Lobster mushrooms — Hypomyces lactifluorum — are unmistakable. Their meaty folds cup upward out of the pine needles, deep orange like the fascia of cooked crabs.

Beginning around Labor Day, I’ll be heading into the mountains to go lobster hunting.Say what? I’m in search of a crustacean of the woods. It looks a lot like a boiled lobster: fire-engine red. Such ...

Lobster mushrooms are a delight for beginning mycophiles, since they and their hosts are easy to identify. ... but then I noticed milky sap oozing from a broken gill under the cap.

Now grab your kale and add it to the lobster mushrooms that have been simmering. Stir your kale right on in, along with more of your spice blend, and let it cook down for 5 to 7 minutes or so.

Cooked lobster meat is available, already picked from the shell, at the fish counters in most grocery stores. The pancake batter must be refrigerated for at least 1 hour before cooking.

Lobster and Mushroom Casserole Yield: 4 servings 2 (1 1/2-pound) live lobsters; 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, divided use; 1 pound white button mushrooms, sliced ...