Monday’s paint out may have been rained out, but the trip to Chatham was well worth it! We had to reschedule for the 7th. What made my day was the opportunity to leisurely stroll though Peter Moffat’s incredible woodland garden with my camera. One of the ladies had very sharp eyes, and spotted an incredible patch of morel’s. I could not have been more excited. I was able to take a few home. Today I made lunch with one of them.
1 morel cleaned and sliced
2 eggs beaten
A splash of milk
2 pats salted butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 sliced shallot
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese
Salt & fresh ground pepper
Saute veggies in butter a bit
Slide to one side of pan
Gently pour in beaten eggs
Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese
When almost set fold omelet.
Let set up a bit more
Plate and enjoy!
Elizabeth Gaye MacDonald, Plein Air Artist 
A delicious looking omelette, Elizabeth! I’ve had black morels sprout up in my yard after lots of rain but never knew what they were. They look kinda weird to me so I don’t think I’d ever be game enough to try them. However, they are certainly sought after in some parts of the world from what I’ve read.
Serena, they are quite tasty. They do need careful cleaning as their nooks and crannies tend to hold the soil. They are almost rubbery when picked, so they do look and feel a bit strange. If you do pick them make sure you leave a few so they can spread their spores.
To clean slice them in half from top to bottom. They are hollow, and bugs love them, so you need to make sure there are no critters hiding inside. There are two schools of thought on cleaning. One that says you should soak them in salt water a bit. I just tapped all the loose sand out of mine and gave them a good rinse under fast running water. When I thought they were clean I also gave them a swish in a bowl to see if any more sand would accumulate in the bowl.