Mushroom hunting in Mexico

Today’s young generation is a far cry from the childhood of the past. While recreation time for them is sitting in front of the TV set tuned in to Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network or hooked to the PlayStation, I grew up on storybooks and fairy tales. While young girls role play as the brassy Powerpuff Girls come to save the day, I envisioned myself as the damsel in distress, who’d rather let Prince Charming do the dirty work, slay the dragon and just wait to be carried off in a white stallion to his castle in the sky. That just goes to show you that woman power has come a long way and that now more than ever, girls rule!

But lest I deviate from the subject, what vividly struck my imagination at that time when my nose was buried in folklore was the charm of the enchanted woodlands where fairies, elves, pixies and dwarves frolicked in an enchanting garden teeming with flowers of all shapes and colors and towering trees older than time. And what truly fascinated me were those red-speckled mushrooms, the kind pixies used to perch on while sipping nectar from a buttercup which they turned into just that – a cup. Occcasionally, they would serve would serve as shelter and umbrella from the rain. So it was with great disappointment that with every species of fruit and vegetable thriving in our family orchard, I could not find one single mushroom of that type. It was like a reality check drawing the line between fantasy and reality. But still, the innocent young lass that I was, I was still hopeful that one day, I would come upon this object of fancy.

You can just imagine the joy and surprise I felt, after many decades and two kids later, in the middle of a mushroom tour in Tlaxcala, Mexico, when I came across my object of obsession once more. Those red-speckled mushrooms that used to be just visions dancing in my head are actually real. I even had the pleasure of plucking them out from the earth.

"But they are not edible," explained Adriana Montoya Esquivel, a mycology researcher at the University of Tlaxcala in Central Mexico and one of our gracious guides on the Mushroom Hunting Expedition, of which I was a part of one morning in July.

This was a bonus treat when I took a course in Mexican homecooking under Doña Estela Salas-Silva. She enjoined me to be part of the promotional tour organized by Gundi Jeffrey, the brains behind the successful "Mexican Mushroom Tours" and head of Eco-Tour Organizers.

Our adventure was really just a sneak preview of the annual Mexican Mushroom Tour, scheduled this Sept. 1 to 8. Now in its third year, the event is mounted as a sincere effort to promote Tlaxcala’s beautiful mountain forests as the mushroom capital of Mexico, where one can enjoy nature, be outdoors and breathe fresh air as you learn about the ancient mysteries of wild mushrooms and how you can fit them in your gourmet plate.

In the course of our brief but meaningful excursion, I learned that there are over 200 different species of mushrooms, 71 of which we could easily find in Tlaxcala. Mushrooms are a form of fungi that grow on tree trunks or other hardy plants. Besides being edible, some varieties actually have medicinal uses. They help heal burns or cuts and boost your immune system. Some may even ward off cancer and help alleviate arthritis, according to Alejandro Kong Luz, head of the Mycology Department of the University of Tlaxcala, one of our helpful guides. I even learned that corn fungus makes an excellent toning facial mask! Well, that certainly is good news for the vain and skin-conscious.

The mycologists would also like to educate the locals to avoid picking poisonous fungi, which they refer to as hongos locos or crazy mushrooms, or hongos malos or bad mushrooms. They are certainly bad for you and can make you feel a twinge crazy.

I happily traipsed along the slopes of La Malinche, a dormant 4,460-meter volcano, named after Cortes’ indigenous interpreter and lover. It is located 43 km. southeast of Tlaxcala and 73 km. northeast of Pueblo. I admired the unmarred serenity of the woods, picking up mushrooms and filling my basket with these goodies. Joining me on this trip was my mentor Doña Estela, Eric Jeffrey, husband and partner of Gundi in their eco-tour projects, and Sergio Dornates, photojournalist for the New York Times, who offered to do a write-up on this journey into the world of mushrooms.

At the end of the day, we proudly turned in our find. And our stomachs rumbled in anticipation of the delightful mushroom dishes Doña Estela Salas-Silva would cook for us.

Our journey ended at the splendid Mayan-inspired home of our hosts Eric and Gundi. We had an immensely fascinating talk and exchange about our cultures in the company of newfound friends. What could be better than that? And at the back of my mind I mused, if I was able to finally come here to find the fabled red-dotted mushrooms that were just once an object of my childhood fantasies, can pixies be far behind?

So if you’re a fungi aficionado, a nature lover, a globe-trotting gourmand or someone who is just looking for something out of the ordinary, consider joining the Third Annual Mushroom Excursion to Tlaxcala, Mexico.

For details, you can log on to www.mexmush.com or e-mail gundijeffrey@ prodigy.net.mix or gundijeffrey@yahoo.com for inquiries.

Here’s a simple and tasty dish made with just about any kind of mushrooms and served everywhere in Tlaxcala, Mexico’s mushroom capital, and throughout Mexico.

Hongos Al Ajillo

1/2 cup olive oil

8 large cloves garlic, whole, plus 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1 cup onion, finely chopped

10 chiles guajillos, sliced in strips

32 large mushrooms (about 3 lbs.), sliced thickly

salt and ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a nonstick pan. Add whole garlic cloves and brown. Discard garlic. Add chopped garlic, onion and chiles. Sauté for 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and continue cooking for 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 8 appetizers.