Friday Fungus: A Retrospective

Today’s Friday Fungus was going to be an evocation of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the role of mushrooms in these ancient rites. After all hallucination is perhaps the best explanation for much sighting of spirits, flying and rising from the dead! And mushrooms are the readiest source of hallucinogens around.

Instead I got sidetracked by pomegranates and wrote about Iacchus returning to Elusis! So – to cut a long story short – you’re getting a retrospective (this is what happens when artists run out of ideas, of course) of the recipes featured over the past nine months in Friday Fungus.

Garlic mushrooms – a dish I don’t usually like but this was my simple take on it. Do try with other spices or herbs instead to the domineering garlic.

Kathryn’s mum’s mushroom soup – almost a staple for us now, a great and simple recipe

Bacon and mushroom pasta sauce – complete with tips on making your own pasta and some real Italian words which makes it posh and authentic, of course!

A warm porcini salad – including (not for the faint-hearted) a picture of me cooking. This is easy and fresh porcini are the best, they really are!

Possibly the best breakfast dish in the world, ever – and I meant that – this bacon, mushroom and cream cheese sort of toastie is fantastic

Mushroom ketchup – the original ketchup recipe and a truly wonderful relish with cheese or just as a dip

I’ve not looked back at all my mushroom recipes – saving some for the next time I dry up, ideas-wise!

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Iacchus returns to Eleusis

The time has come for Persephone to return. The darkness of winter is passed. We must journey again to Eleusis, celebrate again our vision of holy night and free the world of growth from the decadence of death. Return to the place where we watched spring pass into darkness, where the spirit took us into oblivion the better to survive the terror of winter.

But first we shall prepare – Iacchus is invoked, we drink, we gather, we process. You cannot rescue spring from the clutches of death without guidance and Jack will be that guide. And Jack will lead us Eleusis, to the home of spring’s release. And Jack, through his drink, will provide that release.

Let us celebrate all that is spring – new shoots on trees, the daffodils, the smells of fresh earth and the sounds of birds calling out those who would threaten their eggs and their offspring. And let us do so in that time honoured way of man – with a party. Let us ignore those in black hats, white coats and brown suits who remain caught in the endless grey drear of winter – who wallow in gloom and wish to bring others into their world of boredom and control.

Iacchus will return to Eleusis. And if we are wise we will, like Socrates before, join him on this journey.