It’s another entry from my dead mom’s recipe box. Turns out there are divider labels in the box, the labels are just very difficult to read. This is a very plain recipe for mushroom soup that is a “speciality of The Breakers.” (What are The Breakers?) Since this is from an area of the box that is mostly soups recipe, I imagine the divider label once said “soups.”

MUSHROOM SOUP (Specialty of The Breakers)
Full of flavor and so easy to make.
Makes 8 servings at 28¢ each.

¾ pound mushrooms
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 cans (13¾ ounces each) chicken broth (5 cups)
1 cup heavy cream

1. Wash mushrooms; trim ends of stems. Save one to slice as garnish; chop remainder coarsely.
2. Heat butter in 3-quart saucepan. Sauté mushrooms about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour and salt over to coat. Add chicken broth gradually, stirring constantly. Bring to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in cream.
3. Whirl in container of electric blender. Reheat but do not boil.

Instead of store-bought mushrooms, I used a Sparassis Eric found at the Breitenbush Mushroom Gathering. Also called a cauliflower mushroom, Sparassis radicata is delicately floral in odor. As usual, I used homemade vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Unfortunately, I only had half-and-half rather than heavy cream, which left the soup somewhat watery. Still, I blame the simplicity of the recipe for the lackluster soup. Why no onions? What kind of monster cooks mushrooms without sage or thyme or some lovely herb? I added Herbs de Provence, smoked chipotle pepper, and black pepper. Much improved. That’s a better way to honor a Sparassis.