Safe and Warm

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.”
Laurie Colwin

I have very vivid memories of being in my sixth grade elementary school class on stormy days and feeling very safe and protected and warm. That feeling washed over me today. The temperature didn't climb out of the forties, and it rained all day. A bit under the weather with a sore throat, I cam home from work, slipped into some flannel jammies , and immediately felt safe and warm. My throat even felt a little better.

I hadn't been to the grocery store this week, so I was looking at slim pickings in the fridge. I did have mushrooms, cream, chicken broth, butter, part of an onion...ahhh...mushroom soup! Perfect.

So, here is my recipe for super-easy mushroom soup. These are approximate measurements. You can adjust the recipe to your taste (if you don't like onion or garlic, the soup will be just as good without them!).



3 tablespoon butter
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 package of baby bella (button) mushrooms, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of chicken broth
1 pint of cream or milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in heavy pan
2. Brown onion and garlic in saucepan
3. Add coarsely chopped mushrooms
4. Continue cooking until mushrooms are soft and tender.
5. Remove about 1/4 cup of the mushroom and set aside.
6. Sprinkle flour over onion/garlic/mushrooms
7. Add chicken broth, then cream or milk

Stir until soup thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

With an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pan. If you don't have an immersion blender, put it in a food processor or blender, being careful that the soup does not spray out of the container. Or if you like your mushroom chunky, this step can be skipped.

Pour soup into bowls (this will make about 4 servings), and garnish with mushrooms that were set aside earlier.



Not to brag, but I do make some fabulous soups. They are what you may call "rustic" soups, but I feel very creative and satisfied when I make them. Over the next few weeks, I will share my recipes. So from me to you...warm feelings and happy soups to you!