Homesteading In The Pacific Northwest
Showing posts with label Mushrooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mushrooms. Show all posts

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Cream of Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

Every year I look forward to fall; crisp, cool days, bright colored foliage ... and chanterelle mushrooms!


Cream of Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

¼ cup white wine
A pinch or two of saffron
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pound fresh Chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and chopped coarsely (or 1 pint canned)
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
2 cups Half and Half
chopped fresh parsley.

Preparation:

Warm the wine slightly in a microwave or on the stove top, add the saffron and let the mixture steep for about 10 minutes.

Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté, stirring often, until they soften and wilt. Remove about 1/3 of the mushrooms and set aside.

Sprinkle the flour into the mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly to coat the onions and mushrooms. Add the broth and the wine with the saffron stirring constantly, and bring to a full boil. Continue to boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Add the Half and Half and the chopped mushrooms set aside earlier and continue to cook over low for 10 more minutes (the mixture should remain just below a simmer).

Serve garnished with the fresh parsley.

This makes a great first course soup or can be used in any recipe calling for Cream of Mushroom soup (I'm going to make Tuna Noodle Casserole with Cream of Chanterelles for dinner tonight :)

Since chanterelles are only available for such a brief period of time I decided to can some of them this year.



Chanterelles Canned in Chicken Stock:

Ingredients:
Several pounds of chanterelle mushroom
olive oil
citric acid
hot chicken broth (preferably homemade)

Preparation:

Prepare pint or half pint jars, lids and bands for canning. Remove loose debris from the mushrooms with a dry brush ...




... trim, and chop coarsely several pounds of  chanterelles ...



... wash the mushrooms well ...



... and steam or saute them briefly in a little olive oil, just until softened.


Remove hot jars from the  canner and add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid to each jar.  Pack hot mushrooms into the jars and add hot chicken broth to the jars leaving 1 inch headspace.




 Wipe the rims with a clean cloth moistened in vinegar (to remove any grease from the broth that might have gotten onto the rim) and center lid on jar.  Screw band on to fingertip tight.  Process in a pressure canner for 45 minutes according to the directions in your pressure canner owner's manual.


Since this was a first time canning these for me I did use one of the first jars to make a batch of the soup just to see ... it came out great!


Important!  On the left is the glass of vinegar for wiping the rims of the jars.  On the right is the glass of wine I was enjoying while finishing up the last few jars .... do not inadvertently take a sip from the glass on the left ... !!!



I am linking to Robin's Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard.  Check it out!


Enjoy!







Monday, August 1, 2011

Midsummer At Paradise Cove ...

August 1st is Lughnasadh, the Celtic festival of the midsummer harvests.   To celebrate I'm participating in Northwest Edible Life's nosy neighbor homestead tour today.  Check it out!

Let's take a look at what's happening now that we have actually had a couple of weeks with some sunshine here in soggy Shelton, Washington!  We'll start in "The Garden", the "Edible Landscaping" on the lake side of the property ...



The "Three Sisters" wine barrel plantings (Anasazi and Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans with Golden Bantam corn and assorted squashes) are doing great!  I did have to add some trellising as the beans were outgrowing the corn in the cool weather we were having.

 The Delicata squash in the wooden crate ...


...has even started to form some fruit ...



The cedar log bed down by the lake is looking good ...


... more squash and Tiger Eye beans (the red gadget in the background is one of FitzGyver's toys ... a gasoline powered pump that takes water from the lake and sends it to a fire hose).

The "Dock Box" with buckets full of Rose Gold potato plants that are are starting to blossom now ...


Bingo Beans in one half wine barrel ...


Squash and Anasazi Beans in another ...


The Terrace Garden has a new resident ...


This was totally not my fault.  I HAD to buy him after reading this post on "The Bloggess".  When I saw him at the local nursery I was doomed ... so now Bunny has a friend ...

The two bay laurels in the Bell Garden have doubled in size and the herbs under the bell are ready to be cut and dried ...



I think that's about all that is new in "The Garden"; so let's take a look at " The Farm" on the back side of the house ...



The tomatoes and cucumbers are still coming along ...


I've harvested the potato bed and boxes and am getting ready to replant them ... and the logs in the garbage can are soaking in water.  Do you remember my mushroom experiment?  Well, it's time to see if it has worked; soaking the logs is the first step (I'll keep you posted).

Several of the beds have already been harvested and replanted for fall ...



These are root crops (carrots, beets and parsnips) ...


... and some green beans, beets and onions in the fore ground, snow peas and lettuce to the rear ...



More potatoes ...


...and more potatoes (I use a lot of potatoes in the winter time).


The wine barrel herb planting has come along nicely and I am very impressed with the Pesto Perpetuo Basil; that one is a keeper!

And last, but not least ...


The Cherokee Purple tomatoes outgrew their cages and needed additional support.  They are full of green tomatoes and I have my fingers crossed that the weather will continue to cooperate.

Enjoy!

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Fungus Among Us....

Here's what I did instead of watching the Super Bowl....


I ... ummm ..."acquired" ... some alder logs (have chain saw, will travel)....


I drilled 50 holes in each of four logs and stuck a plug spawn (Shitake and Pearl Oyster) dowel  in each hole....


I sealed the holes and the ends of the logs with melted beeswax...


And stacked the logs in a shady spot....now all I have to do is wait....and wait...and wait...and it is supposed to look like this:


Enjoy!
Deb


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

'Shrooms...

We are having a very wet autumn here in the Pacific Northwest.  I have never seen anything like the amount of mushrooms we have growing in the front yard...it looks like the Smurfs moved in!


I understand that these pretty things are quite toxic, which is way too bad...wouldn't they be pretty on a pizza?

Enjoy!

Deb