Too much of a good thing?

Tomato Mushroom Soup

Hello,

In close proximity to Philadelphia and Wilmington, my husband and I enjoyed a painting exhibit, some American history, a sculptor and craftsmen’s home, and 1,100 acres of gardens this past week. There was a special exhibit of Andrew Wyeth’s moody watercolors on the top floor of the Brandywine Museum depicting images of a dark and stormy Maine. We drove through ten miles of meadows and woodlands in Valley Forge National Park, stopping to read signage on monuments and walking through General Washington’s headquarters from the winter of 1777-1778. We took a tour of the Wharton Esherick Museum, where a docent took eight of us through his home, which featured distinctive pieces of furniture he designed and made, as well as his wood sculptures. Much of the residence is as he left it when he died in 1970. Longwood Gardens is a spectacular combination of the wild and cultivated. We walked around for five hours admiring the enormous conservatory with its orchid room and various exotic plants, the untouched meadows dotted with rustic treehouses, and the lush vegetable gardens.

Photos by me.

Driving to dinner on our first night in Kennett Square, PA my husband noticed signage on the water tower that read “Mushroom Capital of the World”. We discovered that several mushroom farms were close to our hotel, so first thing the next morning we visited Greenwood Mushrooms which turned out to be more of a wholesale operation in a freshly renovated older house. Since the door to their offices was open we entered hoping to purchase some rare varieties of mushrooms. The three staffers sitting behind their desks were super friendly and offered to go to the warehouse and bring back boxes of what was available. I envisioned enormous boxes that we would feel obligated to purchase after interrupting their work, but in short order, three-pound boxes of white mushrooms and baby bellas were presented. I was disappointed that it was not a more unusual variety, but I could handle three pounds of baby bellas for six dollars.

Back in New Jersey, our local farm stand was about to close for the season, and they were offering thirty-pound boxes of gorgeous tomatoes for twenty dollars. How could I resist buying a box? Some of the mushrooms and tomatoes went to neighbors, but this still left me with an abundance of both, particularly tomatoes. I didn’t want to can the tomatoes, so I wound up parboiling them to remove the skins and freezing them in Ziploc bags. I also made marinara sauce to freeze, as well as pureed tomatoes that I had first roasted with garlic and onions. Lastly, I made two batches of tomato mushroom soup. For this, I used the tomatoes that I had roasted and pureed, but I adapted the recipe for canned tomatoes since it was a rather labor-intensive process.

Tomato Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

olive oil

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups sliced white or baby bella mushrooms

One 16 oz. can of tomato puree

One 16 oz can of light coconut milk

sprig of rosemary, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a splash of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are wilted and the onions are beginning to brown. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute or two. Pour the tomato puree and coconut milk into the saucepan. Toss in the rosemary, and the salt and pepper to taste. Heat through. Serve with homemade croutons.

Yield: four starter-size servings or two heartier bowls

Thanks for reading, liking, commenting, and sharing!

Vicki

p.s. My animal masks for Halloween are available at my Etsy shop.