I went to the woods yesterday hoping to find morels, whose season, given the recent weather, has almost certainly begun in this part of Illinois. Alas, there were no morchella to be found. I was compensated, however, by a bounty of wild garlic, whose shoots spread widely over a large embankment beside a brook. Chicagua is not named Chicagua for nothing. A small portion of these were duly harvested by trowel and by hand, with bulbs attached and without. You can see the small bulbs and rootlets attached to some shoots on the left of the picture. I also collected several ramps, one of which is pictured in my hand. There were some more to be had, but between a degree of uncertainty as to their identification and the abundance of garlic nearby, they were foolishly left behind.
The garlic shoots are probably most similar to chives, very fresh tasting, but a little sharper and more garlicky. The ramps, which are well known in gourmet circles, but which I have never tasted, are very interesting. I think their flavor is usually described as some mixture of onion, garlic and leek, which is fair, but not really that helpful if you ask me. I would say they are delicious and unique.
Hopefully there will be some morels to post in the very near future. I am told that the clay-rich soil we saw yesterday, though ideal for garlic, is not conducive to the growth of morels (or probably any kind of mushroom). For the time being, I will be in search of sand and elm.
KB
