30 days of iftars: #1

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Ramadhan mubarak! Most (or all?) of the ummah started fasting as of last night. I was thinking about doing a 30 days of iftars series and post what we eat. Sometimes it'll be interesting and yummy, sometimes straight-forward, plain, or even "I'm so sorry your family had to eat that!". LOL

Anyway we have decided to keep our fast-breaking meals pretty simple, none of that over-the-top, all-you-care-to-eat mindset. Last night we broke our fast with dates, bananas, strawberries and buttermilk. I also provided water.

After maghrib we ate our meal. It was very light, home-made chive and mushroom soup with a nice salad. I did top the salad with some protein (boiled eggs and turkey) and added avocado to the lettuce, cucumber and carrot mix. A uses olive oil with lemon while the kids prefer bottles dressings.

The creamy mushroom soup I first made about 7 years ago. I saw it in my Taste of Home magazines and it was super-yummy. A requested a creamy mushroom soup so I was excited to use this recipe again.


Here is the recipe I used:

2 pounds of mushrooms (I used baby portabella and white button variesties) roughly chopped
1 stick of butter, no substitutes
1/2 cup of flour
pinch of salt
5 cups chicken broth
5 cups of half-and-half REAL dairy cream not creamer!
1 bunch of fresh chives (about 1/4 cup or so) finely chopped

Alrighty, saute your mushrooms in the butter until tender. Also let the liquid released from the mushrooms to evaporate. Add in your flour, bit by bit, stirring with a whisk. Don't let it brown, just cook it for a couple of minutes.

Love this heavy, copper-bottomed kettle. :-)

Add the chicken broth slowly, stirring to fully incorporate it. Bring to a boil and continue for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Nice, bright, and fresh; love chives!

Lower the heat and add the half-and-half and chives. Mix thoroughly and reheat gently. Serve steaming hot with a nice crusty bread.

If it is thinner than you want, you can always add some instant potatoes (spoonful by spoonful) or mix about a tablespoon of cornstarch into a small amount of cool water, mix completely, and then add while stirring to the hot soup.

This is very yummy, deliciously rich, and a bit decadent. It is a bit expensive to make as it calls for fresh ingredients, real dairy products. Worth it as an occasional splurge.

Ma salaama ya'll!