Today the weather was cold, raw and rainy, just crying out for soup. I had already planned on using some mushrooms that needed to be eaten (I had roasted portobella mushrooms a few days ago), so maybe cream of mushroom soup. Yes, the ultimate comfort food. I remember frosty nights in New Hampshire at our little country inn in Lake Sunapee when my Mom would make cream of mushroom soup (my favorite) and sandwiches for my Dad and me. Those were sweet days, full of love and the wondrous Lake Sunapee ringed by mountains. Sweet, sweet memories.
But, I ended up staying late at work, and dear daughter is at a friends for dinner, and I have no milk or cream in the house. I stood in front of the fridge wishing that some milk or cream would appear, but no.... then I remembered that I had bought a little box of skim milk powder for bread baking! Yay!
So, here is what I did - it was very yummy, and I ate almost all of it. There is just one good sized bowl left for lunch tomorrow.
Fatfree "Cream" of Mushroom Soup
4 C hot water
3 Tbs flour
1 C skim milk powder
1/2 C soft style tofu (Mori Nu brand)
10 almonds
4 roasted portobella mushrooms, about 3" in diameter
1 tsp broth powder
1 tsp salt
pinch or two of cayenne
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/3 C sherry
I put the hot water in the Vitamix together with the flour, milk powder, tofu, almonds, broth powder, salt, garlic powder and cayenne and let it blend on hi until steaming, about 4 or 5 minutes. Taste for saltiness. Put one mushroom in and let it be blended completely. Add the sherry, blend and taste. Turn the blender off. Slice the mushrooms into quarters and place in the blender, and blend at the slowest setting for about 20 seconds until they are chopped and distributed throughout the soup.
It was delicious, surprisingly so, since there was no fat at all. It would have been tasty without the sherry, but I adore sherry in my mushroom soup, so I went for it.
Altogether, this soup took around 8 or 9 minutes to make, and I am STUFFED! I couldn't eat another morsel of anything if you offered me a million dollars! (Well, maybe for a MILLION.... grin)
You could easily make this on top of the stove - it would just take longer. Basically, you are making a white sauce and adding mushrooms - that's all it is.
Happy eating!
Hi! I just found your blog. I'm planning to convert to Orthodoxy, as soon as my husband decides the same thing. One of the things I'm worried about is the fasting. It seems you have lots of fasting recipes on your blog, which makes me feel much better. I notice you use oil in the recipes - do Orthodox these days use oil during fasts? (obviously I am a real beginner) I've never fasted in my life except for a cholesterol test!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Selena
Australia
Hi Selena!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Home! About fasting, well, there is one standard that we all strive to attain, but few do, and that is to abstain from sin, all flesh (meat, poultry, fish except for shellfish) and all dairy products (including eggs). Oil is permitted.
However, there are some local practices which may differ. For example, Greeks tend to also abstain from olive oil, but not other oils, though they also tend to fast very strenuously the first and last weeks of Lent as well as Holy Week, and much, much less so for the rest of the Fast.
Russians tend toward the more monastic ascetical practice of eating only one smallish meal per day.
As a catechumen, you probably will not be expected to fast from food at all, but instead to attend the various services that are only celebrated during lent. As the years pass, you'll probably add more to your fasting practices, always keeping in mind what the standard is: no flesh, no dairy. That's what you'll be striving towards.
Don't worry about the fasting - when I became Orthodox many years ago, my pastor, a good and wise man, told me that what came out of my mouth was far more important than went into it.
Please check out my post on fasting for more info, and talk with your priest to get his guidance on fasting. Here is the url for my post:
http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2006/03/note-about-fasting-and-frugality.html
Write again!
Denise
Denise, What are the main ethnic dishes you normally cook? I know you cook Italian, but what else? What type of ethnic dishes are mostly on your blog?
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