This past growing season, my wife, Elaine, and I changed to the raised-bed gardening system. However, being inexperienced in this method, we planted the same number of tomato plants as we usually do and ended up overwhelmed with tomatoes and other vegetables. So, Elaine froze a number of containers of tomato soup and sauce. This led us to create many new recipes throughout the summer and fall, combining the soups, sauces, and vegetables with wild game and fish (deer, turkeys, and catfish), chickens (cockerels and old hens), and wild mushrooms.
Summer and Early Fall Mushrooms
Two of the more common summer and early fall mushrooms are members of the puffball and chanterelle families. This past summer, we gathered huge numbers of two small puffballs: the Curtis’s puffball (Lycoperdon curtisii) and the common or gem-studded puffball (L. perlatum). Both of these puffballs are white, less than 1 inch or so wide, and sport flesh that must be pure white to eat. When the flesh has “color” to it, spores have begun to form, and these fungi are inedible.
Curtis’s puffballs typically grow in grassy areas. I’ve found the round, little balls in our yard, along our rural road, and in fields. The soft, tiny spikes help in the identification. Gem-studded puffballs are slightly larger than the Curtis’s puffballs and may just be one of the most widespread mushrooms in all of North America. This species also features spines, but they’re firmer and less prone to becoming powdery than the Curtis’s puffballs.
Several chanterelle species also grace summer and autumn woodlots. The smooth chanterelle (Cantharellus lateritius) flourishes in eastern North America and boasts a wavy yellow cap, white flesh, a yellowish-orange stalk, and a fruity smell (nearly like an apricot). The cap width is highly variable. I’ve found tiny specimens with 1-inch caps and others that sported caps 4 inches across. The stalks are similarly variable in the 1-to-4-inch range.
The black trumpet (Craterellus fallax) is much more widespread, occurring across North America. With its dark-brown hue, the black trumpet is one of the hardest fungi to spot on a deciduous forest floor. The vase-shaped cap runs from about a 1/2 inch to just over 3 inches, and the stalks go from just over 1 inch to around 5 inches, but most of the ones I’ve encountered have been about 2 inches tall. The fruity smell is very appealing.
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) can grow year-round throughout most of North America, but I mostly find them from November through mid-April. Its 2-to-8-inch cap is oyster-shaped, semicircular, and with a wavy margin. The thick, white flesh has a pleasant fishy smell. Growing on dead or dying deciduous trees, oysters can be anywhere from gray to brown to white with shades in between.
No discussion of summer and fall mushrooms is complete without the omnipresent chicken of the woods species (Laetiporus complex), which can be found across most of North America from late spring to mid-fall. With a taste and texture much like chicken, these mushrooms flaunt a fan-shaped, wavy cap that can range from bright orange to yellow to white. The white flesh helps in identification.
With wild mushrooms, stir-fry them in butter or olive oil before using or freezing them. Also, have an expert identify unknown fungi before you consume them. Sample only a small portion of an edible mushroom if you’re trying it for the first time. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms accompanies me on gathering expeditions.
Cookin’ Locavore Meals
We felt foolish after planting too many tomato plants and seeing the dramatic increase in yield because of our raised beds. But to modify that classic proverb about lemons and lemonade: “If life gives you tomatoes, make tomato soup and sauce and include all sorts of other menu items as well.”
Venison Roast with Tomato Soup
This entrée works well as a standalone stew but also goes nicely over rice or potatoes. As is always the case, our mushrooms had been previously sautéed and frozen until desired. This recipe is also a nice way to use leftover venison roast. Yield: 2 servings.
- 2 cups tomato soup
- Medium-sized carrot, sliced
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions, using white parts in soup and reserving some of the green tops for garnish
- 1/2 cup sliced yellow squash (ours was previously frozen from our garden)
- 1 cup cooked venison roast, chopped into pieces
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Put 2 cups tomato soup into medium pot.
- Add carrot slices and onions. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes or until carrots seem tender.
- Add squash, venison, and mushrooms. Heat another 5 minutes or so.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in cream before serving. Top with green onion.
Chicken with Tomato Sauce
The first time I prepared this entrée, I used Curtis’s and gem-studded puffballs. But any wild or domestic mushroom will perform well here. Yield: 4 servings.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, stems removed
- 4 to 5 leaves fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
- 1/2 cup wild mushrooms (ours were previously sautéed and frozen until use)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Heat large skillet over medium. Add olive oil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, sautéing about 2 minutes.
- Pour tomato sauce into skillet. Heat through.
- Add spinach and basil. Cover and cook about 5 minutes until spinach wilts.
- Stir in chicken and mushrooms. Cover and cook another 10 minutes to let flavors meld.
- Add salt and pepper, adjusting according to taste.
- Turn off heat and stir in cream.
For more Locavore Meals made with homegrown tomatoes
Slow-Cooker Venison Sloppy Joes Recipe with Sourdough Buns
Bruce and Elaine Ingram co-wrote Living the Locavore Lifestyle about hunting, fishing, and gathering wild fruits and nuts for food, plus recipes. For more info: BruceIngramOutdoors@Gmail.com.
Originally published in the July/August 2025 issue of Grit magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.
