Make it Tonight - Creamy mushroom soup (dairy-free!)

Seriously, it is cold out there. A perfect day for a creamy soup. Usually cream soups are full of saturated fat and loaded with calories, so you might feel like it's not a good, healthy choice. Check out this recipe, originally from http://www.joythebaker.com/. I love Joy's original idea of cooking a whole whack of mushrooms and using cashew cream to make it creamy. For all of us that avoid dairy for various reasons, allergy, intolerance, IBS, digestive issues, preference, health, etc.... what an awesome way to enjoy a creamy soup! And it's almost vegan! (if you use a worcestershire sauce that is vegan)

Love it so much... and I promise you will too. Except you crazy mushroom haters - you heard me Andrew!Go out and buy a pound of mushrooms, you won't be sorry!

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
8 cups mushrooms ( I used 1/2 cremini, 1/2 shitake - awesome)
4 cloves garlic,minced
4 cups water
1 Tbsp light tamari
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp parsley
freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup of unsalted cashews
1/2 cup of water

Instructions

1. Warm oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add shallot and cook for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic & freshly ground pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Add water, tamari, worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until mushrooms are tender.

3. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup cashews with 1/2 cup water in a small food processor "i.e. magic bullet" and blend until smooth.

4. Once soup is cooked through, using a hand or "emulsifier" blender, puree soup until smooth. (I did this for several minutes to make sure there were no little bits. Add cashew cream and season if needed. Serve warm with some sautéed mushrooms on top and a few slices of fresh bread.

ENJOY!

(Stu did!)

Much love & good eating,

Stephanie