Mushroom Soup for a Cold March Day

The calendar may say it's spring, but it is still raw and cold even with the sunshine.  For me, March is the month full of cruelty and deception.  I have a bad case of cabin fever though, and since the house no longer feels as warm and cozy as it did during the winter, I decided that I might as well step outside.  The sap is still rising and I wouldn't want to miss that!

In the middle of the city is a 46 acre nature preserve and Bean and I went there for the Maple Syrup Festival.  The first picnic of the year!  Dozens of hardy/foolish people sitting outside in the cold eating pancakes with maple syrup, hot dogs and hot cocoa.

The trees around here are still pretty bleak looking and you must search the ground for  signs of life.

Lichen and moss covered some of the fallen timbers with their gorgeous colors and textures. 

Some of the maples are tapped.  It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. The sap runs clear and must be boiled down to get the beautiful amber color.

 The sap is filtered and heated until about 7 degrees above boiling point.  I wonder if anyone would notice if I put taps on a few trees on my street?  Maybe next year's project!


Bean and I headed home feeling pleasantly tired from all the fresh air.

A great day to make soup- but what kind?  I opened the refrigerator and zoned out a bit. Decisions, decisions - so many options.  You don't need a lot of ingredients to make soup and unless my fridge is completely bare  there is something there to make a tasty soup. I spy a brown bag filled with oyster mushrooms, courtesy of Bean's trip to the Oriental market.  Perfect.  Mushrooms are wonderfully earthy and definitely tie in with our little walk in the woods.

I am keeping the soup pretty simple: fresh oyster mushrooms, a little dried shitake, leeks, beef broth, butter, a splash of port, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. I was really excited by the fresh thyme!  As cold as it is, there is a bit of life in my herb garden.  The chives which are the first herbs to come alive are already six inches high! 




Mushroom Soup

• 4 oz leeks, chopped
• 5 oz oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1/2 oz dried shitake mushrooms
• 2oz (about 2Tbl of port wine)
• 3 Tbl butter
• 3 1/2 cup beef broth
• fresh thyme, salt, pepper

Soak the dried  shitake in 2/3 cup of boiling water for 30 minutes
On low/medium heat, cook the chopped leeks in 1 1/2 Tbl of butter for about 10 minutes until soft, but not browned. Add another 1 1/2 Tbl of butter, a little fresh thyme, the oyster mushrooms and the  shitakes, (but not the soaking water) and let the mixture sweat for an additional 8 minutes. Do not brown. Strain the mushroom soaking water through a coffee filter lined sieve and add to the pot with the beef broth, and port wine.  I wanted the alcohol to cook out, but you can add it at the end if you prefer.  Cook for one hour. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the contents to a blender and Carefully process until smooth, while holding the lid of the blender with a towel.  You might want to do this in two batches and/or wait until the mixture cools a bit. Make the rookie mistake of dumping it in and hitting the button and you just might end up with hot bits in your face and hair and splatters on your cabinet doors.  Just saying.

This recipe is very rich and smooth even though it does not have any cream in it. The recipe is very adaptable as well.  You can use onions instead of the leeks and chicken or vegetable broth instead of the beef broth. The beef broth adds an extra rich, earthy flavor. You can use white wine, sherry, or no wine at all. You can substitute the mushrooms as well; brown mushrooms, button mushrooms, porcini mushrooms... Well you get the picture. It will be a little different each time, but all good. Earthy, rich and comforting.  Since it is full flavored, a little bowl goes a long way 

 I garnished the soup with a goat cheese crouton and a sprig of thyme.