Mushroom Pumpkin Soup

My favorite season of the year is Fall, and all that comes with it. Pumpkins, warm spices, pumpkins, hot drinks, pumpkins and lots of cozy layers.

To celebrate the beginning of this gorgeous season @ Maple Creek, I had to make a pumpkin soup.

I started out by taking a farm fresh pumpkin, slicing it up, and baking it into little squares.

Next I took a handful of dried chanterelles that we had picked from the mountain, and soaked them in a small bowl with hot water for about 15 minutes.

I added a pint of freshly picked chanterelles to the mixture. Soak, strain, then chop.

Next I heated a tablespoon of Earth Balance and a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet with medium heat. I threw in a half cup of minced shallots, and all of the mushrooms and then seasoned with himayalan salt and thyme.

When this was done cooking, I took this mixture and poured it into the blender along with 4 cups of free range organic chicken broth. Puree till smooth. When this is nice and creamy, pour into a soup pot and add the baked pumpkins. Boil, then simmer at a low heat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour into bowls, add a little flax seed on top, and serve. This got me rave reviews last night.

"It was AWESOME." - Joseph

Chanterelle, My Belle

The Pacific Golden Chanterelle is an exquisite Northern fungus. For those whose familiarity with mushrooms begin and end with "Hold the mushrooms please" while ordering Chinese takeout, let's start with basic pronunciation: shahn-tuh-rehl. 

These ruffly trumpets grow in abundance up here underneath the Douglas Firs from late summer until it starts to frost. They seem to really blossom when there is sunshine after a good rain.

These beauties have ruffled, wavy edges, with a smooth yellowish coloring. They are meaty with a faint apricot smell.  

Check out these gill like ridges.

The mushroom hunt: Joseph says "It's so much fun. You are just running through the woods looking for golden trumpets!" He's had great luck where the moss and the fir meet, finding mushrooms on parallel levels to one another. If you plan on going out on a fungus hunt, go with someone who knows what they are doing. Mushrooms are peculiar and mysterious. And you definitely don't want to come back home with a pound of poisonous mushrooms!

Chanterelles are pretty incredible just sauteed alone in butter. So far we've done them up with pasta, and we also made some amazing omelette's with eggs from our chickens and farm fresh red, orange, yellow and green tomatoes sprinkled on top. Yummies!

If you are interested in learning more about mycology an amazing book to check out is Mushrooms Demystified. Happy Autumn Hunting ya'll!