Participants will spend the afternoon /morning ? in Woodland Springs B&B back 40 acres with mushroom expert, Bob Bowles learning how to identify and collect mushrooms and then return to the B&B where mushrooms will be prepared. Edible mushrooms with delicious species like Crimini, Portobello, Matsutake, Maitake, Enoki, Shiitake, Chanterelle, and Oyster will be prepared in a delicious lunch of mushroom salads, soups, pastas, sauces, pastries,gougere, risottos, stuffings, gravies, and toppings and capped with a special dessert. This foray gives participants not only the opportunity to identify and collect mushrooms in the field but the preparation, cooking and tasting of several mushroom dishes. Pre-registration and information on this foray can be obtained from Woodland Springs B&B by calling 1-877-427-1112

Janine M. White
-Muskoka instructor and artist- BFA -Media-oils, acrylics & watercolour -Pastel portraits,Landscapes,Florals

Friday - 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.ish "Mushroom with a View" Hearthside : with well known Muskoka Author and Poet -Mel Malton. Readings, poetry, stories, legends, humour from ‘all things’ mushroom. Mushroom hor d’oeuvres and nibbles of fun and humour will be served. You are welcome to bring your own wine. There will be a tasting of Muskoka cranberry wine. Recipes available. You are welcome to bring your favourites to share.

Saturday 8:30 am - Morning Breakfast Buffet of Muskoka and Mennonite specialties.

9:30–10:30 am ish "Light Beams in the Forest" - Forest Photography with professional Bob Bowles. Mushrooms have many shapes, textures, and colours and we will capture these in the soft morning light in the forest. Award winning nature photographer will show you how to best compose some impressive photos in this low light habitat. Mushrooms are excellent nature photo subjects since they stand straight and tall but do not move during photo shoots like many subjects.

11:00 –1:00 pm ish "Mushroom Foray" Collection/Identification by mushroom expert Bob Bowles. All mushrooms may superficially appear similar at first but each species has subtle details and characteristics that with practice helps the mushroom forayer identify the species correctly. Bob Bowles has been studying mushrooms for years and has a particular interest in Muskoka mushrooms. He has found that there are more species and diversity in fungi where the northern habitat meets the southern habitat in Muskoka. Bob has compiled a list of over 1,000 species of mushroom in Muskoka.

1:00 p.m. ish Mushroom Feast at Woodland Springs B&B -appetizers and buffet of over 12 mushroom dishes. Cooking demonstration by Chef Pamela Steel, Toronto Star Sweet Talk columnist and author of 10 cookbooks. Recipes available.

[afternoon and evening free to explore Huntsville]

Sunday 9:30 ish am - Morning Breakfast from a 50 item menu of Muskoka and Mennonite specialties.

10: 30 am ish "Artistic Impression of your Mushroom Foray" with Muskoka Artist Janine White B.F.A. Take away a memory of your weekend.

$295.00 per person [double occupancy] Call toll free 1-877-427-1112 to reserve. [Includes whole weekend package - 2 nights accommodation dbl.–4 meals and 4 events with professionals plus an optional woodland treasure hunt and boat cruise weather permitting]
BOOK DIRECT WITH WOODLAND SPRINGS B&B
50% due upon registration 50% due 14 days before event
You may cancel up to 14 days before the date of the group getaway with forfeiting 50% of your fee.
After the 14 days, if you cancel you forfeit 100% of your fee,
If you can get 6 people in your group, Woodland Springs B&B will offer your group one gift certificate for one night/breakfast for 2 people {double occupancy}, November to April, for a winter break, subject to availability ,within a year. Value $120.00

One Day Mushroom Foray
with weekend at a nearby Muskoka B&B close to Huntsville

8:30am Breakfast Buffet - Muskoka & Mennonite specialties

9:00 –10:30 am ish "Light Beams in the Forest" Forest Photography by professional Bob Bowles

11:00 –1:00 pm ish "Mushroom Foray" Collection /Identification by mushroom expert Bob Bowles

1:00 p.m. ish Mushroom Feast at Woodland Springs B&B buffet of over 12 dishes. Cooking demonstration by Chef Pamela Steel nationally acclaimed cookbook author of 10 published cookbooks. Recipes available.

breakfast
photography session
mushroom foray
mushroom feast
{limit 18} Reserve with Pat at Boots Travel - Call toll free 1-888-682-6687

Comments on Mushroom Foray 2005

A total of 20 guests gathered at Woodland Springs B&B from New York City , Maine , and North Carolina in addition to nearby Mississauga and Toronto over the weekend of Sept. 30, Oct.1 and Oct.2 "Great scenery" ."Loved the location" ...." On Golden Pond weather " ..."the highlight of the weekend was speeding with George on the boat cruise" ..one guest commented "I don't remember going that fast -ever ! "Gaye was very hospitable in finding us good restaurants with dining coupons -a reward for the young at heart -going on the Lord of the Rings Treasure Hunt in Woodland Springs B&B 40 acre woods.

Gaye and her "Penlake Puff" in ramekins

All had a grand time in picture perfect "On Golden Pond "weather. Mel Malton after" Mushroom with a View " so impressed her guests with her wit and humour a few of them went and purchased her books on the spot and had them read by the next day ..comparing the heroine Polly to the uncanny likeness of Mel herself .Favourite appetizers were King Oyster and Maitake Mushroom and Zucchini flavour hint of lemon and mint in oiled 'n buttered, 7 grain bread toasty baskets; savoury pastry cresents with mushroom sour cream filling; and crostini with goat cheese and Shitake mushrooms.

Buffet breakfast shown here started the foragers off on a right foot for the day with a hearty breakfast at 8:30 am with Woodland Springs B&B original favs ..penlake puff with red pepper jelly , oven toasted apple pan dowdy, fresh fruit spears laced with mint ,and Algonquin wild leek cranberry patties.See below.

We gathered 40 species of mushrooms for the day at Woodland Springs and of those we tasted three species. They were the Oyster Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, the Honey Mushroom, Armillariella mella, and the Delicious Milky, Lactarius deliciosus. Chef Pamela Steel cooked these mushrooms for us and they tasted great. We saw very few boletes this year unlike other years at Woodland Springs. The first mushroom of the day was the Smooth Lepiota, Leucoagaricus naucinus which was growing in your garden by the parking lot. This species is edible but they caution since it looks a little like the poisonous Destroying Angel, Amanita virosa but not to the seasoned mushroom pickers we had by the end of the day. Some of the interesting mushrooms, but not edible, that we observed during the day were the Artist's Conk, Ganoderma applanatum, fruiting bodies of the Blue-green Stain, Carnival Candy (Arcyria denudata) and Insect-egg (Leocarpus fragilis) Slime Mold, Tawny Grisette, Amanita fulva (Amanitopsis vaginata var fulva) and a large fruiting on a dead tree of the Golden Pholiota, Pholiota aurivella. This edible as well as the many Pear-shaped (Lycoperdon pyriforme) and Gem-studded (Lycoperdon perlatum) Puffballs and others were not tasted by the group since there were tables covered with food at the end of our hike so hard to sample all the fare being offered. ..........Bob Bowles

Mushroom Feast Favs rated by the guests were in order :Fairy Ring Mushroom Gougere with Gruyere and Swiss cheeses [an original]; pork tenderloin with bread mushroom stuffing; mashed potato with parmesan and portabello;wheat berry mushroom pilaf [an original] and Deerhurst's Rory Golden's Maple Butternut Cider Squash soup . One guest begged , "Please may I have more ?" !!!!!

Guests left happily ,with a souvenir,after an art experience dockside with artist Janine White who taught composition , shape and water colour techniques ....with what subject matter ???......mushrooms of course!!!!!

A great day !!!!.....Vera ,Ken , Magdalene,Wendell, Jackie,Edmund,Suyi, Douglas,Eve, Ottie,Cheryl,Jackie,Elizabeth,Phoebe,Faith,Crosby ?Mel, Bev, Janine ,Pam and Bob !

Mushroom Foray 2004

Mel Malton's presentation was excellent with dramatic sessions and readings ."Selections from the classics brought back memories of mushroom significance in history and literature.""Absolutely loved her !" "Very knowledgeable -will go out and buy her books." "Mel was an excellent story teller and well worth a repeat!"

Dr. Mushroom , Bob Bowles, stressed the importance of mushrooms to ecology and amazed us with his knowledge."Learned to respect them for more than their "edibility ". There is so much I don't know about mushrooms." "Bob is an excellent communicator , teacher and motivator." "With his wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm-this was a great introduction to the world of mushrooms." Bob states : "I must say that Woodland Springs woods are excellent for mushroom forays and have a lot of different trees and great diversity so would expect to find at least 100 species on a good year with rain a few days before the event. The different levels that you have there makes it even better for gathering .

Musselman hosts " Friday night nibbles"were rated by the guests in order of tastiness ....Mushroom and Zucchini Breadbaskets,Welsh Eggs made with mushrooms , leeks,and lemon;Stuffed Mushrooms filled with swiss cheese and crab;Savoury Mushroom pasties; and mushroom kabobs.The Saturday feast after the foray included such favourites as Fairy Mushroom Ring Gougere filled with mushroom stroganoff ; Maple Cider Butternut Squash soup;Pork Tenderloin stuffed with mushrooms and with specialty mushroom decor;Chef Pamela Steel's crimini , provolone cheese, roasted tomatoes topped with fresh rosemary spears from her book "Gourmet Meals in Minutes";diced red pepper-mushroom lemon salad and mashed potato with portabello/onion /grated fresh parmesan.Wild mushrooms cooked by Chef Pamela Steel included :

1. Bear's Head Tooth, Hericium coralloides
2. Delicious Milky, Lactarius delicious
3. Osyter Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus

Many guests bought Pam's book and will use her tips re cooking mushrooms from the excellent recipes.In one guest's words, "Knowing how to cook mushrooms is key to their flavour. The less additions the better. Purists like a touch of canola oil and nothing else."Another guest said they preferred "Pam's magic chef touch" with all things mushrooms.

In all 50 mushroom species were identified by Bob Bowles and enthusiasts.Due to a very dry autumn the number of mushrooms were down from other years.

Exciting happenings included the treasure hunt based on Lord of the Rings where participants won gift certificates to dine out at local specialty restaurants; Tall Trees and RiverBend. Another happening included 3 eager foragers who strayed into the forest and ended up down the road at Portage Inn about 4 kilometres away !

Artist Bev Easton encouraged a relaxed atmosphere for guests to experience "a personal art renaissance - a very gutsy experiment" in the words of one guest-"could have been a disaster but turned out to be one of the highlights" ! Hands on art work in pastels and watercolour was a great way to bring the all things mushroom weekend to a close ."Rediscovering an artistic side created a souvenir of remembrance."

Happy mushrooming .....in the words of many guests ..."We'll be back next year ....."

Christine, Anna , Walter, Natalia , Susan and John, Barb, Carol, Chuck and Mary,Hannah and Arron, Brian and Lauri ,Alex,Winnifred and Orjan, Elsie ...and Mel, Bev, Bob, and Pam