Wild Mushroom Soup & Very Easy Cranberry Relish

Wild Mushroom Soup 
8 servings
2 PPV per serving

2 teaspoons butter 

2 teaspoons vegetable or sunflower oil 

½ cup finely chopped celery 

¼ cup finely chopped scallions - green and white part

½ cup finely chopped carrot 

1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

6-8 sprays olive oil cooking spray 

2 cups thinly sliced button or baby Bella mushrooms (or a mixture of both.  Don't wash the mushrooms, wipe them with a moist piece of kitchen paper) 

4 cups thinly sliced Shiitake caps or oyster mushrooms (or a mixture of both)

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

48 oz low-sodium vegetable broth

Salt and Pepper to taste
¼ cup dry sherry or white wine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

Heat the butter and oil together in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.   Add the mirepoix of vegetables (the aromatics); celery, scallions, carrots and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned (the browning will help color the soup, so don't be shy about allowing color to develop). Set them aside in a Pyrex or earthenware dish – place a plate on top to keep them warm.

Next, you're going to soften and brown the mushrooms keep them separated by type. Spray the skillet with 3 or 4 sprays of olive oil cooking spray   Add first batch of mushrooms (button) sauté in the pan for about 3 or 4 minutes, moving them around the pan with a wooden or silicon spoon until lightly browned.  Set these aside in the Pyrex bowl with the other vegetables.  Then, re-coat pan with cooking spray and do the same to the other mushroom types.

Place the veggies (with all the mushrooms) in large saucepan add the broth and the mustard and a little salt and pepper.   Bring it to boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat and skim off any scum that rises to the top, then cover the pan and allow the soup to simmer 30 minutes. Stir in sherry (or wine) and herbs to the pan and simmer, uncovered, for a 5 more minutes, taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.  Serve in pre-warmed bowls - piping hot!

A really easy Cranberry Relish to make for Turkey day...
Take a pack of fresh cranberries, wash them and empty the bag into a thick bottomed saucepan.  Open a 14oz can of crushed pineapple in its own juice - discard the juice and add the pineapple to the pan.  If you want to add a little extra zip - add about a tsp of orange zest.  Put the pan on the heat and bring to the boil.  As soon as the cranberries pop open, remove from the heat and add 1/2 tsp of Vanilla extract.

I put this though the recipe builder - if you use a TBSP or two as a condiment, you can count it as "free".  If you get fewer than 12 servings from it count 1 PPV or so.  If you eat it by the 1/2 cup-full (as a dessert - believe me I have done that) then you should count it as 3 PPV per serving.

Some of my members add Splenda to this ... I do not!

Enjoy...
Come on back on Sunday for the next post on the blog - see you soon  :)