FOREST TO TABLE. Tavis Lynch is teaching an online course about foraging for food offered by UWEC. (Photo via Unsplash)

Thinking of trying some new, unique recipes, but lack the ingredients? Look no further: Spring Edibles is a two-part online class about foraging for wild mushrooms and plants to add to your meals at home. 

Taught by Tavis Lynch, field mycologist and author, the class is available for registration until April 28 through UW-Eau Claire. It will take place on Zoom on consecutive Tuesdays, May 3 and 10, from 6-9pm. Learn about edible spring mushroom, flower, and plant identification, proper storage and preparation, and which poisonous ones to avoid. 

Field mycologist Tavis Lynch. (Submitted photo)

“People get this great sense of confidence towards the woods especially when they can pick up a mushroom and say, ‘I know what this is, or at least I know what this isn’t.’ So I like to promote that, confidence in your identification of wild mushrooms,” Lynch said.

The class will also offer some recipes to try with your foraged ingredients, such as a breakfast omelet, and teach preservation techniques like pickling, dehydration, and canning.

“It’s good for personal enrichment,” Lynch said. “It’s never too late to learn a new hobby. It’s a quiet, peaceful hobby, it’s a fun family hobby. It’s something you can do alone, something you can do as a group. And I find it quite therapeutic, to be honest. Spending time in the trees, I think it’s good for everyone. And Wisconsin has a great mushroom season.”

Lynch teaches mushroom courses across northern Wisconsin in 22 different schools. He’s been a mushroom hunter since childhood. Keep a lookout for his autumn mushroom course through UWEC this fall with a field trip included.

“I really like exposing people to this new hobby,” Lynch said. “This is something that I’ve loved to do my whole life and I like to share that with people.”

To register and learn more, visit uwec.edu.