House Chaplain Reinstated After Resignation, Forest On Tribal Lands More Diverse, Food Friday: Cooking With Cultivated And Foraged Mushrooms

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• Speaker Ryan Reinstates House Chaplain Following Controversy Over Priest's Resignation

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  In a recent interview with the New York Times, Father Patrick Conroy, chaplain for the House of Representatives since 2011, said he was asked to resign from his position by House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office. Conroy said he didn’t know why he was asked to step down but speculated politics and religion might have played a role. Since then, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on Ryan to justify his decision and Conroy rescinded his resignation Thursday. Ryan reinstated Conroy the same day. We speak with Melanie Zanona of The Hill about the controversy and what it could mean for House Speaker Ryan.

• UW Study Finds Wisconsin's Tribal Forests Are More Diverse, Mature

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  A UW study finds that four tribal forests in northern Wisconsin have more plant diversity, biomass, and maturity than the public lands around them. The study’s lead author joins us to talk about the findings, and what they can teach us about forest and wildlife management.

• Mushroom Recipes For The Outdoor Forager (And The Supermarket Shopper)

  When it comes to mushrooms, the fresher the better, says food stylist and chef Liz O’Keefe. That means staying away from the canned stuff.

  “There’s about 2,300 edible species in the world,” she said. “So there’s a lot to discover.”

  O’Keefe is co-author of “The Mushroom Cookbook,” which explores about 40 of them through a range of recipes.

  You don’t have to go foraging to find great mushrooms, either — although Wisconsin is home to many wild varieties, including the Morel mushroom, which is in season right now.

  Many of them should be available at your local supermarket. Though if you do decide to forage, be careful.

  “Foraging can be dangerous, potentially if you get the wrong mushroom,” O’Keefe said. “If you’re not absolutely sure, then check it out with an experienced forager or a deli or someone in the know.”

  One of the cookbook’s recipes, the Chickpea, Mushroom and Herb Salad, was inspired by some dryad’s saddle mushrooms co-author Michael Hyams stumbled upon while walking his dog.

  
  Chickpea and Mushroom Salad. Jon Ashford/Photo used with permission from Anness Publishing Ltd

  The mushroom grows in steps up a tree, similar to the chicken of the woods mushroom native to Wisconsin.

  The recipe calls for it to be sliced thickly lengthwise, and thrown on a griddle for a few minutes before baking it in the oven.

  “So we put it with grapefruit, red grapefruit,” O’Keefe said. “It had, like a lot of forest mushrooms, that earthy taste. So it was nice to add something to it.”

  O’Keefe said that when it comes to cooking with mushrooms, they generally fall in two categories.

  The first is the more wild, delicate mushrooms, such as trumpet or chanterelle. They’re light and often pick up flavor from whatever they’re growing around.

  “If they grow around a certain tree, you might get some mushrooms tasting particularly apricot-y,” O’Keefe said. “They’re good as a decoration. And kind of partially cooked so you get that taste.”

  The second type is the “meatier” mushrooms like porcini and king oyster. Those can often be dressed up as if you would dress up meat, like steak, making them popular with vegetarians.

  It won’t taste like steak, but you’ll have a similar experience, O’Keefe said.

  You can also combine many mushroom species for a new taste altogether.

  “The Mushroom Cookbook” features a recipe for a Creamy Mixed Mushroom And Tarragon Soup that combines shiitake, button and portobello mushrooms with lemon juice and crème fraîche for a surprisingly light-tasting soup that’s perfect for summer.

  Mushrooms conventionally go well with meat, too. But the cookbook also pairs them with fish in a recipe for Mushroom Ceviche.

  Ceviche, a traditional Peruvian dish, is made from raw fish cured in citrus juice.

  O’Keefe’s recipe uses lime juice with thinly sliced sea bass and oyster mushrooms. The fish and mushrooms take on a surprisingly similar texture, and golden or pink oyster mushrooms give it a pop of color.

  
  Mushroom Ceviche. Jon Ashford/Photo used with permission from Anness Publishing Ltd

  When it comes to mushroom dishes, though O’Keefe says it’s hard to go wrong. Her recipes aren’t extremely complex, doable for the beginner mushroom cook.

  “I often say that most mushrooms, not all but most mushrooms, garlic, butter and a little bit of olive oil with lemon juice, grilled,” she said. “That’s just the way they should be eaten.”

  Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest.

• Food Friday: The Mushroom Cookbook

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  Mushrooms are one of nature’s most unique offerings. They grow completely unlike fruit and vegetables and each one offers a unique flavor and texture. On this Food Friday we hear from the author of a new mushroom cookbook about using the cultivated and wild mushrooms in recipes that bring out their flavor.