Rich and Creamy Mushroom Soup

I was never much of a soup maker in my early days of cooking.  I just always thought that to make good soup (really good soup) you needed to spend a lot of time working on it.  Hours and hours of back breaking time spent over the hot stove, stirring, tasting, stirring and adding more and more items until SOUP was born.

Remember the Creamy Leek and Potato Soup I made?  Didn't take forever, did it!!

Well, in my never ending creep towards the big 4-0, I'm beginning to learn something ....

.... not all things that taste good GREAT take a lot of time to prepare.  Like soup.  And I love me a good bowl of soup!!  And since I started blogging, I've tried to add 'making soup' into my non-structional routine a bit more.

Mud Soup

Mud Soup a la Loo Lee

I swear, our kids do things JUST to make themselves different.  To stand out.  And Loo Lee, never to be outdone by her sister - just HAD to get dirty.  Of course, not on the same day as the Biggie Wiggie.  The next day.  Thankfully, bath tub day!

Soup instead of Pie.  And Loo Lee does things her way.  Slow.  Methodical.  Planned.  And messy.  I swear we worked on this soup for the whole day.  Of course, we stopped for lunch, a play in the park and a few snuggles - but it was a full day event followed by a dive into the tub with a whole herd of animals!

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup

I've often walked by the leeks at the grocery store and thought "Hmm.  Now what could I do with those?"  Well, I finally bought some and decided that I'd give a go at making soup.

I love leek soup.  Leek soup, as far as I've ever had, is a subtle soup with a rich broth.  It can be a clear broth, a creamy soup or a more rustic soup with creamy and pieces of potato.  There is not 'right' way for leek soup to exist.

I like cream soups.  And creamy leek soup.  My hips don't love creamy soups though.  But hey, what's the fun in cooking if you can't enjoy what you make!  That's not to say that cream soups have to be fully loaded with calories.  Certainly there are ways to make it more calorie-wise, but I'm going to start with the full-blown creamy soup that makes the mouth water and the heart warm.

So, here is one of my first trips into the soup world.  Probably should have started in the fall, but heck - it's still cold around here and with Mr. Hungry looking to head back to work - a few containers into the freezer could be nice!