Pride

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1958. My Dad's older cousin, Henry, admires his Granddaughter, my Kaunas Cousin.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Late-Summer Basket

Near Penza, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1933. My paternal Grandmother Tatjana's younger sister, Natasha, goes mushroom picking with her son.

Delicious Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, May 7, 2016. It's morel time!

Seasonal Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, May 2013. It's possible to find morels at the Madison Farmer's Market, but sometimes local grocery stores carry them as well.

We know the difference.

Door County, Wisconsin, Spring 1978. There's more than one variety in those woods.

Pick them when you find them.

Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. This time, Mom finds some wild strawberries.

We spent another afternoon picking blueberries.

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. Mom loved to pick wild blueberries and strawberries wherever she vacationed. She was cautious after the rattlesnake incident.

She was cautious about mushrooms.

I've never eaten "fried bread."

That's one item mentioned in "A Culinary Voyage to Lithuania."

Lithuanian Food (Again)

RimaRama! writes about dining in Lithuania.

Saturday Market

Mr. Irene and I don't get to the Dane County Farmer's Market very often because we tend to sleep in on Saturdays. Early shoppers do better there; the market gets crowded late in the mornings. Last week we visited the market with our visiting friends:

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Related by Marriage: Pocket Square

Lithuania, about 1939 or 1940. This is Mr. Irene's Great Aunt, Danutė. Danutė is the woman who pickled and canned wild mushrooms.

Related by Marriage: Almost on the Boat

Post-War Germany, March 26, 1949. Mr. Irene's Dad, standing on the left, joins the relatives with whom he will emigrate to the United States. Standing next to Dad is his brother, Ignas. Seated are Uncle D—the brother of Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother Veronica—and Uncle D's wife, Danutė.

The group sat for this portrait on the same day Mr. Irene's Dad and Ignas had this photo taken.

Danutė was the family's source for pickled mushrooms.

Grybūkai

Recently, I mentioned that mushrooms are such a ubiquitous part of Lithuanian culture that Lithuanians even bake "Grybūkai," or mushroom cookies.

Here's a clip illustrating the process—which does not require long fingernails:

Meet up at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania

Young professionals in Washington D.C.: here's your chance to dine at the Lithuanian Embassy.

Don't miss out on the pickled mushrooms.

Mushroom hunting is a sport.

"Mushroom hunting is probably Lithuania’s second most popular sport, after basketball."

Many Eastern European countries share a cultural affinity for mushroom picking. Mushroom recipes ripple through Lithuanian cuisine; Lithuanians even bake cookies that look like mushrooms. (There's a recipe in this book.)

I've always been nervous about eating wild mushrooms. I make an exception for morels because it's easy to identify them. Otherwise, I stay away. For example, Danutė—the wife of Mr. Irene's great uncle, Uncle D—used to harvest wild mushrooms in Indiana and Michigan. She then pickled and canned them. Everyone got several Mason jars—filled with the slimy preserving liquid and rubbery mushrooms—each time they visited her. I never tasted them: not even from the jars Danutė gave us on our wedding day. Or from the jars family found squirreled away in Danutė's basement after Danutė died.

I went mushroom picking one time, and I then was accompanying natives who'd been differentiating mushrooms for nearly a generation.

Choosing the wrong mushroom can be deadly.

Door County, Wisconsin, Spring 1978. Get some safety training before you go hunting.

"Voveraitės"

"Voveraitė" is the Lithuanian word for "little squirrel." It's also the term used to refer to young girl scouts. Think of "Cub Scouts" and "Brownies."

"Voveraitės" also refers to chanterelle mushrooms.

Schweinfurt, Germany, about 1947. A group of "Voveraitės" from the Displaced Persons camp poses in uniform.

Mushroom-Picking Reunion

Near Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, September 1985. We're back from mushroom picking in the Dolomites, and we are ready to cook these puppies! All they need are olive oil, butter, garlic, oodles of flat-leaf parsley, and a splash of brandy.