Soup Season!

It's soup season. Everybody is talking about it. My normal food websites are emailing me recipes for easy vegetable soups; onions and potatoes are on sale at local stores. Everything about chillier weather is bringing out the broth; and I'm slurping, spooning, and devouring all the soups and stews I can!

That all being said, I bought a ten pound bag of onions to start my season off right (and it was only $4!)
This soup will start the bidding at amazing.

 A beautiful bowl of soup from Xi'an Famous Foods in Flushing, NY.

This first soup was awesome, a wonderful balanced mix of hot chili paste, thick luxurious noodles, bean sprouts, peanuts and ground pork; this bowl screams comfort food to me. I got it in Flushing on a food trip recently. I ate so many things the day I went there. I love Flushing. It's a shame I don't get to go more often.

This is a delicious Russian soup I got in Brighton Beach, called Rassilnik. It's one of my go-to soups when I'm in the area, and it always feels like comfort.
It's a light broth with barley, potatoes, and large stewed chunks of beef. Infused with dill and its friends onions, peppers and carrots, this soup always hits the spot. I'll usually sit down with a smoked fish or one of the homemade knishes.
This photo is from the boardwalk, a serene October day with the ocean and gulls. It makes for the best combination of circumstances to enjoy a hot cup of soup.

Of course, what did I buy while I was in Brighton Beach? Mushrooms!

Russians are known for their love of mushrooms, so I knew I would get some good finds, and some low prices. I'm thinking Mushroom Soup.

After scouting a couple places and comparing prices, I started buying.

And my harvest was good.

 Seven different mushrooms.

Chanterelles (both dried, and FRESH!)

Cremini

Brown Beech (or Shimeji)

White Button

Dried Shiitake

Wood Ear

Oyster

I was also really excited for these fresh chanterelles; which I had never eaten before. They also make for a wonderful picture!

Shallots, onions, a few strips of bacon, herbes de provence; as you can imagine, it is amazing.
The soup is heady, with an earthy flavor and meaty undertones.  The herbs, and especially the lavender and the thyme, play very well with the mushrooms. The flavors compliment each other in just a way that you can imagine walking from the field into forest, eating mushrooms as you pass.

It's hard to stop eating. Especially topped with a tiny knob of butter... just enough.

slurp