The Mushroom Mountain

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Old growth forest, fragrant fens, gullies of fern, sun-drenched slopes: a river snakes through the folded mountainsides creating an array of microclimates, creating a wondrous, though difficult, land to explore. If biophilia is the human “urge to affiliate with other forms of life" then terraphilia is the human urge to explore such forms of land. This page is about the intersection of the two for the land and the living animals, plants, fungi, and microbes that live upon it shape each other completely.

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On the Mountain, we have been largely self reliant for generations. That is not saying much, for such a verdant land gives more than generously when there are not too many mouths to feed. We’ve survived by foraging on the land, yes, but it was our gardens of greens and peppers in rows, appellations of grape vines, and trellises of hearty blackberries and sprawling gourds, and of the orchards still maturing but giving small sweet fruits that allow us to thrive. When the flowers blossom and the plants prepare their succulent gifts, you realize that the greatest jewels are not not those that sparkles, but those that grow and nourish.

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When it comes to cooking, there is nothing quite as satisfying as cooking over.a real fire. It is primal, visceral, and mostly importantly satisfies the near-universal human love of flames and of crispy food. We draw great inspiration from the cookbook of legendary Patagonian chef Francis Mallmann, Green Fire: Extraordinary Ways to Grill Fruits and Vegetables, from the Master of Live-Fire Cooking.

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Visit “Our Story” to learn the story behind the name of Mushroom Mountain Cellars.

The rest of this page is under construction and will include information on gardening, cooking, hiking, maps, and field notes. Please come back later but enjoy the photographs in the meantime.