"Cream" of Mushroom Soup with Rosemary and Thyme

In the past two weeks, I've made this soup twice!  Along with a bunch of other soups- I think we're going through 3 batches weekly.  It's soup season, and I'm making the most of it.  Soup is such a great way to warm and fill yourself up with nutritious foods, without too many calories.  Unless you add a bunch of oil or cream, but we're not doing that here!

No cream/milk and just a little oil or butter to get things started.  The rest is just pure nutritious goodness and flavor.

I used my own wild picked mushrooms that we dried during the summer, but you can use whatever is handy at the grocery store.  There is usually porcini or a mixed bag of wild dried mushrooms, found right next to the regular mushrooms.  If you don't have quite the 3/4 of a cup, that's fine- just use more regular mushrooms to help make up for it.

If you're not a fan of thyme or rosemary, leave them out.  When I made the first batch of this soup a couple weeks ago, I didn't use them and it still tasted great.  No need to substitute anything else unless you want to.

What you Need:

1-2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 large onion, sliced
~half bulb of garlic, peeled and chopped roughly
1-2 large sprigs EACH thyme and rosemary
12 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup dried wild mushrooms
1/4 cup red wine
4 cups beef broth
salt and pepper
cooked and crumbled bacon (optional, for garnish)

Instructions: 

Start by soaking the dried mushrooms.  I just go ahead and put them in the broth for this.  That way, you get to use the flavor that goes into the broth while soaking.  Put the mushrooms in a bowl or a 2 cup measuring cup, and fill with broth.  Let soak for at least 20 minutes.

While the dried mushrooms are soaking, heat the olive oil or butter over medium heat in a large pot.  Add the sliced onion, garlic, and herbs (still on their stems).  Saute for about 15 minutes, or until they begin to lightly brown.  Add the sliced mushrooms and continue sauteing for another 10 minutes.  Keep the heat on medium and stay patient- cooking them a little lower and slower will develop nice flavor. Deglaze the pan with the red wine by pouring it in, and using a spatula to stir up anything that started to stick to the bottom.

Add the now not-dry mushrooms, broth they were soaking in, and the rest of the broth. Turn up heat to bring to a boil, and then turn back to medium to reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer for at least 20 minutes.  Take off heat.  Pick out the herbs (or whatever is left on the stems) with a spoon.  If you want to have some chunks left in your soup, spoon out a couple large ladles of onion and mushrooms and reserve.  Otherwise, puree the whole batch using an immersion blender or regular blender.  If you use a regular blender, I recommend waiting about 10 minutes to let it cool a bit before transferring to the blender.  After pureeing, add the reserved mushrooms/onions back in (if you reserved).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with bacon, if desired.  Enjoy!

Roasted Beets and Butternut Squash with Rosemary and Sage

This is a great fall or winter side dish.  Perfect for Thanksgiving next week too!  It is comforting and warm, hearty yet healthy, and just so delicious.  You can add in other hardy vegetables too- parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, rutabaga all work well.  And you can certainly omit the rosemary and sage if you want, but I had some already and thought that they'd be a nice change of pace from my usual more basic roasted vegetables.  They add a subtle earthy "herbiness" and fall flavor.  I also added a couple jalapenos for some kick, and, boy, did they add a kick.  We like spicy around here, but you'll probably want to leave those out if you don't. :-)

I served this with seared tuna steaks.  The leftovers would make a great topping for a salad with goat cheese, nuts, and a light vinaigrette.

What you need:

I medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks

1 1/2 pounds beets (I think I used 7 medium/small ones), ends cut off and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 jalapenos, stems removed, cut into 3-4 pieces
Olive Oil

1-2 teaspoons cumin

A few sprigs of fresh rosemary and a few sage leaves

Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place your cut up beets, squash, and jalapenos in a large bowl.  Your squash pieces should definitely be larger than the beet pieces!  They cook faster.  Drizzle with olive oil (I try to keep it light, using about 2 tablespoons).  Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and cumin.  Add the rosemary and sage.  Toss everything around to make sure the oil and salt are evenly dispersed.  Spread this on a 13 by 9 inch sheet pan.  Roast for about an hour, mixing halfway through.  If you want a little extra crisp on them, leave them a little longer and turn the heat up to 425.

Remove rosemary stems. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!!

Roasted Rack of Lamb Crusted with Pistachio, Rosemary, and Parsley Pesto

I haven't cooked a rack of lamb for A WHILE- it's little too expensive to earn a spot on my general rotation of proteins to buy, and then I forget about it completely.  But my mother-in-law bought extra and I got to take a rack home with me!  This was one rack, which serves 2-3 people, depending on their appetites.  My mother-in-law also gave me fresh parsley and rosemary from her garden (which is still going a little, even in November!), so I made a pesto with those and some pistachios I already had in the cupboard.  I just roasted it in the oven to save washing extra pans, but I think it technically would have been best to sear it, then add the pesto, and then roast.  But this was delicious, and I don't have a saucepan to wash.  I served it with Caesar salad with homemade dressing.  ...And french bread and a little red wine for a treat.

The pesto I made is more than enough for the lamb.  I only had a Vitamix to blend with and a smaller amount wasn't going to blend.  So reduce the ingredients if you don't want extra pesto, or make the whole amount and use the pesto for something else.  

What you need:

One rack of lamb

Pesto Ingredients:

1 1/2 packed cups fresh Italian parsley 

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves only

1 cup fresh baby spinach (this only got added because I needed more bulk in my Vitamix and had some to use up anyway)

1/4-1/3 cup pistachios

2 large cloves of garlic

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or Vitamix until coarsely chopped. 

Place lamb in a small roasting pan (7" by 11" is pretty good). Trim excess fat from rack of lamb.  Spread the pesto on top of the meaty side of the lamb.  You should have a nice thick layer.  Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Let the lamb sit for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature while the oven heats up.  

Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes.  Mine was in for 25 and it was on the rare side of medium-rare.  Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before carving between the ribs.