"Todd" > wrote in message
...
> On 02/16/2013 12:13 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>> "Todd" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On 02/15/2013 09:25 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>>> Soup should be simmered
>>>
>>> Hi Julie,
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
>>> Follow up questions:
>>>
>>> 1) for how long?
>>>
>>> 2) by simmer, do you mean the lowest boil?
>>>
>>> -T
>>
>> It would help if you would post the recipe. Some soups cook for longer
>> than
>> others. And simmer is simmer. Not boil. There is boil and then there
>> is
>> hard boil. Boil is when large bubbles begin to come to the surface. If
>> you
>> continue to leave it at this heat, it will reach a hard boil where
>> bubbles
>> come up furiously. Most food would not need to be boiled like this for
>> very
>> long. Dried beans, yes but only for a couple of minutes. Your recipe
>> probably said to bring the soup to a boil then turn down the heat. If
>> there
>> was anything like cream in the soup, you'd for sure want to cook it on a
>> low
>> heat. Various foods need various cooking times. I can comment on your
>> soup
>> since I don't know what all was in it. Anything like celery would
>> require a
>> longer cooking time. Mushrooms cook quickly.
>
> Hi Julie,
>
> I pulled the recipe out of my ear. I do not know
> what I am doing, but I never give up!
>
> 2 flats whole white mushrooms, sliced. (Raley's org)
> 1 med onyawn, diced (TJ's org)
>
> Fry in EVOO until the onyawns are clear and the mushroom
> brown a little. Them add
>
> 2 cups of my 99:99 chicken broth (it is strong)
> 2 cups water
> salt (guess)
> 1 cup cream (TJ's org)
> parsley flakes (guess) (Frontier org)
> 1/2 cup sour cream (TJ's org)
> paprika (guess) (Swanson org)
> ~1 tsp squeezed lemon (1/2 a small org TJ lemon)
>
> Bring to a boil. Let cool down on the burner. Give
> the Arm Candy a spoon to taste (she loves it).
>
>
> Any and all modifications/improvements will be greatly
> appreciated!
>
> -T

Then I would have to say if you don't know about cooking, you should follow
a known recipe that has gotten good reviews. I am no expert on mushroom
soup since I don't like mushrooms very well. If you only brought the soup
to a boil then shut off the heat, you didn't even *cook* it! I don't think
sour cream belongs in such a soup at all. Perhaps spooned over the top.
And the cream should probably be added after the soup has cooked fully.
Cream that is cooked for too long can break down. Ditto for sour cream. I
probably wouldn't put chicken broth in a mushroom soup either. Doesn't seem
like it would belong. And not sure about the paprika either. I also would
probably not use white mushrooms in this but Cremini or a mix of mushrooms.
And I usually add a bay leaf to most soups.

The only mushroom soup I ever made was a faux cream of because I can't have
dairy. I would use Cremini mushrooms, chopped and sautéed in some olive
oil. To this I would add several good handfuls of dried mushrooms from
Costco that had been whizzed in my Magic Bullet to a powder. I think they
have changed the mushrooms since then. They used to be a mix. The powdered
mushrooms not only added thickening, but prevented my daughter from
screeching, "Ew! A Mushroom!" I did pretty much crush the real ones and
then finely chop any that didn't get crushed so she wouldn't notice. I
would then add the powdered mushrooms to the cooked ones like you would with
a white sauce. Plenty of pepper added and a little salt. Once this mixture
came to a boil, I would slowly add a little rice milk to thin it down a bit.
I would also add dried chopped onion for flavor. But... I was aiming at a
condensed soup texture to use in casseroles. And although my daughter liked
the end result, I didn't really.

I looked up a recipe for mushroom soup and it looks like a good one. Here
it is:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/i...ipe/index.html

But you probably wouldn't make this because of the flour in it. You could
however sub in some powdered dried mushrooms. These will add a little
flavor and provide some thickening but the end result might not be as thick
as Ina's.

This one actually does have chicken broth so perhaps I was off base there.
But it also has flour:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-of-Mushroom-Soup-I/

Here's one without cream and without flour and again uses chicken so
apparently I was wrong there. But I don't think I was wrong on the white
mushrooms. Those are usually used for stuffing. And I don't think they are
nearly as flavorful as the other mushrooms. But if they are cheaper then
you could sub in some of them for the better ones if that is the issue
there.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mushroo...am/Detail.aspx

I can understand winging a recipe if you are really in a hurry and only have
a limited amount of ingredients. But usually before I cook something, I
will at least look up recipes ahead of time that got good reviews and that
take at lease most of the ingredients you have. Each time you add something
or leave something out, the recipe will change.

When I made the yucky black bean soup, I followed the recipe except that I
used vegetable broth instead of chicken, because I can't have chicken. But
what was lacking there was the acid. Someone told me to add tomatoes and
another person said to add lemon. I added both and also a can of black eyed
peas because I was eating this on New Years. This was all that was needed
and the soup was great!

I am soaking black beans now for soup. Not using a recipe. Bought organic
veggies from Whole Foods. Once the beans are cooked, I will add chopped
tomatoes, green pepper, a couple of jalapenos, salt and if it seems to need
it, perhaps a little salsa. Oh and lime juice! Have two limes. Once that
is cooked through I will add a little cilantro. To serve I will top with
more cilantro and sliced green onions. Normally I would put fresh tomato on
top but sadly the tomatoes I bought were not so good. They were in a bag
and I'd bought these before so I knew they were good. But the skins were a
little loose on them. Should be fine for cooking though.

It does sound like you didn't really cook your soup at all and you added the
dairy stuff way too soon into the cooking process based on the recipes I
posted here. Soup is usually better when it cooks for longer. And better
still after the leftovers have sat in the refrigerator overnight.

I do make a couple of quick soups but they are not from scratch. When
daughter is sick, I'll do a chicken soup with canned or boxed broth, canned
chicken and some form of starch like cooked rice or pasta. When I ate
chicken soup, I would add carrots, onions and celery to this and I would
then have to cook these in the broth until soft. She doesn't much like
cooked vegetables and prefers them raw. She does like peas though so if her
stomach isn't upset, I will add a few frozen peas. And I will add a small
amount of dried onion to this because onion is recommended when one had
respiratory problems. I will also add parsley and pepper but usually no
salt to this.

I might also make a quick bean soup using canned beans and salsa. And
although it has been many years, I have made one using pre-made vegetable
broth and already cooked veggies, either leftover or from a can. Or even
soup from leftovers. Like pot roast. Chop it up and whatever veggies are
left and add these to beef broth or even tomato juice or V8. So as you can
see, when making a quick soup, you really do need to start with ingredients
that you have either already cooked yourself or purchased cooked
ingredients. I generally do only make such a soup when someone is sick or I
myself am under the weather and just don't feel up to making something from
scratch.

I am keeping vegetable scraps in my freezer. This was suggested for me to
do. Once I get enough of these, I will make vegetable stock out of them.
And if I am not going to use this right away, I will put it in ice cube
trays, freeze it, pop the cubes out and store them in a plastic bag until
ready to use.

What I frequently do with soup is to cook it the day before and keep it in
the fridge. In the case of a soup like you made, I would likely cook it up
to the point of adding the cream. Then I would stick it in the fridge until
the following day. Then most of the work would already be done and all
you'd have to do would be follow the recipe from there to add the cream and
what not. Or you could even fully cook it and carefully reheat it.
Normally when reheating soup it is advised to let it boil for maybe a
minute. But in the case of a soup with cream, you'd only want to just bring
to a boil. Otherwise you risk it curdling.