Mother's Day Morels

Mother's Day has a whole new meaning to me now that I can't seem to obtain motherhood status. It's funny how perceptions change. Tim likes the fact that it's one "made up" holiday that he's off the hook on.

I guess I've been a "mother" to quite a few kids when I was a nanny, so maybe I made a difference in someone's life--and I didn't even have to deal with the pain of childbirth in the process.

Mother's Day while growing up was usually spent heading to Gramies and going Morel mushroom hunting with our cousins. We always had a lot of fun, and once we felt we found enough mushrooms, we usually ended up finding something to keep us occupied. One year we found a piece of plywood and a creek, and thought for sure we could make a raft by balancing the plywood on some sticks and then carefully getting into the center of the "raft". It appeared to work for a few moments, and we did ok, until the raft decided to go under a barbed wire fence that was streached across the stream. Needless to say the entire party was soaking wet after that.

My Dad has been working close to home lately, so has actually had time to go mushroom hunting after work. He surprised us this week with a nice sized box of mushrooms! Yum! They have been delicious! Even though Tim is from the mid-west, he had never had morels! I could never eat tons at once since they are quite rich, but really enjoyed having some this year. It reminded me of home, and the fun times we had finding them. I even found them horseback riding on occasion. We always breaded them with saltine cracker crumbs, and fried them in butter. They're best eaten warm, right out of the pan. :-)