Mushroom carbonara recipe & a Fly Agaric

Found this fabulous Fly Agaric in a little shrubby area off the Belmont Road (we call it the Magic Forest because the dogs get excited when they get there, though I think that has more to do with the squirrels than any actual paranormal activity or forestation).

These have been coming up for the last three years but this is the first time I've actually managed to photograph one. They only last a day or two so a cool thing to capture.

Went home and made a lovely mushroom pasta (using the boring button ones I'm afraid).

Friday Carbonara
250g dried pasta (I used penne)
200g smoked bacon
1 small onion
1 punnet of mushrooms
Some nice veg (I used 4oz each baby sweetcorn and asparagus)
200ml Creme Fraiche (or double cream) and whatever cheese is handy
Glass of wine, plus more for drinking

Put a big pan of water on to boil and heat some olive oil in a deep frying pan. Snip your bacon up small and fry it on a high heat till crispy. Decant to a bowl, use the same fat to fry your mushrooms on a high heat too, be sure and get all the residue scraped off the pan. Your pasta water will be boiling now, get the pasta in, give it a good stir and put the timer on for whatever time it takes (I'm guessing 10-12 mins for this recipe). Throw a finely chopped onion in with the mushrooms and turn the heat down to medium high. Cook for a min and add veg. Keep cooking until it all starts to caramelise then throw a glass of wine in, stir till the alcohol smell dies down and add creme fraiche. Pasta should be cooked by now so drain it and throw it in along with some cheese (I'd say 4oz).