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Thursday, October 15, 2009

along the 'Grand Lake' and a bowl of soup

Earlier this month we took a day trip around the Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota, the second largest in the state. It 'overflows' three counties; I took this photo on the Crow Wing County side. Mille Lacs means Misi-zaaga'igan (grand lake) in the first Americans' Ojibwe language.
The silver hue of the clouds that day and the gray water reminded me of a fish. . .maybe because this area is considered the walleye capital of the state.

This area is also known for its wild rice cultivation -- 60,000 acres of natural wild rice is harvested in the traditional way. Yesterday I made this soup from a recipe I found in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, using the hand harvested 'grass' rice rather than the paddy rice.

MUSHROOM-WILD RICE SOUP

Serves 6 to 8
Use any combination of mushrooms here. The soup is easily frozen. It's hearty without being heavy. You may enrich it with a swirl of sour cream or heavy cream. It makes a fine vegetarian dinner paired with crusty bread and sharp cheese and a salad.
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 lb. cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered [I used baby Bellas]
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 large shallots, minced
• 8-9 c. low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 c. wild rice, rinsed under running cold water
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
Directions
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter and sauté the onion until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms with a little salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are soft and brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir in the carrots and shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the broth, wild rice, thyme, parsley and season with more salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with more chopped parsley. [yum!]

Visit Sky Watch Friday to see more 'skies from all over our planet.' Happy Friday and happy soup eating!

12 comments:

Snap said...

Gorgeous shot.

Daryl said...

Perfect soup for a cold day .. that is a beautiful photo of a beautiful lake/sky!

Carletta's Captures said...

The ripples of the water are rather mackeral like. :)
A beautiful shot straight to the horizon!

Eric said...

Great post, love the colors in this pic, well done!!

Have a great SWF.

eric, Holland

Sylvia K said...

Such a lovely and peaceful shot! Beautiful soft colors!

Have a great weekend!

Sylvia

Tara R. said...

A beautiful sky and a delicious sounding recipe - that's a win/win for me. Thanks for sharing.

Photo Cache said...

Beautiful shot. Happy weekend.

Amanda said...

That water is pretty incredible and so are the clouds in the sky. As I was scrolling to leave a comment I noticed a picture of Mr. Darcy!!!! =D MY FAVORITE story of all time!!! Happy SkyWatch =)

Eaglesbrother said...

Beautiful Sky to admire.
Creator does such a wonderful job of gifting us with so much to see,admire, and respect.
Beautiful part of the country there.

Eaglesbrother

SandyCarlson said...

You've convinced me it's soup for supper tonight. Love that sky!

kden said...

That is truly a beautiful shot. As close to Heaven as we're going to get.

marianne said...

beautiful photo! i agree, it reminds me of fish. and soup is the perfect fall food- will have to give it a try!