Tom & Alissa

On Monday, I stayed home sick. But sick to me usually ends up being an excuse to do the things I need to do, whether or not my head is spinning. (It seems like I used to be more laid back . . . I wonder when I went crazy?)

In any case, I did go to the coop on Monday because there was only brie and jam and six ounces of portobello mushrooms and some bad-looking baby lettuce in the fridge, and so I came home with an abundance.

And I was hungry that night, so I modified this mushroom soup from Blueprint, and this is what it turned out to be:

1. Put 2 cups of mushroom broth (NOT the creamy kind - I used Pacific Natural because that’s what they had at the coop) into a saucepan. Add a dash of thyme, about a teaspoon of salt (mine was six cranks of the salt grinder) and one crumbled dried chili pepper.
2. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat, leaving the saucepan covered.
3. Heat 3 T. olive oil in a larger saucepan.
4. Cut up 6 oz. portobello mushrooms. When oil is very hot but not smoking, add mushrooms and cook about five minutes.
5. Add three fresh sage leaves, a dash of thyme, and two small cloves of minced garlic and cook for about two more minutes.
6. Add two tablespoons of white cooking wine (I use some kind that is probably lousy but is sold at my local gourmet store specifically for cooking with that won’t go bad if it’s in the cabinet forever) and cook for about thirty seconds.
7. Pour in broth; boil; turn off the heat and let it sit for about five minutes while you wash the dishes.

It’s a little spicy and a little mushroomy and very tasty, especially with crackers. Yum.