boat’ ? I’m sure you can. Now try counting the times you’ve done so with others. How many times you’ve actually touched someone or made a profound change in their lives ?

Sadly enough, most of us could spend a lifetime without even raising a finger to help others (not talking about donations here). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m any better, I’m like any other person.   It’s just that we are too focused in saving our own necks or from our worst enemy…ourselves!. But in some moments, usually those ones that are completely random and unplanned things happen, we touch someone’s

heart, make a small act of curtsy that they will treasure forever (or until they will lose their memory; whichever comes first).
2 weeks ago, I went with my parents to a forest for some mushroom picking. It was a nice family thing to do, especially with your parents. And since it was heading out to Asia a few days later, it was the perfect, get-together.
I have to admit that I’m not always that successful finding edible mushrooms, but those moments of getting into the woods ‘treasure hunting’ reminds me of my childhood where we used to go from time to time with my parents as kids.

Now the world of mushrooms is a wonderful, fascinating one but the truth of the matter is that most of us are just damn too scared to explore this unfamiliar ground. (talking about edible mushrooms here).
Basically most people are afraid of any mushroom that doesn’t come in a can or being sold in the supermarket. And here are the most common comments:
A) whatever your find in the wild is probably poisonous
B) they ones you’ll find will probably fry your brains out since they are hallucinative
Leave the fact the fungus are all around us and are lovely to cook with. It is true that when you go out mushroom picking, you need to be careful and go with a guide or a book to avoid mishaps, but that’s not an excuse not to do it at all.
The thing is, whenever I go mushroom hunting I can recognize only one eatable mushroom, when it comes to the rest, like all others I am completely clueless!.

Here’s the thing, in Israel, most people, families that go mushroom picking look for the ‘Slippery Jack‘ mushroom (Suillus granulatus) which is a mushroom that grows under pine trees. And since it is a tiny country, the competition is high. It’s either you get it first, or the others do …and if you come by noon time that’s a completely different ball-game since then the warms get it.  But just the fact that you went outdoors, to the forest, got some fresh air and went outside of the concrete jungle is a great thing.

A few years back, when I traveled  in Burma, I decided to get off the beaten track and  explore it’s northern beauty.  I got to a remote town and found myself a local friendly guide by the name of Roger (‘very Burmese’ name, I know…)  anyways, the trek was incredible. We have visited a medicine man in his smoky hut deep in the forest where there was nothing in walking distance, explored wonderful natural flora of the region, and spent the night in one of the northern tribe’s hut.

This trip was spectacular, yet it wasn’t as spectacular as the wild mushrooms I saw along the road.  Those were the same mushrooms I used to look for in Israel, yet they looked like someone decided to ‘super size’ them for 99 cents.  These were definitely the largest wild edible mushroom (Suillus granulatus) I’ve seen in my life, and they were all over the place!.
the thoughts of collecting them and cooking a wonderful stew or an omelet were constantly in my head and settled there for a while. These thoughts were so vivid, that I could literally ‘smell in my mind’. The wonderful smell of the fried onions on a pan, seconds before adding the diced mushrooms. The juicy taste of the mushroom omelet in my mouth with the first bite.
At this point my mouth was getting watery and my mind kept on saying one word (well maybe 2) ‘mushroom….mmmm”.

“but what If it’s not the same mushroom? What if it only looks the same?” I thought to myself. After all I’m in a new country that is thousands of miles away and the chances are that these concerns might have some truth in them.  At this point, I decided to ask my Roger about it, after all he lived in the region all of his life. I grabbed a mushroom and turned to Roger “do you know if this wild mushroom is eatable ?”. in a face full of fear he answered “Poison!”.
you have no idea how frustrated I was. “poison” I thought to myself? Too bad, they look just like the ones I used to pick when I was young. They even grow next to pine trees & have the same smell and color as the one I know.

10 minutes later, I stumbled upon another pine mushroom and asked “Roger, are you it’s poisons’ ?”. Roger told me that when they were kids in the family their dad never allowed them to eat mushrooms. So he never ate one in his life. “YES!” at this point I was relieved .
Since we were heading out to the tribes to spend the nights in one of their shacks. So at this point, I convinced Roger to show them the mushrooms and they might know better if they are edible or not.
Now you might think , what’s the big deal?
Myanmar (formally known as Burma) has one of the worst regimes in the world, and if something might have happend to me (even thought it was my fault ) Roger’s neck might have been in stack.

So, eventually he agreed and I was the happiest person on earth. I even taught my x-girlfriend Satomi how to find them . and since that moment, it all turned into a game.
I have to admit that I lost track of the scenery and besides a huge snake we saw and tons of mushrooms we’ve collected, I don’t remember much.

So there we were, finally at the northern tribes village with a big bag full of mushrooms in our hands and a side to side smile on our faces.  Roger explained to the elderly woman about the mushroom picking and asked her if she knew them and if there were edible at all.  Well that’s maybe the polite version … I have a feeling it went like this:

“these stupid foreigners are collecting garbage and are completely out of their mind, just tell me those mushrooms are not edible ok? “

She said a few words that I didn’t understand and he translated it to be “hallucinative”.
at this point I was quite pleased. Well, maybe if I would eat a few I might turn into a dolphin and have my brain cooked for the rest of my life. But the good side is that at least I wont die if I tried them.

So, I didn’t give up (what an annoying guy) and asked her if she or someone from the tribe ever tried them in the past?
Apparently they haven’t !!! . needless to say that I was ecstatic.  Satomi didn’t like that mental look in my eyes when she heard the answer.  At this point I was certain it was the same mushroom I know (well, let’s say 70% certain )

“Ok, here’s the deal” I explained to her in Japanese, “ I would cook them and eat first, and if nothing happens to me within 30 min, then join me”.

I went to the ‘kitchen’ which was a fireplace in the middle of the hut with a huge wok on it .  without loosing any precious seconds I diced the mushrooms, I grabbed some onions and potatoes that we carried with us in our backpacks for supper and chopped them as well.
the smell of the fried onions filled the house, suddenly we say the woman’s younger daughters flocking into the room from curiosity of the wonderful smell.

the dish was big and could easily feed 7 people, but since I was the ‘chosen genie pig’ I stated eating it all by myself.  Satomi couldn’t resist the smell and my facial expressions of pure joy and joined me within 10 min.
Even the old woman peaked from a different room and told Roger that it smells great!
“Don’t worry, let her know I have left plenty for her and her daughters”.

Because of the fact that I was so stubborn, that tribe has now another food source within their reach. Do they really use it ? I can only hope.

Fried Slippery Jack (Suillus granulatus) mushroom with onions
- 10 Slippery Jack mushrooms
- 2 large onion (preferably purple)
- olive oil
- 2 potatoes
- Salt & Black pepper

1. wash the mushrooms and make sure that there are no worms inside.
2. Dice them into small pieces around 2 cm each
3. chop the onions and the potatoes as well
4. fry the onions first with the olive oil till the get a bit tanned, then add the potatoes.
5. Once the potatoes are soft (stick a fork in them) add the mushrooms.
6. Stir for about 3-4 min and serve.
7. Serve it with bread/ toast or omelets .