CREAMY WILD MUSHROOM + CHICKEN SOUP

We ate this beast for 2 days.

It's one of those "feel good" soups that you can eat on a cold night with a glass of wine, or hot day with a cold beer. Yes, I said beer--I love beer, I'd gladly fight about it. For all of the wild reasons, it's a pretty rustic dish, so I felt like flocking on my "Frodo Baggins" waistcoat and strapping up my elvish leather boots while making and eating this.

Packed with all kinds of vegetables and thickened up with unsweetened coconut milk. I found this recipe from a bunch of other sources, but lightened it up and made it my own version. You can eat it as a normal soup, or top it on some wild rice--whatever tickles your little fancy. 

The Components
1 1/2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken breast
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbps cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
4 cups of unsweetened coconut milk (or dairy milk)
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
8-12oz of wild mushrooms, sliced
10oz of frozen veggie mix

Optional:
2 small potatoes, diced

Seasonings:
Salt, pepper, pinch of thyme, fresh parsley (chopped)

How to Make it Happen:

Prep your chicken however you wish. Boil and shred it, or get lazy and go buy one of those rotisserie guys from the store. I think Whole Foods carries the organic versions. But for my weird meat requirements, I buy organic, grass fed chicken breasts and do it myself. Put it aside and wait to dump it in.

In a teeny, tiny bowl mix the cornstarch and about 1/2 cup of water and put it aside also and wait to dump it in. 

Next, in a huge pot, dump the coconut milk the rest of the water and the chicken broth and bring to a slight boil. >> If you're using potatoes, add those in now. Add the rest of the components including the chicken, seasonings and cornstarch mix, return to a rapid boil and let it simmer on low for 1 hour (or more). The longer it sits, the better it is. You may add more cornstarch mix and/or milk for a creamier consistency, especially if you're eating over rice. 

At the end, season with more salt/pepper for taste and if you want to impress the socks off of whoever you're feeding this too, add more chopped parsley once it's served. 

Oh Yeah:

I made my entire meal "organic everything" and we ate this for a couple of days. If you're concerned with pesticides and such as much as I am, the extra $5 is worth it. All in all, it's still a great, hearty meal.