A 5 ft pile of snow greeted us upon arriving home 2 days ago, since then we’ve been pleasantly nestled in our little home insulated with fresh powder. It feels so good to be home, our vacation in the city was wonderful but coming back to stillness and the scent of wood burning just feels right. Who would’ve thought a prairie girl would feel so comforted in the hands of mother mountain. The powers only gone out a handful of times since we got back and though you always think a million things will have changed in 2 weeks, everything remains the same. Aside from baby Mav nearly walking, yes at 9 months he is walking with the help of kitchen chairs and the mini car that his grandma got him. I’m not ready for this, it’s all happened so fast. A year ago he was a mere little bump, today he is an endlessly curious ball of energy. We tried our hand at mom and baby yoga class. Discovered that this is ideal for babies who aren’t yet movers and shakers. It was fun none the less, but I don’t think my boy is the next Iyengar.
Coming home to an empty fridge and belly is both daunting and exciting. I hate waste so I always make sure that everything perishable is enjoyed before leaving for a trip. If not, I give it all away, because there’s nothing worse than returning home to moldy kale leaves. Now we restock, oh what fun. Unfortunately we are relatively snowed in and a trip to town isn’t high on the list of priorities. After driving for 15 hours there must be at least a 3 day reprieve, at least. Simple comfort foods do the trick in this instance, and today this jalapeño and bacon cream of mushroom soup really hit the nail on the head. It’s dead simple, really, I don’t even have any chicken stock made so I had to opt for water and flavourful additions like smoky bacon, crispy garlic chips and a bit of kick with the jalapeño. I am in love, so is J, normally he is considerate and leaves me a little after the second serving but today he gobbled up all the leftovers and left not a crumb. Whatever. You can definitely make this soup paleo friendly by using coconut cream instead of heavy cream. I hope you love this decadent mushroom soup as much as I do.
- 1½ lb mushrooms (whatever types available to you), sliced
- 1 Tbs butter or ghee
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp thyme
- ½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
- 3 C water
- 1½ C heavy cream or 1½ C coconut cream
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
- In a large pot melt the butter and add chopped onion, when onion is translucent, add mushrooms (save a handful), thyme, salt and pepper and allow this to cook down for a few minutes.
- In a skillet or frying pan, add the chopped bacon and let it release some fat before adding garlic, jalapeño and a handful of sliced mushrooms. Let the bacon get nice and crispy and the mushrooms golden brown.
- When the mushrooms and onions have cooked down, add water and cream and simmer for a few minutes. Using a hand mixer or transferring to a blender until smooth and creamy.
- Serve the soup with a generous helping of crispy bacon, garlic and jalapeño and enjoy.
