My daughter's favorite mushroom soup (and she hates mushrooms)

Page 47 of Haggen's Real Food Spring 2012 Magazine (Haggen's is a local grocery store in Washington)

Mushroom Soup with Sauteed Shiitake (followed by my Mom tips)

1/2 ounce dried Shiitake mushrooms or Porcini

2 cups water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

10 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) sliced Crimini mushrooms including stems

1 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove chopped

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt or to taste

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 cups or beef, chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon of reduced sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce

Garnish

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 large Shiitake fresh with stems discarded caps cut into 1/4 inch slices

pinch of coarse salt

pinch of fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1/2 clove of garlic grated

1. combine Shiitake or Porcini and water in a small sauce pan. Heat to boiling. Remove from heat and let stand until soft, about 20 mins. Set a strainer over a bowl and strain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Coarsly chop mushrooms and set aside.

2. heat oil in a large, broad saucepan until hot enough to sizzle a piece of mushroom. add Crimini and onion and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and onion is golden. Stir in garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring 1 minute. 

3. Add reserved mushroom liquid, reserved mushrooms, broth, and Tamari, and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered 10 minutes. Cool slightly. 

4. Ladle soup into blender, working in batches if needed, and puree until smooth. If preferred, puree with an immersion blender in sauce pan. Season to taste, keep warm over low heat. 

5. Garnish, heat oil in small skillet until hot enough to sizzle a sliced Shiitake. Sprinkle mushrooms lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, over medium/low heat until tender and golden (about 5 mins) add parsley and garlic, cook 1 minute. 

6. Ladle hot soup into bowls. Divide garnish evenly among bowls before serving. 

Mom's tips:

• I've never made this with the garnish and it's still amazing. 
• I discovered I could buy dried Shiitake mushrooms at the local Asian market for pennies compared to what the national grocery store chains were asking. I bought a 5 oz. bag for $3! Dried Shiitake goes a long way. Now I don't have to spend a fortune for great flavor. 
• I always add more garlic. Last night I added 3 nice sized cloves. You can never have too much garlic in my opinion. 
• I try to keep broth on hand (home made or in a box) however I always have "Better than Bouillon" chicken, beef, and veggie jars of bouillon on hand in case I run out. Last night I just used the veggie bouillon (per the package measurement)  and added 2 cups of water. 
• The magazine says to serve with beef patties. Last night I served it with turkey meatballs over rice. I also added a chopped Russet potato with the peel just to give it a little more density to be more filling. Makes GREAT left overs - you could easily freeze the extra for future use, but I eat it too fast for that.
• Mushrooms are good for you! Vitamin D - and this can be essentially a meatless dish if you use veggie broth. 
• According to the magazine....Per Serving: Calories 181 Fat 14 grams (gotta be from the olive oil) Cholesterol 0, Sodium 887 mg, Carb 12g, Fiber 2g, Protein 5 g