Empty Nest – HA! Plus LA Times Cream of Mushroom Soup

Remember how sad I was when I thought I was going to be an empty nester?  Then how I instantly adjusted due to the cleanliness factor?

Well, things change pretty quickly around here. Now it’s my son, who is here temporarily while he finds the right place to live. Since this is southern California, where homes are totally out of reach for anyone making less than 200,000 a year, and rents are sky high, a move takes serious consideration and research.

I’m totally OK with it.  First of all my son leaves less hair in the bathroom than my daughter, leaves no beauty products on the counter, has the dishes done when I get home, and only borrows my socks occasionally, but, sadly, they’re never the same afterward.

On the down side, he offers absolutely no beauty tips, has no earrings I want to borrow, has completely different taste in music than I do, goes through espresso and coffee like water, and could probably eat an amount equal to his own body weight if money was no object. They’re tied in the leaving lights on department, but it’s a small price to pay for having kids you like, as well as love.

This is parenting in 2017 and I’m OK with it. As my parents used to say, “As long as we can help, we’ll do whatever we can,” and God knows my parents helped me! So, I’ll always do the same for my kids.

The other perk of my son being here was his stuff was all over my living room, I mean really all over it.  After my initial horror, I found a silver lining — all the crap in the room rendered it unclean-able!  It was the perfect excuse to spend the last two weeks binge-watching, Stranger Things, which is like a fabulous combination of X Files and E.T. with some ’80s video games thrown in.  I was totally hypnotized, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should. It’s worth paying the 9.99 to Netflix, per month, for two seasons of that one show.  Normally, I try to iron while watching TV, but it was so engrossing, that I could hardly iron for fear I’d miss something. That’s a pretty big statement from a woman who generally loves English period dramas.

The other things I’ve been doing are:  getting back to the gym, writing, and cooking — not in that order though, which is why I needed the gym.

I just made some wonderful Cream of Mushroom soup that I haven’t made in years! And it’s as good today as the first time I made it more than 20 years ago. I got the recipe from the LA Times, back when they used to have a great Food Section.  Now, you’re lucky if you get one or two recipes in their Saturday section. I am including the recipe at the end of this post, it’s perfect with leftover turkey sandwiches.

But first, take a good look at that bowl of soup. Notice the cool table runner it’s on?  It was made by my friend Dawn, a Key West artist, who was lucky to have a home left after Hurricane Irma.  She returned to a find a place she hardly recognized. The roof was partially torn off, the walls covered in mold, the enclosed porch gone and all the landscaping they’d worked so hard on, all gone. In fact most of the trees in the neighborhood that made it such a lovely place were gone too.

I asked her how I could help her,  and since she is not one to request charitable help, she said I could ask you to like her Facebook page. Here’ a link to it:  Heliographics Facebook Page so, please, click on the link and like it.

And if you have a moment, (and she didn’t say I could do this but I’m doing it anyway — hey, what are friends for?) Please check out her website: Heliographics.com.

Her stuff is really gorgeous, hand drawn, and perfect, for  a home in a tropical climate like Florida, California, or Hawaii. She also does temperate prints of beautiful ferns and wildlife she finds in the Adirondacks in the summer. She’s done art for:  Ocean’s Edge Hotel in Key West, the Jupiter Island Club Spa in Hobe Sound, Florida, the Marker Hotel in Key West, and her designs there were featured in Forbes Magazine. She gives kayak tours in the Keys, and is one of the most thoughtful, talented, adventurous souls I know.

So, please check Heliographics out, or like her Facebook page, or order something and help out someone who is recovering from a hurricane. I know she’ll appreciate it and you’ll get some gorgeous art in return.

Now, finally, here’s the Cream of Mushroom soup recipe.

Cream of Mushroom Soup from the Los Angeles Times

1 pound of mushrooms

1/3 cup finely chopped shallots

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 to 3/4 cup flour

5 cups hot chicken stock

Chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup dry or sweet Sherry or Port wine

1/2 cup whipping cream

Salt, pepper

Finely chop 1/2 of the mushrooms. Slice remaining 1/2 mushrooms. Saute shallots in 1/4 cup butter, until tender, but now browned.  Add chopped mushrooms and saute until tender. Do not brown.

Add flour 3/4 cup for a thicker soup. (I just used a heaping 1/2 cup) and stir with wooden spoon until a smooth paste has formed. (This is never a smooth paste for me because it tries to stick to the pan and the mushrooms don’t leave it smooth. Just keep scraping the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t burn and stick. Reduce heat and cook, stirring 3 minutes. (I actually turned on the timer for this part.)

Gradually stir in the hot chicken stock, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Bring it to a boil and simmer ten minutes.

Saute sliced mushrooms in the remaining 1/4 cup of butter in a separate pan. Season to taste with thyme (I used about 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh thyme) and add Sherry. I used 1/2 Sherry and 1/2 port wine. Cook until liquid is reduced by 1/2.

Add sliced mushrooms to simmering soup and continue to simmer 10 minutes. Add cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6 to 8 servings.