Winter soup - what are you making?

Ingredients:
White button mushrooms (I sometimes will add little baby creminis if they’re available, but prefer white button)
Half-n-half (or whole milk)
Sea salt
Pepper
Butter
Cornstarch (or flour)
GROUND Thyme (you can use regular thyme, but texturally it will feel like you have little dried grass clippings floating about!)

I cook to taste so measurements are loose. This is a soup that you can make a single serving of just for yourself with 1 pack if mushrooms—just adjust the ingredients to taste!

I slice up 4 4”x6” (10 Oz ?) containers of white button mushrooms and dice up 2 more containers (for varying textures)

I sauté all the mushrooms in a large stock pot until they start to become fragrant and just before they turn golden brown (there will be liquid that they release at this point)

I sprinkle with a generous pinch or two of salt and pepper, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground thyme (a little goes a long way!)

I then add a tablespoon of cornstarch GlutenFree or (you can use flour) and stir in to make a sort of paste/roux.

Add the half-n-half and/or whole milk slowly, (I use a half gallon of a combination of milks) and stir constantly so it doesn’t scorch.

You’re looking for it to slightly thicken (it shouldn’t be watery or thick like gravy) if it is too thick, add more milk.

I taste it as I go and adjust the seasoning (salt, pepper, thyme) to what I like.

It’s that simple!

Alternatives:

Now, to make it vegan, sauté mushrooms in olive oil or avocado oil, and use a plain oat milk as the “milk” (I make this for one of my vegan clients and it’s really good, almost tastes identical to the dairy version)

My hubby likes to bolster up the flavor by stirring in a teaspoon or 2 of a rich beef stock base or bouillon)

Our family loves this so much there are not usually leftovers, so if I know I want them for later in the week or if I need cream of mushroom soup for a recipe, then I double my recipe.

I store leftovers in canning jars in my fridge for up to 5-7 days.

If I need cream of mushroom soup for a recipe, I tend to allow my soup to be thicker—once you are ready to store it for such use, add a slurry of 1 TBS cornstarch (or flour) and 1/2 cup of milk to what’s left in the pot, cook until incorporated and soup thickens (past the stage of what you’d use for soup) if that makes sense. When you use cream of mushroom in recipes right out of the can, it’s thicker and more concentrated.