I paid a visit to my optometrist this morning as I have been experiencing a lot of visual disruption due to floaters. As I get older I am increasingly more engaged with how my body works. Our bodies are a work of genius. I don’t know how it keeps on running year after year, mostly with minimal intervention besides being fed, watered and put to bed at regular intervals.
Later this evening Mr Gochugaru and I are heading to Devon to spend a few days with my mother-in-law. I thought it would be good to bring a few dishes already prepared down with us, and my mushroom soup was easy enough to make. Another dish is the miso chicken. I also made some shakshuka to which we will add some eggs and grilled halloumi cheese later.
I mentioned my optometrist because he, his wife and I always chat about our elderly parents when we meet. We also always say: where does the time go?
Where does the time go indeed? The original mushroom soup recipe from June 2018 is here.I made a few changes as there was some tarragon and creme fraiche in the fridge to use up before we travel. I also used gluten-free flour as my mother-in-law is gluten intolerant. Using a Thermomix helped as my vision is slightly blurred, and there is less stress when not having to concentrate on fine details here and there.
For the Soup:
440 g chestnut mushrooms
OR
440 g mixture of chestnut, shitake, oyster and button mushrooms
600 g milk (semi-skimmed is fine)
100 g water
8 g tarragon leaves i.e. leaves only without the stalk
30 g plain gluten-free flour (I use Freee brand)
2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder (I use Marigold brand)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
75 g full-fat creme fraiche
chopped parsley for serving
How to Make:
Quarter the mushrooms and place in the Thermomix bowl. Chop 10 seconds/ speed 4.
Add the milk, water, tarragon, flour, vegetable stock powder, salt and black pepper. Cook 20 minutes/ 90C / speed 2.
Add the creme fraiche. Blend the soup 1 minute/ speed 10, increasing the speed from 5 – 10 in the first 20 seconds.
Sprinkle on some chopped parsley before serving.