An Escape to the Country

Our visit to Killbuck Valley Mushrooms...a delicious day!

On Sunday, May 2, a group of us from North Union Farmers Market including staff, board, farmers and market shoppers visited Killbuck Valley Mushrooms in Burbank, OH for a day of foraging mushrooms, learning about nature and relaxing in the country.

When we arrived, Tom and Wendy Wiandt, the owners and operators, were setting up tables and grills to prepare for the dinner Karen Small of The Flying Fig would help us prepare later. Chickens scurried throughout the yard, the sun peaked through the clouds we had all been watching for rain and we decided it was going to be a great day!

As guests arrived, Tom and his daughter, Jessie, showed us around the farm. They have a field planted with garlic and rutabagas, and a few of the guests were brave enough to pluck a rutabaga right out of the ground and take a bite! We then made our way into the woods to forage. The weather cooperated and we were soon gathering wild ginger, nettle, and a few wild mushrooms. The woods were so peaceful--the only sounds being the birds, babbling creek, and occasional shouts from one of as we slipped in the mud or creek! We also saw wild life such as salamanders, newts and frogs scampering through the leaves on the ground.

In the afternoon, we all tried fishing, but the cloudy sky kept all the fish hidden. Mick Prochko of Covered Bridge Gardens caught the only fish, but Tom and Mick had caught quite a few the evening before. We all headed back to the barn to watch Tom filet the fish and get ready for dinner.

Karen Small looked over the ingredients laid out on a table in the barn. You could watch the wheels in her head beginning to spin as she asked people to start chopping, boiling and preparing each dish. When it was all over, it was hard to believe she hadn't planned for days but only for a couple of hours! The meal consisted of a chicken stock soup, a rutabaga-sunchoke puree, deviled eggs, mixed and braised mustard greens, candied wild ginger, grilled asparagus, and the fish with a log shiitake cream sauce. For dessert, we enjoyed rhubarb candied in maple syrup over vanilla ice cream. More pictures and info to come on the dinner...

The day was relaxing, educational, DELICIOUS, and fun! We hope you'll join us on our next farm visit...stay tuned for details on when and where!