puffball

I had so many things I wanted to post about in the food department.
I have a fantastic white eggplant and some fresh from the garden tomatillos and chiles and tomatoes and I had moussaka and salsa and caprese salads all dancing around my little head. I remembered I was going to do a mushroom post and then my memory kicks in and I remembered I made a chile promise, dont worry it will get there, probably when you least expect it. It was a year ago exactly that I posted about the very same thing but without the same results..... Remember on Wednesday I said I was going mushroom hunting on Friday? Well I did.



When lo and behold I find not one not two but four giant puffballs. I knew they were going to be where they were from last year when I got there too late and they had already 'puffed' so this year I got on the early bus and boot scooted right on up to these big boys. (early bus is just a figure of speech, I drove) I have the biggest tomato I could find, to give you some size reference, cuddled right up to these giants.



Well I talk a big game but truth be told this is my first ever experience with the giant puffball. I always fantasized about finding this gem from way back when I was a kid. I grew up in the desert 'aint too many mushrooms out that dry way. So this was a mini nirvana, so to speak. These fun guys slice up like bread for starters but once they are cooked they are like the most flavorful tofu you have ever imagined - thats right they have a tofu consistency when cooked - strange- o- rama.



I had to test one, since I had never had it, so I made a 'steak' with wild garlic chives, I find wild garlic chives almost everywhere I go. This is when I discovered it was like tofu, I splashed a little truffle oil just to ramp it up and I ate this like a king. But that wasnt the end of my experiment.....



I made giant puffball parmesean. I cant believe what I am eating when I bite into each and every pillowy, soft and creamy bite, trust me it is not like anything ever, except tofu, the best tofu you have ever had! I sliced a few large hunks off the biggest one and still had all this left over(background) before they got old fast and I tossed most of it except the smooth one. I didnt photograph when I finished slicing and frying the remainder but stay tuned these slabs were cooked with garlic and are awaiting both freezing and the food dehydrator, separately and respectively, so that I can see what I can do with them come January. Ever had this mushroom? It was my first time.