Yet another soup recipe from Jess. This one is special, though, I promise! On a recent outing to the Amish Market on Ninth Avenue, I picked up some great-looking oyster mushrooms.

Chris had suggested making a brothy soup with them. When we finally had time to sit down to dinner together a few days later, I was worried they wouldn’t be good anymore, but fortunately, they were still absolutely perfect! I know it’s dorky to get excited about good mushrooms, but they were absolutely beautiful. After googling recipes to get some guidance on mushroom-to-broth proportions, I came up with this. It was so delicious—the meaty taste of the mushrooms with the slightly salty soy taste blended perfectly with the subtle spicy, nutty flavor of the sesame oil. I’m sure it would be even better with a little miso paste mixed in. I can’t wait to make this again!

Ingredients:

3 cups vegetable broth

½ tsp sesame oil (I used hot)

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp minced onion (green is even better)

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 cups trimmed and cleaned oyster mushrooms

1 cup mixed vegetables of your choice (frozen is fine—I used a blend of Asian stir-fry veggies)

Pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat ½ cup of the broth in a pot over high heat.

Add the mushrooms and sauté for five minutes or so.

Add the sesame oil soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and onions and sauté another minute.

Add the remaining veggies and simmer for 15 minutes.

Season with pepper and more soy sauce as desired.

Serves 2