snow day

boys had a snow day
josh had a vacation day
i took a spontaneous day off
voila
a beautiful monday in sunshine

Mushroom Soup

Mushroom Farro Soup
Adapted from Marian Burros’ mama, via The New York Times

Alas, a puddle of brown soup is hard to make look like anything but. I was very tempted to swirl in a sherry cream or a dollop of dilled sour cream to pretty it up, and were I serving this for a dinner party or guests, I might. But there’s so much flavor, it doesn’t need it.

For the mushrooms, you can use white, brown/cremini, shiitake or a mixture thereof. But I use all brown/cremini almost every time.

Makes about 7 cups

1/3 cup dried mushrooms like porcini
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mushrooms (you’ll prepare them shortly)
1/2 cup farro, pearled barley, or spelt, rinsed
6 cups low sodium or salt-free beef broth or stock (vegetable, mushroom or chicken stock can be swapped)
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Cover dried mushrooms with 1 cup boiling water, and set aside for 20 minutes, or while you prepare the rest of the soup.

Trim and slice fresh mushrooms, then give them a rough chop to your desired texture.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed deep pot. Sauté onions and carrots over medium heat until onions begin to color, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté for 30 seconds. Add fresh mushrooms, and cook until they begin to release liquid, about 5 to 10 minutes. Raise heat and add barley; sauté until it begins to color (this didn’t really happen for me, because the mushroom liquid was still sloshing about). Add broth, sherry and tomato paste. Scoop the porcinis out of their soaking liquid (hang onto the liquid) and finely chop them. Strain the soaking liquid to remove any grit and add both this liquid and the chopped porcinis to pot. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 40 minutes, until grains area tender. Stir in sherry vinegar; adjust seasonings and serve.

recipe

new one from a friend
:)

whole rotisserie chicken
16 oz pk gnocchi 
3 cups shredded carrots
4 cups chopped kale
1 lb sliced mushrooms 
1 large diced onion
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
1/3 cup flour
2 qt chicken broth
1 qt half and half
1 cup shaved parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Remove skin and debone chicken. Cut into small pieces. 

In a large pot, melt butter and olive oil together. Add garlic and onion and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add flour to create a roux. Cook for another couple minutes. 

Slowly add chicken broth and half and half and stir as it starts to thicken. Add carrots, mushrooms, kale, chicken and gnocchi. Simmer for 5-10 minuets, until gnocchi is cooked and soup is thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and top with shaved parmesan. 

From my friend: 
I combined a few different recipes I found and added mushrooms because I love them. I also used kale instead of spinach because it’s less slimy when cooked. You can add or deleted ingredients according to your family’s taste. I think I may might try corn in it next time.