The mushrooms are blooming! I think the combination of a super hot summer followed by some serious rain means that we are experiencing a super mushroom season. We have recently collected two huge baskets full of hedgehog mushrooms and only just tapped what was growing. Our general process is to bring in one basket at a time because they have to be cleaned before they can be eaten or dried. Top tip for all you mushroom pickers out there, we use a natural fiber pastry brush to gently brush the mushrooms clean. Whatever you do don’t wash them as they will just absorb the liquid and leave your cooking watery. We use a dehydrator which has 5 layers and usually produces about a quart size container of dried mushrooms. Dried mushrooms make for a great addition to the Christmas hampers that we like to give friends and family, we usually recommend adding them to soups, stews and gravies. Of course the best thing to do is eat them right away!! Hedgehog mushrooms are delightful and buttery and lend themselves perfectly to a risotto, we had ours with a little parmesan and goats cheese and I made sure to cook more than we needed because I wanted to try making arancini which is a classic Italian fried rice ball using risotto. Happy Hunting!