Summer has gone. Maybe too quickly but now, with this sunny/windy/rainy weather, it is just a memory for other… two hundred seventy days? More or less, yes. However, do not give up hope: these days will not be all the same! Life is not just divided up in two times (summer holidays and the rest of the year), but it is full of colour, full of novelties, full of… life. Among a week or so, we will definitely be in autumn. But what exactly autumn brings us?
Autumn has quite always been considered as the season of the end: the end of long and sunny days, the end of the good and carefree period, the end of the “life” of the nature, which prepares itself for lethargy and winter… but that is not so true: something comes to life in autumn, something grows when all the rest dies.
MUSHROOMS. This delicious gift of the nature presents itself only in this period of the year. When the first rains appear, they spring up like… mushrooms! Since the end of August (if it is a particularly rainy August!) and for the following months, it is possible to enjoy a wonderful day-trip or, for the most passionate, an entire weekend searching for these incredible food. HERE SOME SAVING-LIFE ADVICE FOR THE BEGINNERS:
1) Mushrooms are definitely not all the same. It is crucial to emphasize it because even if some have an awesome taste… other can poison you! So pay attention to what you look for. And pay double attention to what you eat. Remember: there are mushrooms that can be eaten only one time in life. Therefore, if you are not sure about what you picked, you can bring it to someone who is more expert than you are. Just to make an example, mushrooms in which smurfs lives… are not edible. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
2) The right outfit. I am not joking: you are not going to walk on the most fashion catwalk of Paris or New York, anyway for every occasion there is the right clothing: the most suitable one is composed by classic mountain outfit, with high boots and the body covered as much as possible. The ideal equipment consists of a pair of comfortable and sturdy walking shoes, which allow you to venture into places such as steep slopes, ravines and streams. Waterproof boots and long pants also guard against any viper or insects’ bites.
3) Necessary accessories: same as above, not to parade in front of the Queen, but just to be ready in case of emergency, it is fundamental to have a first aid kit with patches, disinfectants, sterile gauze and elastic bandages.
Moreover:
– a wicker basket or something to carry the picked mushroom that must allow the spores to spread into the forest and therefore develop other mushrooms;
– a cutter, that will serve to clean the mushrooms and let spores and hyphae* remain on site, and so keeping the woodland habitat (there are specific cutters formed of two parts: the blade and a useful brush to gently remove the earth from the hat);
– a stick, not mandatory, can be used to remove branches or dry leaves that may hide the presence of mushrooms.
HOW TO LOOK FOR AND PICK UP MUSHROOM:
Firstly, mode of collection may vary according the kind of mushroom and soil. Furthermore, it is good practice not to collect all the specimens, in order to let some to grow and produce spores for further generations.Mushrooms should be collected paying attention to the underlying mycelium (the vegetative apparatus, formed from a weave of filaments called hyphae*), acting without haste and using both hands. With one hand twists and slowly rotate the base of the mushroom stem while putting upward traction, and with the other hold the underlying soil.
To be a real vegan means not just to avoid meat and animal products, but also to be “in real contact” with the nature: while looking for mushrooms (that are completely vegan!) it is important to prevent trampling new little plants (using well-trodden path) avoiding using the stick as a rake and avoiding killing animals or insects or pick flowers.
Veganism is not just about food, not only: it is a choice that refers to all aspects of the life. OIPA supports a vegan lifestyle, the lifestyle that ensure balance and mutual respect between living things. Only this kind of life is able to assure the life cycle of each creature, and to help the right course of life on Earth.
Author
Paola Colombo
