Our neighbor Alice came round yesterday afternoon with a small plastic bag of mushrooms–a present for me, she said.
Mousserons she called them–I asked her to write it down, I had never heard of them.
They were delicate looking–white on top and underneath.
If I’d seen them in a field I would have avoided them; I’m wary of wild mushrooms.
“Merci beaucoup, Alice–on les cuisine comment? [How do you cook them?]
“With a bechamel sauce or a sauce made from veal bones.”
“Ah,” I said, thinking, “Not quite my style!”
“Then sprinkled with parmesan and browned in the oven.”
“Ah–oui?” I was surprised that Alice–French countrywoman that she is– would think of using Italian cheese in her cooking.
Mousserons have a short season, Alice said, and grow in (fairy) circles.
She knows where to look for mushrooms. Last year she brought us some delicious morels–pretty, brown and conically shaped.
We had the mousserons last night, cooked less ambitiously: sautéed in olive oil and served on a piece of toast brushed with garlic.
Alice then suggested to Meredith it was time to check on the bees.
The colza crop in the fields nearby is coming to an end and the acacia trees are about to bloom.
The honeycombs are full in our hive and need clearing to make room for the new harvest.
Alice had brought her togs and the two of them got ready to go to work.
Meredith asked me to take photos of the scene.
Untogged so to speak, I followed them out to the edge of the garden where our single hive sits.
The worker bees were busy coming and going with their gatherings.
Meredith pumped the smoke gun to calm them and Alice lifted the first comb.
I was standing with the camera at a safe distance–I thought. (In any case, I’m not scared of bees, wasps or even hornets–ho hum!)
As I leant towards the hive, struggling to get a better angle on what was happening, I suddenly sensed one of the worker bees buzzing round my head.
“Get away! get away!” I spluttered–trying to shoo it off with my free hand while the camera-holding hand graphically recorded the moment of panic.
Unlike a fly or mosquito or any other self-respecting insect that would have taken the hint, this bee was clearly on a mission and having none of it. It continued to harass me.
Inelegantly climbing over the just-bloomed iris, I whipped off my glasses, bending down to put them and the camera on the ground, while trying to fend off the determined bee.
“On your fleece!–on your fleece!” cried Alice.
Expecting to feel a sharp pain at any moment I pulled the blue fleece over my head, catching sight of the bee clinging to the collar.
I ignominiously exited the garden on the run, pursued by a bee not a bear,
as the much quoted stage direction in Shakespeare’s A Winters Tale has it!
—
Robin, you must try my healthy Bechamel Sauce for those mushrooms!
Olive Oil Bechamel Sauce
By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
This is a classic French white sauce, but using healthy olive oil instead of butter.
Makes 2.5 cups
3 Cups 1% Milk
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Flour
Salt and Ground Pepper to taste
I surely will Katherine–thanks.
lol!!! very amusing, were you wearing a purple fleece?? you’re lucky it wasnt a frelon, they pack quite a punch i believe….. 😉 …..still the end result will be well worth it i suspect! x
Yes, don’t mess with a frelon (hornet)–they can be mean.
Next time, bring a videocamera, and you’ll have a Bee movie….. 😉
Good to hear that there is still swash left in your buckle.
I ran afoul of a hive of honeybees two summers ago when trimming back some bushes. The final score was Bees-3 and Joy-0 (though I did get some grim satisfaction as to the little defenders’ final fate as I scratched the stingers out of my various wounds.)
very funny, Robin. I read the whole post with bated breath, and the graphic taken during your panic is too much. so glad I have an accurate image of where all this takes place! xors
good to hear from you Randi!
I am glad you were able to escape! It is unnerving to be attacked that way for sure!
Oh, Robin, I love your stories! Mushrooms–I learned to always save one sample uncooked just in case anyone gets sick,they know exactly what you consumed. We have lovely Shaggy Mane Mushrooms in Alaska that are yummy sauteed.
As for your bee story–yikes! I always tell my students not to scream, shout, run, and especially not swat at bees/wasps/etc. Just gets them excited. Of course, this is said by someone who is cringing inside when they are flying around ME. Working as a naturalist one summer my coworker ended up shaking a bunch of live bees out into a cup while cleaning out dead bees from our indoor hive. I had to suit up, cover the lethal cup with my gloved hand, and take them outdoors. As I exited the building I heard my coworker screaming & running about. I left the cup upside down on the walkway, and tentatively re-entered the nature center. We had stray bees wandering about for days.. . .
Time for a new lens for that camera–super zoom from the safety of the next yard! Have a great week.
Nice story Robin, Ha a Bee sting now and then is good against Rheumatism & backpain that is ofcourse if you are not allergic then stings are dangerous.Big hughs!
too funny!!! I am now in Greece with son, Luke – who has almost recovered – and we are eating mediteranean..sp?? I’ve gone blank …. any ideas???? Hugs, Jill
So happy to hear that Luke is nearly recovered.
I can suggest a cold glass of retsina or two and wish we were there to join you!
we will have a glass of Retsina and toast you tonight! HUgs, Jill
Make that two!
;)))) two, then…
Robin, those little honeybees can be pesky. But they provide an enormously important role in our lives. What would happen to humanity without our little pollenators? Unfortunately, they are being killed off in the millions by nicotine based pesticides. You are fortunate that you still have honeybees where you reside. Here in America, we have organized groups doing everything possible to save our honeybees from extinction. Linda
Robin,
Sounds more like Hamlet!! Anyway, a good lesson in animal behiviour. Keith
Bee-gorrah Bee-jabers, but you’re right!
Linda, that’s why we have a hive! To do what we can to support the bees!
We too are concerned about their plight!
My late husband was a tall, strong man.He was 2nd Lt in US Air Force, fought in Pacific..etc..my big hero. But boy..I have seen him really “run for his life” when while digging in his orchard he unknowingly disturbed nest of “hornets” and they started to chase him..
Love your bee -adventure! I’ll try to make the Bechamel Sauce which Katherine Tallmadge blogged but what is 1% milk, does she mean low fat?
Hi! The Healthy Bechamel can be made with 1% (lowfat) or skim milk. People have enjoyed it with both.
What about using chickpea flour Katherine?
Hi Robin, I’ll leave it up to you to experiment with chick pea flour… as you are so talented with recipes… I think it’s a terrific idea as the nutritional content of legumes is superior to white flour. That said, the amount of flour in the recipe is small compared to the amount of Bechamel… But I would be eager to experiment with the recipe and to hear about your results… The sauce got rave reviews used in this recipe:
Kale and Spinach Gratin with Garlic, Rosemary and Thyme
By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
http://www.KatherineTallmadge.com
Author of “Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations (June 2011, LifeLine Press)
Any greens will do in this versatile recipe.
Serves 6
1 pound Kale, cleaned and stems removed
2 pounds Spinach, cleaned and stems removed
1 Tablespoon Olive or Canola Oil
1 Large Garlic Clove, minced
2 teaspoons fresh Rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp dry)
1 teaspoon fresh Thyme leaves, chopped (or ½ tsp dry)
1 recipe Olive Oil Bechamel Sauce (see recipe)
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
¼ Cup Parmesan or Gruyere Cheese, freshly grated
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash the Kale and Spinach and remove the tough stems. Chop roughly.
Heat the oil in a large iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until it just begins to color. Add the greens, the rosemary, and thyme to the pan, and let cook a couple of more minutes while stirring until the greens are wilted.
Stir the Bechamel sauce into the greens. Add salt and pepper. Pour into an oiled 2-quart soufflé or heat resistant glass dish and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is just beginning to brown.
Olive Oil Bechamel Sauce
By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
This is a classic French white sauce, but using healthy olive oil instead of butter.
Makes 2.5 cups
3 Cups 1% Milk
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Flour
Salt and Ground Pepper to taste
Thanks, Katherine–I will have a go.
Dear Robin, chased by a bee? At first glance it seems very funny but a bee sting can become a very serious matter. A teenager my soulmate was stung by a bee on the nose. His face swelled up so much that he couldn’t see smell or eat. He landed in hospital. And very unfortunately developed an allergy to bees that lasted for many years. Until coffin…
When I was a young girl one day I was walking across a meadow in Silesia, A bee got under my skirt. I didn’t have time to ask it what it was search-ing there. Imagine the disaster. Unforgettable! I feel so sorry for the bees. They die after the attack. The best home remedy against a bee sting is to rub the injured place with a cut raw onion after the actual sting is removed.
Robin and Meredith, you are very fortunate to be able to help your bees. Here they are almost exinct. Most probably due to the toxic sprays used by market gardeners.
Yes, Linda, one cannot imagine our world without the bees…
The onion trick is well worth knowing, thank you Odette. The tomato patch is adjacent to the hive so..!
I am thankful not only for not being stung but that my bee lived to work another day!
Icing sugar idea is wonderful–even sweeter honey!!
I thought honey bees were supposed to be docile…? Maybe he REALLY wanted your autograph, Robin! 😉
Wow, Captain Ross Poldark who never knew fear, chased by a bee, now there’s an image. 🙂 Sorry couldn’t resist. Stay safe. I’ve been stung by both bees and wasps and they are PAINFUL.
NOt so long ago a lady came to the loval library to give a talk about bee keeping, she was one herself, and she said that the bee-keepers were very worried about the decline in bee population’s over the world.There is it seems a pest that gets into the hive and attacks the bees in there, they try to rid themsevles of the pest by cleaning the hive and themselves. This lady said that she had found the best way to help them was to seive iceing sugar into and onto the bee’s,this seemed to kill the pest but not the bee’s.It does not bare thinking about a world without bee’s,we would have no world, we owe them so much. I know they can be a bit pesky but worth it really.I can remember my mum being stung by a wasp right under her wedding ring while she was hanging out washing,her finger was a terrible mess for weeks,so please be careful both of you.
A ‘ornet lived in an ‘oller tree
A narsty spiteful twud were ‘e.
Trad. (Somerset)
Twat’s a Twad!?
Sorry – pressed a key at the wrong moment!
On the other hand…
the honey bee is sad and cross
and wicked as a weasel
and when she perches on you boss
she leaves a little measle.
Don Marquis
They are easily riled that’s true as I found out…
A TWUD is West Country dialect for a toad. (Don’t think it turns up in the Trenwith toad tale though).
the Trenwith toad tale?
….they toads was from Marasanvose, you……. 😉
Cast your mind back to when Drake Carne put toads into the pond at Trenwith to amuse Geofrrey Charles. I believe you had a rescue role in it?!
@Sophie-Jane. Those ‘ornet and honey bee poems are so delicate. But West Country dialect for a toad is all together different thing in Urban dictionary. Wasn’t that the Penrice toad tale?
I apologize for interfering in that lovely conversation you had with Robin Ellis. I can not delete it afterward it is posted. Same with typos,Grammatik…
Hi Robin, here in Italy, this muhsrooms are called “pinaroli” I love cooked it! I cooked with olive oil, garlic,red pepper and few basil: wow!! The photos of Meredith remember me that unfortunately this year we will have not Acacia’s miele ;(( We have had too much rains, but above all, too much wind: terrible for the Acacia’s trees!!! Brava Meredith: brave woman!! I know how hard is this work…, but to sweet ;)))
Re: the toads.
I was thinking of the books – had forgotton all about replacement of Trenwith with Penrice in the TV series – sorry.
Hi Robin, I walked into a swarm of bees when I was 7 years old…on purpose!! I was a very active and hard headed child. I thought I would be brave and so no bee would bother me. My grand mother was smoking out her bee hives. She had told me to stay in the house.
After several stings I ran screaming into the house (a long run to the house!!)Not much sympathy from the adults!!
Learning the hard way! A little like me the other day though I escaped serious attention by the bee community.
Enjoyed the posting. Follow the link from this post and you will see we have written about you and posted a link.
cheers,
Erik
Thanks and good to find your site.
I can certainly understand the bee thing much better now. I went about weeks ago to the back yard where it was terribly over grown. Started to pull some vines out and heard light buzzing around my ear I absently brushed it away. Biiiigggg mistake, I was soon under attack, they were in my hair, in my clothes, all over, I ran back to the house and hoped into the shower. I was bit so much I wasn’t sure if I was going to die from venom overload or what. But all was well, I got many bumps and some itchy areas but over all not that bad, I now make darn sure to steer clear of any buzzing.