It’s been insanely cold in New England this past week. It hit 10 degrees here one day. 10! I’ve been chugging green tea with pomagranate and wearing a wool scarf and a jacket. At work. In my cube. It’s so frickin’ cold! There were moments I toyed with the idea of snuggling with my space heater. The potential to set myself on file managed to dissuade me but it was considered.

 

With that said, I’m giving you another soup recipe. I know, I’m sorry! I know I make soup all. the. time. but it’s just so easy! I make one big batch of it on Sunday, fill up some jars and it’s a grab-and-go lunch. I love that. Especially, when I want to be at work at 7:30 but I don’t get out of bed until, well, 7:30 because it’s so frickin’ cold!

 

For this soup, I tried to use up some grains in my cabinet. I’m the queen of buying stuff, using it once and then stashing it in my cabinet and forgetting about it. The original recipe called for millet but I used about 1/2 c. of quinoa and 1/2 c. of cous cous cause that’s what I had. Rice, wheat berry and lentils would work great too

Mushroom and Grain Soup
from Oh She Glows

Yield: Approx 7 cups (I got about 6 servings out of it)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked grain
• 2 pounds fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cups chopped sweet onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 7.5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (if using full-sodium reduce added salt below)
• Salt & pepper, to taste (I used about 1.5 tsp kosher salt)
• 2 tbsp vegan Worchester sauce (or equivalent)
• To garnish: toasted walnuts, fresh herbs, etc

1. Prepare your grains according to the package and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium-low heat, add a bit of oil (~1 tsp) along with the chopped onion, and minced garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes until transparent, stirring frequently. Add sliced mushrooms and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until most of the water cooks off.

3. Stir in broth, along with seasonings (salt, pepper, Worchester sauce). Add only about half of the salt to begin, adding the rest to taste right before serving. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

4.  Scoop half of the mixture into a blender and blend until almost smooth, but still a bit chunky. Add back into the pot. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, but be sure to leave it nice and chunky.

5. Stir in cooked grains. Season to taste and serve with a garnish of toasted walnuts, garlic bread, fresh parsley, or anything that you like!

The cremini mushrooms give this a great earthy taste and have a great texture. I can’t speak for other mushrooms but I imagine portabellos cut into managable pieces would work too.

I’ve been eating this with a thick piece of warm multi-grain bread. Perfect for dipping in the soup and it satisfies my craving for carbs, which seems to be a side effect of the 10 degree weather. I had a dream about mac and cheese the other night. It’s bad. Hot soup and warm bread seem to help, though!

My mile long to-do list is taking a back seat tonight. I’m layering on the warm fuzzy pjs, crawling into my bed and eating a large bowl of this soup while watching a movie. 10 degree weather is for snuggling, not working. That should be a law!

Also, can we just pause and marvel at the fact I posted a blog on Monday?! I never get my act together enough for that. Of course, the photos need serious work but Yeah! Monday post!

Also, I like to share music on here so here’s my current favorite Spotify playlist. Enjoy and stay warm!