Mushrooms as...Dessert?

The first memory I have of mushrooms is not exactly food-related. Well, it's zero food-related. I was first introduced to them by my close friend Hanna-Barbera, as the place that The Smurfs called home. In Brazil, mushrooms were not a staple in every mother's kitchen and good and fresh mushrooms were expensive and hard to find. Luckily for me, that all changed when I moved to Ireland, where I was able to try loads of different types and open my mind and heart to them. Since I arrived, I 've enjoyed mushrooms as my starter and I've had them as as my main with every possible combination ever. In all these years, however, I've never had them as the best part of any meal served in any part of the explored universe: dessert. The very idea of having mushrooms as part of any kind of dessert was unthinkable. I wouldn't dare.

That was until I came across something called chanterelles. I saw (on my laptop screen) those beautiful, yellow, weird looking mushrooms and I felt a tingle in my mouth. Something I hadn't felt since I tried peanut butter for the first time. It was love at first sight. On my research about chanterelles (officially now my favourite mushroom name) I discovered they were in season in November and they could easily be found in Ireland and that they are often used to make, believe it or not..ice cream. It was too good to be true. I had to try it.


And so I went on a quest to find these babies. I visited every single Asian market my legs could bring me to and I couldn't find them. I went to specialty shops and they we not there. I tried Marks & Spencer and nothing. I was about to give up when it came to me. It was obvious. I went back to the place Emma, Philippa and I first met: Fallon & Byrne. And there they were and in all of their glory. I brought them home and adapted a recipe I found online for Chanterelle Sorbet.




Here's the step by step:

1) Arrange them in a paper bag and take a picture to put on your wall and show your kids one day. 

2) Wash and chop them roughly

3) Blend them with the simple syrup (recipe below), lime juice, vanilla extract and the peanut butter for 1-2 min, until smooth.

4) Pour the mixture in the ice cream maker (or the freezer if you are a normal person) and wait until it becomes ice cream.

5) Grab a spoon and experience what raw mushrooms and sugar taste like when they are blended together and frozen: INCREDIBAMAZING!
The final product tastes sweet and nutty and has a lovely texture. I would definitely recommend trying it at home. If not for all the reasons above, for the weirdness of it.Complete list of ingredients:2 Cups of Water / 1 Cup of Sugar / 1/2 Cup of Chanterelle Mushrooms / Juice of Half a Lime /  1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter / 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract / Patience Simple Syrup:- Add water and sugar to a pan and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Let it cool before blending with mushrooms.
I shall now pass the blogging batton to my beautiful Emma in Nice, who I'm sure will blow your minds with whatever she comes up with. Go, Emma!

Challenge #01 - Mushrooms

So this month's challenge (which our loyal and plentiful followers will already have read about in our previous post) is mushrooms!  All three of us (and several mushrooms) went to a well known land mark in each of our locations. All is revealed below! 

Nice, Nice, Nice – so nice I say it thrice.

Here I am after climbing the thigh-burning steps of the “Colline du Chateau” (hill of the castle) which, to my surprise does not play host to an actual castle, not since 1706 anyway. Was I disappointed with the lack of chateau-ness as I reached the summit? Absolutely not, the view from the top was worth every sweat particle shed.  Not only are there views from this height, but also a waterfall, park and roman ruins – I like to think of it as my "Colline du Bliss". You would almost skip a meal if it meant making it up here for sunset…almost. I am so happy to say that I live a mere 5 minute walk from this breath-taking viewpoint and I feel a lot of my blogging inspiration might come this year from sitting in that very place, overlooking the beauty that is my new home.

I awoke on a crisp wintery morning with mushrooms on the brain, wrapped myself in my dad's tartan scarf and wax jacket (thanks, pops!) and ventured to the nearest "bodega" (I have plenty more slang where that came from!) I chose a Portobello mushroom as a throwback to my last day spent in Dublin redeeming a free pint in a pub on the canal called "The Portobello" (the actual reason: it looked like the sturdiest of the bunch and would survive a bumpy trip stuffed into my bag on the subway). My chosen destination was Times Square. With over 360,000 visitors daily, lights that dazzle and shine and a resident Naked Cowboy nobody batted an eyelid at my humble Portobello mushroom. A stalwart and brave travel companion (and a delicious addition to my dinner later that day!)

My inspiration for this month's challenge was the 2001 academy-award nominated film Amélie. At one point the aforementioned main character places 5 raspberries on her fingers and eats them one by one, savouring every bite. Needless to say I tried doing the same with the mushrooms and as a result I am writing this while simultaneously having to google: "can you die by eating raw mushrooms?".

The pretty little lady behind me goes by the name of Ha'Penny Bridge and it's Dublin's answer to the Pont des Arts in Paris. Except it's not. So, if you are reading this while on your way there and you have a padlock in your possession, please stop immediately and turn the other way around. You are destroying the bridge. Love, Ale.

Next week our Alpha (and only) male will showcase his individual blogging talents and write a piece on a meal he had/made containing (you guessed it!) MUSHROOMS. Emma will take to the stage the week after and Philippa will do her worst the week after that. Got it? Great!
Til next time, feast your eyes on these fungus based pictures!

The Inaugural Toast

Here we go, kids! Emma has flown the coop, the wheels of motion are in full swing for Philippa's departure and Ale's travel adventure will commence in early December. We have staggered our departures. We shall take our blogging bull by the horns. Our legs shall wander. Our hearts shall yearn. Our tummies shall grumble. Our mouths shall chew. And our hands shall put pen to paper to record our diverse experiences and various aspirations. 

Post one is upon us and we aim to start as we mean to go on: like champignons. 

November theme: Mushrooms. 

Each individual blogger will write a post on a delicious meal they had containing mushrooms. 

This month's challenge: Take a creative photo of a mushroom in front of an important landmark in each city.

Aaaaaaaaaand we're off!