Some days you take shortcuts, then some days you just hit on something that knocks it totally out of the park.  This happened to me last week.  I got up super early and hit my local farmers’ market.  Now, I have a black thumb.  I mean, I’ve killed cactus.  That’s talent.  But on this day I was feeling froggy and I bought a mushroom log.  They were just so cool looking!  The idea was that you could grow your own oyster mushrooms, getting about 3-4 fruits out of this one log of pressed wood and such.  I was with a friend and we were both stoked.  Super cool project for us and our kids.  Plus yummy mushrooms.  Yay.

Our logs were already started for us and there was a small batch of mushrooms that had already sprouted.  We gave it another week and it was time!  I harvested about 3 cups of rough chopped oyster mushrooms.  I was excited!  This was the coolest thing ever!

I had some other mushrooms on hand, so I knew right then: I was making soup of some sort.  But it’s Springtime.  What to do?  And that’s when it hit me:  A Spring-inspired mushroom bisque.

Spring Onion & Mushroom Bisque

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup moscato or sherry
• 4 tablespoons lemon thyme
• 2 large spring onions, bulbs and white stem only, diced
• 6 cups oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2-3/4 ounce Swiss cheese  (For reference, I just used a single slice of medium-sliced Swiss.)
• 1 cup milk
• salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder

Heat olive oil and sauté onions until translucent.  Add mushrooms and let them sweat out and soften, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, and lightly season with onion and garlic powders.

Add chicken broth and stir in lemon thyme.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, create Swiss cheese roux by slowly melting the butter in a separate pot on medium-low heat.  Whisk in the flour and milk, then add the cheese and continue to whisk until fully combined and thickened.  Be careful not to let it boil, as it will separate.

Once roux is thickened to a good cheesy consistency, slowly stir into mushroom / broth mixture until thoroughly combined.  Keep on medium-low heat for an additional 10-15 minutes for flavors to meld.  After that, if soup is still too watery, slowly add in a little extra flour, about 1 teaspoon at a time, and whisk in thoroughly.  Wait another 5 minutes and see how consistency is.

Top with extra thyme leaves and serve!  Bonus:  grab some crusty bread to sop up the goodness, too!

This was truly an amazingly flavorful dish.  I served it along with grilled steak and garlic bread and my husband and I devoured it.  Even my 6 year old daughter – who is not a fan of mushrooms – loved the brothy bisque part.  This is a dish that truly reflects the love you put into it!  Enjoy every moment!

All good things must come to an end though, as my reputation holds true.  My log has since gotten a little brown along the edges and it seems I’ve broken it, haha.  We’ll see if it ever fruits again, but if not, I’ll just have to buy some more mushrooms because this is definitely a dish I will make again!