Little Kartoffel

Who says pigs are not cute?  At least until they put on another 200 pounds and start pushing you around.  This is the smallest of the six Mangalitsa pigs, he is starting to put on weight now.  He is roughly 70 pounds.  The biggest ones are now about 150 pounds.  They are growing fast.  Plenty of good food.

Halloween

The mangalitsas are getting their daily allotment of Vitamin A, C and lots of Potassium from the many pumpkins left over from Halloween.  They seem to really like the whole thing, especially the seeds.  It is nice not seeing them go to waste.  The only part left over is the stem.

The Hunt is on!

The hunt for mushrooms that is.
 Chef Geddes has made mushroom hunting a hobbies for over 20 years.
The delight and fever he expresses for "The Hunt" is very infectious. So if you spend any time with him, which I do, you start to day dream of eating saute Chanterelles over your eggs in the morning.
 Lucky for the novice seeker, like myself, this has been an amazing mushroom harvest year. Making edible mushrooms easier to find. "Epic" mushroom hunting stories have been have filling the kitchen and inspiring weekend adventures.
When searching the forest floor for edible morsels this autumn, you might find:
Cantharellus-Chanterelle, Armillaria-matsutaki, Pleurotus-oyster mushroom, and Agaricus Augustus- The Prince. Just to name a few. I encourage everyone to have an expert on hand to help determine what is what. Eating the wrong mushroom won't just ruin your appetite.

 

   Geddis holds two huge Matsutaki. The larger matsutaki are considered less valuable then the smaller younger mushroom, but still have the same pungent "Sweet Hot" aroma. If you are not familiar with the "Sweet Hot" reference, it is a candy we ate as kids. They have a sorta sweet cinnamon flavor and smell.