“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.” — John Burroughs
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
I was enchanted by the beautiful tracery of the frost on the windows of the cold balcony when we met with sellers early this week to list their condo. The wind chill advisory I added to the photo tells the story of what this week has been like… bone-chilling cold, but with Apricity until the clouds roll in to hide the sun.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
There is nothing like a cold day to bring thoughts of a bowl of hot soup. I based this recipe on a chicken wild rice soup recipe from spendwithpennies.com… customized it to suit our tastes. I still don’t understand why it took on a pinkish cast, but it tasted great and was a hearty stick-to-your-ribs kind of soup that both John and I liked, perfect for leftovers. I used cremini mushrooms but would probably use white mushrooms next time. John liked it good and thick, I added some water/broth to thin it a bit… create the consistency to your liking!
CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP with corn and carrots
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 smallish bunch green top carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1/4 cup flour
- 64 ounces chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Beau Monde seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillion – chicken flavor
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 10 ounce package frozen corn, thawed and drained
- 4 cups pulled rotisserie chicken
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, if desired
Heat olive olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from frypan and set aside.
In the same pan, cook onion, garlic and carrots in butter until softened. Add cooked mushrooms and and flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add broth, Beau Monde seasoning, thyme, Better than Bouillon, wild rice blend, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer, partially covered, until rice is just tender, 30-40 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer gently about 10-15 minutes to blend flavors.
Adjust seasoning to taste, add parsley and serve.