Mushroom fever has hit my house! Hawkeye has been bringing home gorgeous maitake, oyster, and chicken of the woods from the Co-op (the maitake and chicken of the woods were locally foraged, the oysters were cultivated) and is impatiently awaiting his first shitake flush (he inoculated logs last Autumn).

It really looked like little mushrooms were forming on the logs a few days ago, right around the areas where the mycelium-colonized plugs were put in, but nothing yet.

Garden chores are winding down, so we took a walk in the woods last weekend to seek out the 'shrooms and were amazed at how many different kinds we saw. The most incredible were these small, vibrant purple ones hiding amongst wet leaves on the ground. I've never seen them before! And wouldn't ya know, none of the photos I took came out.

Having an abundance of fresh mushrooms led to indulgence in our favorite omelet: a little homegrown garlic and kale sauteed with the mushrooms. Sometimes we toss in some rice too. All it needs for perfection is sliced avocado and hot sauce on top.

I made a tasty soup too. The soup was kindof free-form (just using up what there was in the fridge), but here's two great recipes I use as a starting base:

Susun Weed's Immune A-Go-Go Soup

• 2 cups beet roots or tops, sliced (parsnips are great too)
• 2 cups water (spring water or filtered water)
• 1 cup dried seaweed (2 cups/500 ml after soaking)
• 6 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
• 3 onions, sliced from top to bottom (like crescent moons)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 10–20 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 thumb’s worth of ginger, sliced
• 4 ounces fresh shiitake, reishii, or wild mushrooms ~ or 1 ounce dried mushrooms
• 2 cups carrots, sliced
• 8–12 cups spring water or filtered water
• 1 ounce dried Siberian ginseng root, whole or cut
• optional: organic chicken, any amount
• optional: 1 cup cooked brown rice

Cover beets with water; cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, soak seaweed in hot water. On a low fire, saute the cabbage and onion in olive oil until limp, 5–10 minutes. Add salt, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, carrots, cooked beets and their cooking water, seaweed and its soaking water (watch out for grit at the bottom), and Siberian ginseng. Stir well. Add chicken and/or rice. Add water. Cover the pot tightly and raise the heat to high. As soon as the soup boils, reduce the heat. Simmer for 1 hour. Let it rest for several hours or overnight. Reheat before serving. Don’t worry about leftovers. The taste of this soup improves as it ages.

Herb Companion Magazine's Immune-Building Herbal Tonic Soup by Laurel Vukovic

• 1 ounce dried astragalus root slices
• 1⁄2-inch piece fresh ginger root, slivered
• 1⁄4 cup brown basmati rice
• 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1⁄2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup winter squash, chopped
• 1 cup shiitake or maitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
• 8 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1⁄4 cup fresh parsley, minced

1. Simmer astragalus, ginger, rice and stock in a heavy covered pot for 1 hour.

2. Sauté onion, squash and mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes, or until vegetables soften.

3. Add sautéed vegetable mixture to the soup pot, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add corn; simmer an additional 10 minutes. Remove astragalus.

4. Dilute miso in a small amount of hot broth and add to soup. Thin soup with additional broth if desired and add more miso to taste.

5. Add garlic and parsley, let stand for 5 minutes and serve.