puffballs are back!

We have giant puffballs in our yard again. this time we picked them and might actually eat them. We visited a friend last week who has cooked puff balls all of her life, slicing them thinly and sauteing them in olive oil, garlic and rosemary. They took on the taste of the spice; i didnt think they had much of a "mushroom taste" but I admit I was a bit grossed out by the texture and by thinking too hard about what i was consuming. The puffball itself is whitish, smooth on the outside, and textured somewhat like a dense sponge or even styrofoam. I cant think how else to describe it. it doesnt have much of a smell and is not rooted very deeply in the earth. Fromwikipedia, "Calvatia gigantea, commonly known as the Giant puffball, is a puffball mushroom commonly found in meadows, fields, and deciduous forests worldwide usually in late summer and autumn. It is common throughout Europe and North America. Most giant puffballs grow to be 10 to 70 centimetres (3.9 to 28 in) in diameter, although occasionally some can reach diameters up to 150 centimetres (59 in) and weights of 20 kilograms (44 lb). The inside of the mature Giant puffballs is greenish brown, whereas the interior of immature puffballs is white. The large white mushrooms are edible when young."