Thursday, December 21, 2017

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup

This soup is pretty amazing. With just some cashew cream, mushrooms, onions, thyme, and a few other ingredients, you can whip up a sensational Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup and I'll tell you how. I found this recipe in the cookbook called Homestyle Vegan by Amber St. Peter.  The only flaw in this recipe was too much salt, which I corrected below. This would be a fantastic soup to serve friends and family--loaded with umami and love.


Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup raw cashews
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1/2 lb assorted mushrooms (any kind)
  • 1/4 cup cooking sherry
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 Tbsp plus 1/8 tsp salt, divided (original recipe called for 1 Tbsp, but that is way too much)
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
Instructions
In a medium-size bowl, soak the cashews in the warm water. Set them aside to soften.

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the garlic, onion, and mushrooms until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Pour in the sherry and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sherry liquid reduces by about half. Pour in the vegetable broth, fresh thyme, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, and pepper and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

While the soup simmers, make the cashew cream by blending the soaked cashews, the water they're soaking in, and the remaining 1/8 tsp salt to create a thick cream. Pour into the simmering soup, and remove the soup from the heat. Using an immersion or high-speed blender, carefully blend the soup in batches or all at once. Garnish with fresh thyme. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated and reheat as needed for up to 1 week.


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Bekiri's Family Fast Food, Zakynthos, Greece

Oh this beautiful island! We wanted to get away from the restaurant we ate at every day and somehow ended up at Bekiri's Family Fast Food. Not a fast food joint at all, but an indication that they can prepare your food quickly. However, we soon found out that was not the case.


We only had a group of six or so and were in a hurry so none of us ordered alcoholic beverages. By the time they finally took our order, we still had like an hour left before we needed to be back to the hotel. Forty minutes later--still no food.

Finally, when they delivered the food, it was meh. I ordered the simple Spaghetti Vegetarian, which was like an entire box of pasta mixed with tomatoes and mushrooms. It really wasn't that exciting.


Given the slow service and mediocre food, I wouldn't recommend this place.

Bekiri's Family Fast Food
Alykanas 290 90
Zakynthos, Greece
+30 698 626 1124