February Foraging - Scarlet Elf Cup, Wood Ears, Crow Garlic

This is the results from a little bit of foraging in early February in Dorset, UK. I set out to find a fungus called Scarlet Elf Cup (and I did find it, but didn't pick it this time...)
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[@garrettstauffer7211]

"If this sauce resembles something with a name, then that's what it is. If it doesn't, then it isn't" British man disarms throngs of online food gatekeepers with this one easy trick

[@azureaki]

That sauce is actually pretty close to a sauce called "Carusso", which is pretty common in Uruguay (where I'm from). The only difference would be we use meat (or, more commonly, meat stock) instead of chicken, plus some bacon (optionally). But pretty close!

[@Smooshes786]

I am reminded of Opa and the garden. He would tell me “Put it in, if it lives, it lives”. That was gardening for him and his garden was glorious!

[@mikesantiago14]

​@@azureaki then that's what it is

[@Moewenfels]

"Brit rummaging around the forest for fungus" will always be my favorite KZbin content.

[@smakies5331]

Just a funguy looking for Fungus

[@SalamanderDancer]

I love the forest walks. Never know what you’re going to find. Always an adventure and a surprise to be had just a few steps out the front door.

[@yokeloeulci8001]

Cooking with leftovers out of the fridge, mismatched pots and pans, a kitchen which isn't an immaculate studio setup, making recipes up on the go... this is what I love about your cooking videos Mike. It looks and feels like a real kichen. It looks and feels like my kitchen! And it feels like we're just hanging out with you while you quickly whip something up for tea.

[@danieltrepuen5247]

I'm just leaving this here because I think you deserve a little bit of praise. I've been battling with some severe psychological issues for quite some time and your videos always bring me some relaxation in tough times. When I've been in the hospital with severe panic attacks and other things I've downloaded a bunch of your videos just to have an anchor of serenity of sorts. Please keep doing what you do and I'll hope I'll see you again soon many times.

[@AtomicShrimp]

I hope things improve for you soon

[@magi267]

All our thoughts are with you. We all come to Shrimp for therapy 😊

[@ericv738]

I feel this way as well.

[@mrgabos]

"experimenting non-linear time" Atomic Shrimp is The Doctor confirmed

[@ericv738]

Can I be his next sidekick then please

[@utubey99]

"We're just experiencing time in a non-linear fashion." What other channel could I go to for a statement like that?

[@BlueSunYoutube]

"An Oven Clock Bit my Sister Once" 🤣🤣🤣 - Thanks for the biggest laugh out loud moment I've had in weeks. Appriciate it 👌

[@SteveTheRedPikmin]

I very much appreciate the oven clock easter eggs.

[@jensgoerke3819]

Messing with time travel again - it's becoming some sort of a habit.

[@rowejon]

i'm convinced the exterior of Shrimp Cottage resembles a Police Box.

[@minimumsky5]

What I love about these videos is how calming they are. The subject matter, the camerawork, the edits, even your tone of voice can help to make a bad day tolerable. My parents just lost their beagle at the age of 13, 12 of those years also spent with myself. After watching this, I think I can make it through the rest of the day.

[@artistknownaslisa2850]

I'm so sorry 💔 *hugs*

[@SundaysChild1966]

My dear departed father used to pick mushrooms, up here in north-eastern Ontario, (Canada) in the same area that the blueberries were growing. On one trip out he was picking, heard a cough, and there was a black bear munching away on the blueberries! heh heh ..

[@Smooshes786]

Ontario wild blueberries and the wild strawberries evoke such happy foraging memories in Northern Ontario for me. Fun times!

[@EC2019]

Hey Shrimp, just letting you know that your videos soothe me to sleep every night nowadays. I've struggled with insomnia for decades. But your calming manner and the tone of your voice is so soothing that I can often find myself asleep before the end of a 10-12min video which I set playing in the background, whereas without it I could very well be tossing and turning all night. I and both my kids (age 12 and 3) are all very glad to have stumbled across your channel, which has been part of our home's background soundtrack since about 2016. In fact my oldest will very often just randomly interject with a Shrimp quote out of seemingly nowhere. ("METAL! ACTION!!! ...sofabed...") And my youngest asks again and again for her favourite clip in which you shout "Eva! Shut up!" and falls about laughing just thinking of it every time. She takes mischievous delight in her understanding that Shrimp has just said a "bad word". XD

[@sandhyapapineau4008]

I like the mix of video topics on your channel but I REALLY appreciate that you keep this space an influencer-free zone. Thank you very much. Love from Canada

[@francesT5877]

I think your pasta is papardelle. I love papardelle and often buy it fresh. I would love to make it myself but I don’t have the patience for rolling it or the machine or the confidence that I would use it often enough to buy the machine. Japanese people forage in the spring a lot and the some of the celebrated spring foraged items are certain young leaf and flower buds. They are really delicious as tempura. You would think that the deep frying would wash out the flavour but if done right tempura batter just barely clings to the leaves, and the hot oil makes the plant tissue cook very quickly which makes it really delicious. One of my favorite things is shiso tempura which I haven’t eaten since I left Japan many years ago.

[@symbungee]

Agree, looks like parpadelle pasta ❤

[@wendycairoli3964]

I came here to say the same thing! Definitely pappardelle, my favourite 🤤

[@francesT5877]

I love “not literally”. Necessary disclaimer. Man I could smell the pasta dish as you were making it. I love creamy mushroom dishes. This would also be great as risotto.

[@andy16005343]

Not sure about the texture of the wood-ear mushrooms, but did chuckle at your clarification that browning the chicken wouldn't literally bring it back to life! Please do keep up the good work. You are appreciated.

[@jonathanfinan722]

It'll be wild garlic time soon. The canal banks and woods near here are full of the stuff. In fact, the whole area is supposed to be named after an old Celtic word for garlic, Craven.

[@kimvibk9242]

Bear garlic is called 'ramsløg' in Danish - it is a foraging staple in the Danish forests in early spring.

[@jonathanfinan722]

@@kimvibk9242 by wonderful coincidence, I was on my home from the woods with a bag of wild garlic when I met a colleague who had some Danish visitors with him . Naturally they asked what was in the bag because they could smell it and the woman then told me that in Denmark that you can forage as much as you like as long as it fits in your hat. I then had images of Danes walking about with enormous hats full of carrots.

[@kimvibk9242]

@@jonathanfinan722 😂

[@DecayingReverie]

I don't know what it is about your content, but I find it so soothing. I like your mixture of food, nature, electronics, and just anything you find interesting. I think being real and true to yourself is infectious because there are so many people making content where they try to act like someone else. I've been finding relaxing channels recently and it has made my KZbin experience almost therapeutic while I'm trying to start a career. It's caused a lot of stress and I haven't been able to be out in nature as much as I'd like. With any hope, my interview next week will go well and I'll be an in-home caregiver for the elderly.

[@exploringdumpling]

I'm so sorry your sister had such a terrible encounter with the oven clock, I hope she recovers! You living in Dorset is one of the probably three reasons why I'm sad for having moved from Devon. And that pasta looked absolutely divine, I think I'll make an attempt at making something similar in the (near) future, thank you for inspiration

[@jamesfry8983]

All mushrooms are edible at least once, but in all fairness, ive grown up foraging with my parents from a young age.

[@pyrosparkes]

"that looks kind of a bit weathery over there" i have a feeling thats quite an english thing to say lol also good to know this is the time for crow garlic, ive tried gathering it before, but was late spring probably, and was, as you said, quite straw-like. the oven clock also really tickled me! (unlike your sister, it must have been in a good mood to just tickle me, those things never can be trusted)

[@phronsiekeys]

Pasta al funghi -- looked delicious. When I was a kid in the southern US, the wild onions were one of our additions to witches brews and fake soups, along with acorns and other stuff when we were playing outside. The smell is unmistakable.

[@saidchammas]

I remember when you made your video in Dorset and warned about potential landslides. Glad no shrimps were harmed from the recent one

[@FishyBoi1337]

That mushroom milk seems like what you'd get from milking a mooshroom!

[@permaculturee]

"We are just experiencing time in a non-linear fashion."

[@ellem2293]

Thanks for the endless knowledge you share with us :) I really enjoy learning about foraging & what is edible etc, I thought I had chives growing but turns out it was wild garlic or so I thought.. it may be crow garlic now I have seen this vid. Wish schools would implement this kind of info. Nice one Mike :)

[@klarname_online9356]

Thank you so much... Your videos are always so heart warming! I particular love the foraging videos, as these full of this trope of enjoying the simple things! I always double love my weekend, if I find on friday evening and saturday morning one of your videos!

[@eloquentsarcasm]

Home after a long workday, whisky poured, and another cracking Atomic Shrimp foraging video.....now THIS is how to end the workweek!

[@brewski118sempire]

Shrimp cottage Time is convoluted. It ebbs and flows in its own way.

[@kimvibk9242]

That's why Mike never grows old...

[@TwoCatsInLondon]

Your foraging videos are always such a nice bit of reprieve from the endless business. A few of my seedlings have started to sprout, though I’m keeping them indoors for now due to the weather conditions over here. It’s very exciting to see my plants coming up.

[@AbzCat]

I wonder if the Crow Garlic could be dehydrated, and then ground into a powder, for year-round enjoyment!

[@revol113]

Another wonderful video. Your wren and kettle chopping board is such a blast from the past, we had one in our kitchen growing up and seeing it brought fond memories. Been keeping an eye out for one second hand but they are very difficult to find...

[@JuusoAI]

These foraging vids are always a treat! I went yesterday on a little nature walk, and there's just so much f*cking snow! It was like walking in a lightly frozen bog. Boots filled with snow and heart rate rising to 300 in about eight seconds. Thanks Mr. Shrimp, but I'll have to wait a few weeks until I can forage anything apart from pine needles and dog poo! With love from not the UK.

[@Ultracity6060]

"If this sauce resembles something with a name, then that's what it is." Kinda looks like my brother's dog, Dutch. I'm sure calling it Dutch pasta wouldn't confuse anyone at all.

[@Shenorai]

Thank you so much for introducing me to Quincas Moreria. This is such a wonderful find!

[@1kreature]

So weird to see foraging in February without a shovel and digging through 6ft of snow... Very enjoyable!

[@HotelPapa100]

Loved this episode. I always do when you combine foraging with cooking. I especially appreciate your way of teaching "make something with what you have, don't bother with authenticity, create your own. I guess your pasta would go as papardelle in Italy.

[@zerocasualteas]

This is so lovely! So relaxing to see today on a rainy day in Oregon. Thank you for taking us on your foraging & forest walks!

[@druidgrove]

Wondering what the low growing, feathery leafed plant growing next to the crow garlic at 3:48 is? Are there plants where you would consider too risky to harvest and accidentally mix in with your foraged items when they are growing next to each other? Absolutely love that you show people how to harvest ethically by making decisions to leave an item even when it is something you have been wanting to try for some time, not foraging the first thing you find and not taking everything you find from an area.

[@AtomicShrimp]

The feathery plant is something in the apiaceae - maybe cow parsley or rough chervil or something like that. Interestingly that's a family of plants you have to be pretty careful with (it contains carrots, and parsley, and also Hemlock), especially in early spring when the plants have not yet developed all of their features.

[@EasterWitch]

Can't wait to go out and do some foraging of my own in a few months! We still have ice and snow covering the forests here in Northern Scandinavia

[@Lizlizthemommy]

Two uploads on a Friday? Wohoo!!🎉

[@soulieobelissevan]

Yay foraging is back! Your pasta dish looks yummm! ❤

[@MADMANNe1]

Awesome! That looked very tasty! Been looking forward to some foraging videos!

[@BellaRainDrops]

Oh yay ! So glad you finally found some Mushrooms in Dorset, we started getting sad every time you'd go foraging with a hopeful heart and get nothing 😭 yay for the mushrooms 👂🍄

[@magicaardvark1]

Brilliant video Mr Mike. Always find your videos affirmative of my own cooking style. Not far off a million subscribers!

[@SimberPlays]

I paused the video to go out and pick some crow garlic from my yard to go with my food. Pretty good!

[@rachelferne]

The most important thing about mushrooms, besides identification, is to not eat them raw. Love your content, Mrs. Shrimp is a lucky woman.

[@DhonJoe]

Love foraging videos. Thanks.

[@samhenwood5746]

I love these foraging videos & with some great ideas for cooking the items 👍Thanks Atomic Shrimp 🦐🤗

[@WaddedBliss]

I don't often feel nostalgic but the mil from proper glass bottles got me.

[@beliarioc9472]

Congratulations on mastering the art of manipulating time lines.

[@DEAJP10]

The chicken and mushroom with white sauce would make an excellent pie filling!

[@magi267]

I had turned down the volume but Stinking Gladwin - Roast beef called me back and rewinding. 😊 I made a comment on an earlier video about whether Jennie is away while you do some of your cooking challenges. I'm glad she got the benefit of that delicious- looking pasta!

[@MatTheeDarkOverLordSimons]

I feel a little off making this comment, so much interesting stuff in this video, and yet I have to say I think I would prefer the flickering of the clock to the overlay. I think this is more my issue than anything else. Im off to look for wood ears tomorow, thank you for the heads up :-)

[@smiller6925]

"This will bring the chicken back to life- not literally- " lolol

[@published1789]

Got myself out to pick some stinging nettles (being quite sure what they are!) and thought, "I bet there isn't really all that much this time of year." Much nicer to see it through your eyes!

[@frankiefranklin9761]

I'm currently snuggled up in a shepherds hut on a farm and this is ideal content

[@halfanewfie2]

Next time you could try dehydrating them .I did them on a sheet pan on baking paper in in the oven. Heat the oven to 175F /80C max with a full sheet tray of chives for about 15 minutes, then just turn the oven off and leave them in there for 4 hours.. Heat the oven again for 5 minutes , take out the chives and stir them and then put them back in the oven, turn it off and leave them until they are brittle. I've done chives as well as garlic chives and they were wonderful to have in the winter time.

[@aaronhomer920]

Here in my part of the Midwestern United States, a plant very similar to crow garlic pops up every spring. It may in fact be crow garlic, as I saw that it’s an invasive species in the US. Smells fantastic, but I could never think of anything to cook with it.

[@daftodil589]

I bet making French onion soup with crow garlic would be tasty!

[@francesT5877]

French onion soup requires long caramellizing of the onions. You could add the crow garlic to the soup but it wouldn’t work as the main ingredient since those leaves have almost no sugar in them.

[@daftodil589]

@@francesT5877I wonder if you could make an onion soup as a clear broth with crow garlic 🤔 with brown sugar. a sweet oniony garlicy sipping soup

[@HedgyLlama]

Thank you mr shrimp, this video was just what I needed to relax and unwind after a stressful afternoon. I always enjoy your foraging content as a nature lover myself, so find it interesting. the mushroom infused milk however reminded me of mooshrooms from Minecraft which are a cow mushroom hybrid creature and they produce mushroom soup.

[@KeefsCattys]

I had never seen Scarlet Elf Cups before this year , but have found 4 in the last week here in SE Scotland

[@Sean_Shaun_Shawn]

Central Scotland here- they're pretty common at the edges of woodland here but easy to miss because of the short window they fruit in and they like to hide under leaf cover. They're also stupidly easy to mistake for plastic coke lids and vice versa.

[@robgreen1818]

Shrimp wastes absolutely nothing and I am absolutely here for it.

[@MartinAhlman]

As a Swedish (the northern hal of Sweden as well) person I'm always confused when looking at "winter months" when it's obviously spring to me. There's no snow in Februari? What kind of sorcery is that? I can still go skiing to work! Everything is white, and it's the snow, snow, snow (some is ice, but I think you understand. It's still possible to use the "ice roads"). In May we'll see the last of the snow in the garden melting away. Picking mushrooms in February, or even seeing grass, is a sign of madness/impossible (much like dining at Milliways). I wish you all the best, and think of me whiule living in a tropical climate. :-)

[@AtomicShrimp]

Yeah, we seldom get heavy snow down here in the south of England - maybe once every 10 years it snows enough that roads get dangerous (and this is partly because the rarity of snow would make it a waste of money for councils to invest in snowploughs)

[@deejayk5939]

Thank you, need this today❤

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

On the family farm at the old home site (it burned down in the late 70's) I always smell onions, but can't find the source. I'll look for crows garlic. It doesn't help that there are loads of jonquils (daffodil) present, which you see everywhere a house was in the rural countryside. If you see jonquils they are often where the old flowerbeds would have been and are the only sign left that humans lived there, besides the odd bit of metal, etc... I think you can pick all the mushrooms if they have released their spores. Once released their purpose is over and can be harvested guilt free. And saute your woodears gently lest they react with the hot oil and pop flinging themselves and hot grease into your face

[@Petertronic]

Careful... Oven Clock will be taking over the channel soon. Loved the video, the meal looked divine.

[@UncleThor]

Am I going crazy, or did you upload two videos today? I'm not complaining, it's like late Christmas!

[@AtomicShrimp]

It was a scheduling error (one was supposed to be tomorrow morning)

[@chrisbelcher4843]

This space was left intentionally blank

[@foamige]

This content is so relaxing. Perfect Sunday TV.

[@harbourchick]

The only thing we are foraging here in Nova Scotia is snow..lol I'm envious

[@brandon9172]

That's not too bad. You can forage lemon and chocolate flavored snow!

[@harbourchick]

@@brandon9172🤣🤣

[@rosebomb]

the sauce does actually resemble something I make quite often, I call it "I'm tired of meat sauce"

[@ericbiggane9786]

It's always good to come home Friday night and have an Atomic Shrimp video to watch, thank you. Scarlet or Ruby Elfcups (it's impossible to distinguish between them without microscopy, this doesn't matter as they are both edible with no look-a-likes) grow on dead hazel twigs and like many mushrooms, prefer mossy ground. I hope this helps you find some more so we get your video about them. They taste great but are a pain to clean, I only wash mushrooms if they need it and these mushrooms do. I prefer not to wash mushrooms but I find washing them doesn't affect them too much and if they are gritty, I would rather wash them than chew on grit.

[@jmboyd78]

Perfect video for a friday!

[@simonhopkins3867]

For me there is nothing like fresh field mushrooms with big black gills. Memories of mushrooming.

[@tokul76]

turns out having bunch of blue boxes dotted around county got some advantages.

[@nckfy]

This looks a little like a certain type of well known British-Italian dish but I'm afraid if I say it Gino D'Acampo will tell me that if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicycle.

[@gsuk666]

Thanks a million. First time ever looking for Wood ear. And not disappointed. At first fruitless but then yay. Though not a lot it was successful.

[@laurateaho-white9654]

What a coincidence, I just went mushroom picking the other day. Its mushroom season in New Zealand right now. Its funny how much England and New Zealand are opposites of each other, yet in sync.

[@jljljl1820]

i had LOADS of chives last year and i cut them all at the end of the season. around 2/3 went into a very non traditional pesto, the rest in the freezer. theres still some left but the new leaves are coming. they freeze very well

[@TheCotzi]

i love how yxou are not greedyx picking mushroomes that are onlyx a single one and i enjoyx yxour vids myx keyboard is broken wich makes myx reading and writingdisorder much worse btw im the one who sugested sriracha on vanilla icecream yxour voice is so calming i watch older videos to sleep to also

[@dees3179]

Sorry about your keyboard. Hope you can get it fixed. I got cornflakes stuck in mine for a while. It was horrible.

[@heatherjohnson2511]

Looks like a good rendition of chicken mushroom Alfredo! I love your videos, thank you for sharing!❤

[@jasonm2081]

To me Crow Garlic tastes like a cross between an oonion and a mushroom. Its an invasive species but we have some in our backyard and use it quite a bit.

[@AtomicShrimp]

That's an interesting way to describe the flavour, but I think you're right - I think that's the same thing I was describing as 'meaty'

[@Jennyandersonjenny]

My dad used to call those mushrooms 'puppy dog ears', and when i was small they did look like that a little bit. But I think because my mum was cooking with them he was calling her a witch on the sly.

[@asherpeachy]

I’ve noticed you’ve been using a different selection of music in the videos recently and I’ve really been enjoying it. It feels like it mixed the format up somewhat. The song at the end here felt particularly winters to me and seemed to make sense for an outdoorsy foraging sort of video.

[@TheMimiSard]

"These take very well to drying" - Word. One can buy packets of dried wood-ears at Asian grocers, so drying is a thing with them. I actually wonder what fresh ones are like? Mind you I feel inclined to see if Hanaromart has some when I go looking for frozen beef tomorrow.

[@sandrosliske]

Milk, cream, butter and cheese all in the same dish. Isn't dairy just amazing. Got to thank that person that saw a cow feeding it's calf and said "I've got to get me some of that".

[@celadonkim]

Somehow appropriate that Atomic Shrimps don't experience time in a linear fashion

[@murockey]

Fun fact: In austrian mushrooms are called "Schwammerl" with "Schwamm" meaning Sponge in german hinting to their water absorbant nature.

[@MrBored990]

A bit late to the party, but if you rehydrate the porcini in hot milk it infuses more effectively. In fact theres a really good baked pappardelle with porcini and pancetta recipe on BBC Good Food that does exactly this and it's divine. Love the videos by the way. Genuinely one of my favourite channels on youtube.

[@cris7472]

The sauce (though typically without the cheese and parsley) would be known as a "Ciulama" in Romanian cookery. Normally you'd cook either a chicken or mushroom ciulama rather than together. Another variation would be to use ox tongue as the protein source. These are typically served alongside bread or polenta rather than pasta.

[@SilverDragonJay]

mmm pasta, mushrooms, cream, and cheese.... I do not forage, but I think I might have to attempt to recreate that. Pretty sure I can find dehydrated mushroom mixes at the store.

[@crazysupernovagaming3638]

Oh, we've had crow garlic grow in our garden before, and we always thought it was a weed. If we ever have any growing this year, perhaps I'll consider using it. We're in Canada, so it's not just a UK thing.

[@ZeroPlayerGame]

This pasta looks to die for! Shame we don't really get wood ears over here, I'd love to try some.

[@Mar0na]

i think what's interesting about mushrooms isn't the "do they absorb water or not" situation but that their molecular structure makes it so no matter what amount of cooking you do they generally retain their texture and do not break down! the chitin does this! so cooking the water out will drastically increase the cooking time to dry out the mushrooms and might complicate the particular recipe you're making! which is reason enough to consider not washing them if you're personally satisfied with their cleanliness :)

[@nursultantulyakbaycats]

Love the texture on wood ears. Its similar to korean jelly fish salad

[@Janeoffools]

Oh. You might have just put me off them 🤣

[@DrDaveW]

Ouch! - Those oven clock bites Kan be pretti nasti...

[@dees3179]

I have wild irises in my garden. They are very strange looking, I’d never seen them before moving here.

[@TTLVID]

Hi Mike, the stinking iris is called that because of the smell you get from the leaf when it's crushed. They say it smells like roast beef, I guess it sort of does but to me it smells like the roast beef monster munch.

[@AtomicShrimp]

Ah! I always assumed it would be the flowers. I will have a sniff of the crushed leaves.

[@TTLVID]

@@AtomicShrimp I did at first aswell, also apparently it's called stinking because for some people the smell is really repulsive, I don't know why it is like that for only some people and not others, I guess maybe it's genetic? Perhaps it's the same sort of reason that some people absolutely love durian fruit and others it makes physically sick!

[@Janeoffools]

@@TTLVIDlike coriander as well

[@TTLVID]

@@Janeoffools I didn't know that, every day's a school day!

[@morgan0]

15:12 modifying names a little bit from wikipedia, sagnacci is probably fairly fitting. its a combination of sagnette which is a similar shape, and the suffix -acci for rough or badly made