Lobster Mushroom Bisque

 

pacific-northwest-lobster-mushrooms

Mushrooms infected by parasitic ascomycete fungus….my favorite!!!

OMG…. Heaven in a bowl!!! I seriously couldn’t get enough of this stuff. When are we going mushroom hunting again??? Unfortunately lobster mushroom season is slowly coming to an end in the Pacific Northwest.

lobster-mushroom-bisque-crusty-bread

This was my first season going mushroom picking and we had such a great time wandering in the woods! None of us got lost and we had a great haul (although we didn’t really get any of the really large chanterelles). We collected tons of yellow and white chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, and chicken of the woods. We pretty much ate mushrooms everyday of the week and we still have chanterelles in the freezer. The lobster mushrooms were definitely my favorite, but we had fun with the chanterelles and chicken of the woods too.

We made this lobster mushroom bisque from One Tomato Two Tomato with only a few changes… mostly just to accommodate what we already had in our kitchen. The bisque turned out fantastic! You would never know that their weren’t any real lobsters in it. Steve and I both went back for seconds! And the leftovers were quickly gone!

Ingredients

Serves 4.

3 lbs lobster mushrooms, cleaned & thinly sliced
7 T. unsalted butter
1T. extra virgin olive oil
5 large shallots, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium-large yellow onion, chopped
2 T tomato paste
1⁄4 cup vodka
10 sprigs italian parsley, plus 1 T. Chopped (set aside)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 large fresh bay leaves (3 if using dry)
2 cups Chardonnay
6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (we used 4 cups veg and 2 cups chicken)
1 t. tabasco sauce
1 c. heavy cream
Kosher salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot heat the oil and butter on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until all of the moisture is released and the mushrooms begin to brown. Then add in the shallots, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for approx. 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.

2. Stir in the tomato paste until mixed well.

3. Deglaze the pot with the vodka. Use a spatula to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom.

4. Bind the parsley and thyme together, add the bay leaves, wine and broth.

5. Simmer for up to an hour, allowing the mushrooms and vegetables to become soft.

6. Remove the bay leaves, parsley and thyme and then puree the soup in the blender in batches.

7. Add the puree back to the pot, add the heavy cream. And simmer for a bit longer.

8. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Note: We served ours with a crusty bread from the bakery and it was perfect.

Healthy Lentil Soup

Healthy Lentil Soup

Yum!!! Perfect soup for the cold weather we’ve been having.

I’ve gotta be honest. I haven’t been eating alot of meat lately and I’ve been feeling a bit tired. And the weather has been pretty shitty, so I made a GIANT batch of lentil soup hoping that it would give me the protein and vitamin boost I’ve been needing. This recipe would be easy enough to make vegetarian or vegan, but I’m not that picky. This soup is a hodge-podge of different lentil soup recipes I’ve seen around the internet…. if I saw an ingredient I liked I just added it to the Crock Pot. I love Crock Pot meals because sometimes I really don’t have the energy to cook up a big meal…. and this recipe makes so much food I was able to put half of it in the freezer.

Ingredients

10-12 servings.

16 oz. green lentils
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, 1/4 inch slices
3 carrots, 1/4 inch slices
2 leeks, sliced, white and light green parts only
1/2 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed and sliced
1 28 oz. can of organic tomatoes in juice, diced
4 cups of vegetable broth
4 cups of chicken broth
1 T. olive oil
2-3 bay leaves
1 1/2 t. dried thyme
1 t. chili pepper flakes
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
sour cream or plain yogurt, for garnish
fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large saute pan heat up the olive oil over medium heat, add the onions and saute until they “sweat” and are slightly translucent (took about 5 minutes), then add the minced garlic and cook for another minute or two being careful not to burn the garlic. Adjust the heat if necessary.

2. In a large Crock Pot combine all of the other ingredients except the salt and pepper. Add in the onions and garlic and stir it all up.

3. Set Crock Pot to low heat (cook time 8-10 hours) or high heat (4-5 hours).

Note: We do not have a large Crock Pot, we have a smallish one, so if you also have a smallish one, cut the recipe in half. Or do what I did and let it finish on the stove top in a dutch oven. I cooked it for about two hours covered on low-medium heat, at a simmer. And it turned out perfectly.

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Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower hazelnut soup

Steve and I are always trying to find ways to incorporate more veggies into our diet and we’ve been on a cauliflower kick lately. We’ve made a cauliflower pizza crust…yum; and now we’ve made this AMAZING soup…I think it’s just as good as the fennel kabocha squash soup that we make, but this soup cooks up way faster. The hazelnuts really give this soup a rich, creamy texture. It’s perfect for this cold, winter weather we’ve been having in Bend.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, florets only
3-4 large shallots, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
4 roasted garlic cloves, minced
7-8 cups of chicken broth (veg broth would be tasty too)
1/2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter (totally not necessary, but I love butter)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts in the toaster oven or regular oven. Our toaster oven gets nice and hot and it took less than 8 minutes to get them a nice golden color. Be careful not to overcook (ie. burn) the hazelnuts. Once the hazelnuts are toasted remove the skins by rolling them between your hands.

2. Heat oil and butter on medium in a large soup pot. Add shallots and saute until soft and then add garlic being careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the cauliflower florets to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Now it’s time to add the chicken broth. Start with 5-6 cups. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Depending on how much liquid cooks off you may want to add another cup or two of broth, so your soup won’t turn out like baby food.

5. Once the cauliflower is tender and the broth has simmered down let it cool slightly, then add it to your blender or food processor with the toasted hazelnuts. Blend until the soup reaches your desired consistency. We were able to put the entire batch into our blender, but it might be necessary to blend in batches.

 

Spicy Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Soup

I just found this buried deep within the archives of my blog….forgotten, unpublished and without a pic, but I figured I’d just post it anyway, since we’re in Vietnam right now….and it’s kind of a westernized version of Vietnamese Pho.

This is one of our favorite recipes from Beverly Leblanc’s recipe book called Soups: 365 Delicious and Nutritious Recipes. It’s fairly easy to make, pretty healthy, and hearty enough to call a meal. The only changes we make are substituting beef broth instead of beef stock, we add thai chilis to the simmer, and we add basil as one of the herbal garnishes. This time we forgot to throw the red peppers into the simmer, so we ended up adding them at the end…it was still good, but I’d definitely not forget them again.

Recipe

Serves 3-4 hungry people.

2 cartons Pacific Foods Organic Beef Broth
1 1/2 pounds top sirloin, cut into thin strips (against the grain)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 1/2 inch section of gingerroot, peeled and minced (we usually do a little more than this)
4-5 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom  seeds
1- 1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 package of rice noodles (pad thai size…vermicelli rice noodles work fine too)
3 thai chilis
lime cut into wedges
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
handful of mint, chopped
handful of thai basil (or regular), chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large jalapeño, sliced
1 cup of beansprouts

Instructions:

1. Soak bean sprouts in cold water until ready to use.

2. In a large soup pot combine beef broth, thai chilis, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom seeds and fish sauce, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add bell peppers for the last few minutes until they have softened.

3. Pre-cook noodles according to package.

4. Remove spices from pot with chopsticks, slotted spoon, or other utensil.

5. In deep serving bowls combine beef (uncooked), noodles and bean sprouts. Pour boiling (or near boiling) broth over the top and garnish with cilantro, mint, basil, jalapeño, green onions and lime.

We love our asian condiments, so we usually also serve it with sambal, siracha, spicy black bean sauce…you get the picture….anything spicy we have in the fridge will usually end up in the soup, but it’s also delicious when served a bit more mild.

We’re soup addicts and usually make soup(from scratch) atleast once a week, so we’ve loved using Beverly LeBlanc’s Soups: 365 Delicious and Nutritious Recipescookbook. I don’t think it is being published anymore, but I’ve seen used copies for cheap on Amazon.

Creamy Potato and Kale Soup with Parmesan Garlic Toasts

creamy potato and kale soup

Yum…I can’t wait to eat the leftover soup!!!

Soup Recipe

Serves 6 as entree.

1 bunch of kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped
5 medium potatoes, rinsed and cubed
1/2 cup half and half or cream (optional)
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 smallish-medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 leek, rinsed, tough green parts removed, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound italian sausage (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized soup pot and add onions and leeks (set aside 1/4 cup). Cook until tender and slightly translucent.

2. Add garlic for a couple of minutes, then spices, and broth. Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Add kale and simmer for another 10 minutes.

4. In a saute pan cook the italian sausage along with the remaining 1/4 cup of leeks until golden. Drain on paper towel and cover with foil to keep warm.

5. Add half and half or cream and then puree contents with an immersion blender until desired consistency

6. Ladle soup into soup bowls and garnish with the italian sausage and parmesan garlic toasts.

Toast Recipe

Baguette or artisan bread, sliced into 12 1/2 inch slices
olive oil
1 head of garlic
parmesan cheese, grated
dried basil
chili pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cut off top of garlic head and drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400°F.

2. Brush toasts with olive oil.

3. Remove garlic from foil and allow to cool. Once cooled enough to handle press the cloves out of the garlic and smash them into the bread toasts until evenly covered, about one clove per toast.

4. Add cheese, and sprinkle chili pepper flakes and dried basil.

5. Broil toasts a few minutes until edges are golden brown and cheese has melted.

 

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Yep, I’m still on a pumpkin/squash kick….and I’ve been pretty lazy about posting, so I’ll go ahead and start with our Thai inspired curried pumpkin soup. This recipe is so versatile and can be made vegan and gluten free. We made ours with chicken broth, half and half, and butter because we had a little bit of each that we wanted to use before it turned bad, but I actually think the vegan version might be better. Also, this soup was super easy to make…the hardest part was peeling the fresh pumpkin, but with a little patience our OXO Peelerdid the trick.

curried pumpkin soup

A little comfort food for a cool fall day.

Recipe

Serves 6 as entree.

1 smallish-medium pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
1 1/4 teaspoon curry powder (I think you could use a curry paste if you don’t have powder)
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk or half and half
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (optional, omit for vegan)
sour cream (optional)
cilantro, chopped, for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot bring your chicken broth to a boil on medium-high heat and add your pumpkin. Depending on how big/small your pumpkin chunks are it could take 15-20 minutes.

2. While your pumpkin is cooking, in a saute pan combine butter or oil, onion, garlic, curry powder and chili pepper flakes over medium heat and cook until onion is tender and translucent, probably 5-7 minutes.

3. Once your pumpkin is tender go ahead and add the onion mixture, peanut butter, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and slowly add coconut milk or half and half to the mixture. Blend until creamy using your hand blender.

5. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro.

Note: Toasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds would also be a nice addition.

For other great pumpkin and squash recipes I really like this book.

  

Apple Potato Soup

apple potato soup

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Homemade apple and potato soup with fresh thyme.

Recipe

Serves 4. 

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced, plus 1/2 an apple sliced into thin wedges
2 celery stalks, chopped in to 1/4 inch slices
1 small-medium onion, diced
1 leek (minus the tough greens), sliced thinly
5 small potatoes, peeled, and diced
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
crème fraîche or sour cream

Instructions

1. In a large saute pan combine leek, onion, apple, celery and olive oil over medium-low heat until tender, probably 15 minutes or so.

2. In a large soup pot combine milk and potatoes. Bring to a slow boil, careful to not scorch the milk and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

3. While the potatoes are cooking add chicken broth, bay leaf and thyme to the apple mixture and simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. Remove the bay leaf and combine all ingredients in the large soup pot and use a Cuisinart Hand Blender to blend all the ingredients until smooth. You could also blend the soup in batches in your blender or food processor. Our Oster Blender does an awesome job with soups, but clean up is so much quicker with the Cuisinart, so inevitably the Cuisinart Hand Blender has been getting way more action lately.

5. You might need to add a little more chicken broth or milk to achieve desired consistency ours was pretty thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream, a couple of apple slices and a sprinkling of thyme.

We served ours with baked brie, a whole wheat baguette and a dried cranberry, feta and candied pumpkin seed salad.

 

Spicy Fennel and Kabocha Soup with Spiced Candied Pumpkin Seeds

Spicy Fennel and Kabocha Soup

Spicy Fennel and Kabocha Soup with Spiced Candied Pumpkin Seeds

With the first rain of the season upon us, and my cold in full swing, Steve and I decided to stay in and make a gigantic pot of soup.  And we had nearly everything for this spicy fennel and kabocha soup from Suzanne Goin in our kitchen, and what we didn’t have we were able to improvise. I’m posting her original recipe with notes in “( )” of the changes we made.

Recipe makes 6 generous servings.

Soup

2 pounds Kabocha squash (we used one whole kabocha)

2 medium bulbs of fennel

4 Tablespoons of EVOO

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (we only had 2 T. so we used 2 T. EVOO as well)

2 cups sliced onion (we chopped  ½ medium red onion and one full medium white onion)

1 Tablespoon Thyme leaves (gathered from our garden and supplemented by our spice cabinet)

2 chiles de arbol (we substituted 1 minced cowhorn pepper from our garden)

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup sherry

10 cups chicken stock (we used 2 32 oz. boxes of organic chicken broth instead)

1/4 cup crème fraîche (since the crème fraîche isn’t getting mixed into the soup we substituted sour cream)

candied pumpkin seeds

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Pumpkin Seeds

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (we used ground cumin seeds and just toasted them for a couple minutes in the toaster oven)

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon honey

Pinches of cinnamon, paprika, and cayenne

Fresh ground sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit

2. Candy your pumpkin seeds. First toast the ground cumin seed in the toaster oven for a couple minutes. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the cumin, add the pumpkin seeds, sugar, spices and sea salt, stirring constantly until they are golden brown. Let cool for a minute and stir in the honey. Arrange on a piece of parchment until ready to use.

3. Prep your squash by halving, seeding and peeling it (place squash cut side down and use a sharp knife). Cut your squash into 1 inch thick slices.

4. Prep your fennel by rinsing it well, removing tough stalks and base, halving lengthwise and cutting into ½ inch thick slices.

5. Arrange fennel and squash on large baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and pepper. Roast uncovered in oven for 35 minutes until tender and slightly golden.

6. Toast fennel seeds in a small pan over medium heat for a couple minutes, until slightly browned and they aroma becomes more pungent. The original calls for grinding your seeds in a mortar and pestle, we just threw them in a coffee grinder that we only use for spices and nuts….worked like a charm!

7. Heat your large soup pot on high heat for two minutes and add the butter. Once it begins to foam add your chopped onion, minced pepper (or chiles if you used them), fennel seeds, thyme, bay leaf and fresh ground pepper (we used our Simply Calphalon Nonstick 5-Quart Pot and worked beautifully).The original recipe called for chicken stock (which is unsalted), but since we used chicken broth (salted) we omitted the 1 teaspoon salt you would normally add at this point. Reduce heat to medium-high, and stir continually until onions are tender and translucent…about 10 minutes.

8. Add your fennel and squash to the mix. Turn the heat up high and add the sherry. Continue to stir and allow the sherry to reduce for a couple minutes. At this point you can add your chicken broth or stock, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for another 20 minutes or so.

9. According to Suzanne’s recipe you should separate the solids from the liquids, retaining both, and blend the soup in three batches, so a third of the solids with a 1/2 cup of the liquids. Make sure to remove the bay leaf. We did this her way, but next time we will just pour (or ladle) it into the food processor in batches, no need to separate. We ended up with the perfect amount of liquids to solids, so no leftover liquids like when you do it her way.

10. Combine the batches of soup and make any flavor adjustments. Pour into bowls and garnish with crème fraiche or sour cream and the candied pumpkin seeds.

I think this soup would also be awesome garnished with some crispy pancetta.

You could also easily make this a vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free soup by substituting EVOO for the butter, vegetable broth for the chicken stock and omitting the crème fraîche/sour cream. You could even make it vegan by substituting brown sugar for the honey on the pumpkin seeds.

We ate ours with toasted, sliced baguette spread with goat cheese.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, Rain, Go Away

What’s a girl to do when she gets called off of work because of rain??? Drink as many pumpkin ales as possible, make some squash soup and carve a couple Jack-o-lanterns, of course! Summer has finally come to an end and I better embrace fall or it’s going to be a really crummy season!!! Now is the time to start checking things off of my “To Do” list and to start planning our six month honeymoon.

Let’s celebrate the first rain of the season!!!

Spicy Kabocha Soup

Pumpkin Ales

Fancy Cheese