It happened every fall: Mom, Dad,
Mormor, and Aunty Gunnvor put on their
Wellingtons. They disappeared into the
forest by our house, equipped with baskets,
and hours later came back carrying what
they used to call “golden gold.” They never
told anyone where they had been.
The reason for this secret was that Mormor didn’t want anyone
else to figure out where her chanterelle place was. She had lived
close by since she was a young girl and had found it years ago.
I still remember the first year I went along. I had to promise
not to tell anyone where we went. We walked into the forest
and after a half-hour hike we stepped into a clearing. When the
sunlight hit the forest floor it looked like it was made of gold—
golden chanterelle mushrooms for as far as you could see.
We picked them for hours, only stopping when Mormor
started cooking some chanterelles on a small Sterno. She
fried the mushrooms with some shallots on toast. They tasted
amazing out there in the woods.
We moved a few years later, and I have often though about
the golden forest and if anyone else has found its treasures.
Mormor’s Chanterelle Woodland Snack
SERVES 4
3 tablespoons chanterelles, cleaned and halved
2 shallots, sliced
juice from 1⁄ 2 lemon
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped dill
toast
1. Melt the butter in a pan and sauté mushrooms and shallots
until golden. 2. Add lemon juice and season with salt and
pepper. 3. Stir in dill and serve on toast.
WHEN THE SUNLIGHT HIT THE FOREST FLOOR IT LOOKED LIKE IT
WAS MADE OF GOLD—GOLDEN CHANTERELLE MUSHROOMS FOR
AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE.
