This afternoon, I went to the 29th annual Santa Cruz Fungus Fair. Before that, I went to my local public library.

Not for a book, mind you--the library was closed anyway--but because when I was ten, I noticed some odd mushrooms growing behind it.

I collected those, as well as the mushrooms from my front lawn (in separate bags), then went and had them identified.

The ones from the lawn were called "poison pies." They went in the trash. The two from behind the library, however, were Chroogomphus vinicolor, aka. "pine spikes," and Suillus pungens, aka. "slippery jack." The later two were edible, and upon returning home, I prepared the second and ate them for dinner.

Slippery jack has a very nice flavor, but is a bit on the chewy-slimy side. Next time I will dry saute them longer to remove more water, then use the Escoffier method. A Russian woman at the fair told me how they prepare them in Russia, and I've found similar recipes on the web. Tomorrow, the leftovers will be fried up with potatoes and served with sour cream and dill.