Dd's Cream of Mushroom Soup

I love soup, and this recipe looks pretty simple!

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

 

1 TB olive oil

1 TB butter

1 medium shallot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 oz. crimini mushrooms; chopped

2 ½ c chicken broth

2 TB flour

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish: chopped Italian parsley

In a large pot over medium heat, saute shallot, garlic and mushrooms in oil and butter until softened.  Stir in flour; cook 1 minute until well incorporated.  Stir in broth, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Puree to desired consistency with emersion blender.  Check for seasoning; adjust if necessary.  Stir in cream.  For service garnish with parsley. 

Serves 2.

 

Cy's Breakfast

Cy says:  From Ray's.  I remember when it was $20.  Now it's $30.

Lan says:  Their prime rib is usually killa!

Fujinon XF23mm f2.8 Lens

Two things happened that resparked my interest (fka obsession) in photography.  (1) Mahina's parents are getting married in a couple of years and (2) I discovered Fujifilm recipes.

Weddings were one of my fave picture-taking events, but lugging heavy gear all day and night long got too grueling for me.  Also, post-processing to get the photos to just how I liked them took hours.  

And so, I bought the Fujinon XF23mm f2.8 pancake lens to go with my 9-year old Fujifilm X-T2.  The total weight of both lens and camera is 597 grams (1.32 pounds).   My younger self would've preferred the faster f1.4 version, but I opted for the lighter/smaller lens and crossed my fingers that it would suffice. 

And then, Fujifilm recipes allow you to tweak your Fuji camera using its Film Simulation function to give you your desired look straight out of the camera.  I used Reggie Ballesteros' Reggie's Portra for my sample photos below.  I found his recipe on YouTube.  Minimal post-processing of these photos was required other than cropping. 

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Lamb Chopssss

Message to Joggers

Just FYI.  I am a terrible driver.  And if you are an early morning jogger and you choose to jog on the road instead of on the sidewalk when it's still dark, I might bang you.  

Wendell's Clam Chowder

Wendell makes a really good clam chowder.  The recipe calls for Ranch Dressing mix.  

Back in 2008 I asked Wendell to make it for me for my birthday.  You can find the recipe here. 

My Mom

This is my mom today.  All comfy on her 93rd birthday.  No celebration.  No fanfare.  Just how she likes it.  

Sore knees.  Cannot hear good.  But otherwise healthy.  I'm so grateful.

Ceramics Class

 This is our first batch of finished pieces!

💗 Canon 5D ii 💗

I busted out my fave 20-year-old camera and shot a few photos of my fave subject.

Dd's Foil Packet Baked Salmon

 

FOIL PACKET BAKED SALMON

 

½ # salmon fillet, skinned, cut in half

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. white pepper

1 TB butter, melted and cooled

2 small cloves garlic, grated or finely minced

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

½ tsp. agave nectar

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

On work surface remove any bones from salmon. Wipe both sides dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Line a large-baking sheet with foil (to make foil packet for salmon).  Leave several inches of overhang on both long ends. Place salmon filets into center of foil. 

In a small bowl, combine melted butter, garlic, lemon juice and agave nectar. Fold sides of foil.  Pour butter mixture evenly over top of salmon. Fold short sides of foil. Fold down a few times to close top of your packet. Tuck each end under to close both sides.

Bake 10 minutes. Unseal foil packet top and check salmon for doneness. Salmon should be opaque on top and flake easily with a fork. If salmon needs more cooking time close packet back up, return to oven 2-3 minutes. Carefully open packet and uncover salmon. Push down sides of foil, exposing entire piece of salmon. Set oven to broil on high. Return salmon to oven.  Broil 2- 3 minutes until slightly golden and charred in some areas. 

Serves 2.