Foodie Friday: Creamy Steak and Mushroom Soup

Happy Friday, dear reader. The weather forecast looks promising for today and Saturday. It is farmer's market season, and we will be set up in spot eight on the main row at Ligonier Country Market. The market is every Saturday from 8 to 12. We hope to see you in person. If you do happen to come out to the market, please be sure to introduce yourself. We love to be able to put a face with a name when online orders come in. My neighbor across the way at Ligonier Country Market, Sundreams Farms, LLC, sells the most lovely and delicious freshly grown mushrooms. Last week, The Bibbed Wopicked picked up a beautiful cluster of oyster mushrooms. He intended to fry them and put them atop his burger, but I had other plans.

Instead, I made a pot of steak and mushroom soup. I am unsure where I found this recipe. Alas, my memory fails me yet again. However, I have kept it in my well-worn Tinkerbell folder, which houses all my random recipes. Today, I will share this recipe with you. When given the option of buying fresh produce from the farmer's market or purchasing produce from big box grocery stores, I always choose the farmer's market. The flavor of the produce bought directly from the farmers can't be compared with the bland, flavorless produce shipped in from God knows where.

The folks at Sundreams Farms know their mushrooms. If you tell them about a recipe you have in mind, they can guide you to the best mushrooms for your needs. If you visit the market, look them up and ask them anything mushroom-related. Over the past few years, we have tried all the mushrooms they offer and have never been disappointed. Everything you need for this recipe can be found from various vendors at the market. I picked up the tarragon from Broken Locust, the steak from Lone Oak (not a vendor at the market), and the garlic and onions from Yarnick's Farms. This filling, wholesome soup is much better than anything from a can. Insert a wink here.

Creamy Steak and Mushroom Soup

3 TBLS. olive oil

1 1/4 lbs. round steak

1 onion roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 cups sliced mushrooms (I used oyster)

2 TBLS. all-purpose flour

2 cups beef broth (I used my home canned)

1 cup vegetable broth (I used my home canned)

1 TBLS. Worcestershire sauce

2 large potatoes, sliced (I like Yukon Gold)

1 1/2 cups Half and Half

2 TBLS. fresh tarragon, leaves only, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Cut the steak into bite-size pieces and brown in the olive oil. Transfer to a plate to drain.

In the same pot, add more olive oil if needed, and saute the onion and garlic. Next, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until softened about five minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom mixture. Cook for 2 minutes.

Pour the broths and the Worcestershire sauce over the mushroom mixture. Scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the potatoes.

Add the steak and simmer for 30 minutes. The potatoes should be soft.

Slowly stir 3 tablespoons of the hot soup into the half-and-half to temper it. Next, slowly add the tempered half-and-half into the soup pot. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

I like to serve my "fancy mushroom soup" with an equally fancy grilled cheese sandwich. I enjoy sourdough bread with smoked gouda, Canadian bacon, and apple jelly. It makes an easy, upscale soup and sandwich meal. A nice fresh salad with warm crusty bread would also be delicious.

On this lovely summer-like Friday, stay safe, be smart, enjoy simple and delicious food, shop local producers when you can, and keep washing your hands.

Grand Disillusions

My planned view when I retire

I am panicking a bit, dear reader. With our busy summer season, we spend Fridays and Saturdays prepping for and setting up at Ligonier Country Market. We try to complete all our production on Thursday, but our rock star soap family keeps us busy making soap until Friday. Thank you for that. It's a good problem to have. However, I came to the realization that we are moving into June. The Shaker Woods Festival is in August. That gives me just weeks to make, cure, clean, stamp, and package an overwhelming amount of soap.

We have decided to take our complete Fall line of soaps and a limited number of Christmas soaps to Shaker Woods this year. We have never taken Christmas soaps to Shaker and are excited at the prospect of introducing this audience to our holiday line. However, this also means we have added a half dozen soaps to our production list, and now, I feel like time is running short. Sigh.

Of our dynamic duo, I am not usually the panicker. I am usually the zen-like voice of reason, saying things to one twitchy, ill-tempered fuzzy bottoms, like, "Look, we make a list, come up with a plan of attack, execute that plan, and we get it done. It's what we do. Stop panicking. You are wasting time and energy." When I look at the list of soaps, moisturizers, and hand soaps we have to create in what I now consider dwindling weeks; my stomach gets this watery, fluttery, sinking feeling. The Bibbed Wonder has had to talk me down and try to ease my anxiety. I have made a rough list of what we need to accomplish, and rather than helping me focus, it makes me panic.

I live in a world of grand disillusion. I sorely underestimate my energy levels; time management is a struggle, and I foolishly believe we can balance work and life. Ha! Work is our life. The Bean is going to Florida for two weeks with GramBarb. I was absolutely insane thinking The Bibbed Wonder and I could sneak away for an overnight trip to get a little R&R. There is no way we can waste two days luxuriating in a trip off the farm. Yesterday, I realized we need to make soap every day but Saturday to be ready for our Shaker Woods extravaganza. The Bibbed Wonder is relieved I shut down the idea of leaving the farm. The man hates to leave home. He hates for his routine to be interrupted, and he hates downtime. He complies with taking a vacation every four years, but we have not been on a vacation since 2015. In 2019, Covid hit and shut down the world, and I believe my husband faced sheltering in place with glee.

Our Bean-free time will be spent here working like fools to realize my overly ambitious vision. I am slowly accepting this reality. We will put in the hours, make the products, and create a wonderful display, and come August, we will be happy we did. Ultimately, it will be worth all the time and hard work. I'm not going to lie; I am a little disappointed we won't get a few days away. However, I suppose I can rest when I'm dead. I have goals for my retirement. Soon enough, we will hand off the farm to The Bean, move to Aruba, drink our morning coffee on the beach, ride Vespas instead of driving cars, and spend our days by the pool or watching flamingos. I fully intend to play and relax equally as hard as I work now. Then, I will write my blog from Aruba. How fun will that be? My blogs will begin; welcome, dear reader, to my retirement blog. Until then, I have soap to make because I am indeed an idiot who thinks I can make all my grand ideas happen. I am also working on giving myself an ulcer. Sigh.

On this overcast spring day, stay safe, be smart, and don't be afraid of hard work. It will all be worth it in the end. You can rest when you are dead, find a partner who talks you off a ledge, and keep washing your hands.

This Goose Is Not Silly

We are always thrilled to watch the goings-on of local wildlife from afar. We cohabitate with bears, foxes, coyotes, turtles, rabbits, deer, groundhogs, turkeys, songbirds, Canadian geese, and many other woodland creatures. Most of the time, our peaceful co-existence is a pleasant experience. The deer can be destructive, raccoons and opossums can be bothersome, and snakes can give one a good scare, but other than stolen eggs and crop damage, we share a mutual respect for the wildlife surrounding us. That is to say, until this week.

We have several mating pairs of Canadian geese that come to nest at our ponds and the surrounding wetlands. I have read that Candian geese will return with their mates to the area where they were hatched. We have gone from one returning pair to four. I enjoy watching the geese fly in and land on the pond. I find their honks and calls charming. Watching them fly over in their distinct V formation in the fall makes me smile. I've always enjoyed and appreciated our Canadian visitors.

Over the years, locals have approached us about hunting the geese. It is always a firm no in response. I don't want our local wildlife hunted; we are very particular about who we allow on our land. When we catch individuals helping themselves to our land, and this happens more than one would think, I often hear the excuse, "Well, I knew Ron. Ron always allowed me to hunt here." I wish I were better at saying what I think because my response would be, "Do I look like Ron? My dad's been gone almost twenty years. You are not grandfathered into hunting privileges." or "Oh, do you pay the taxes on the land? No? Do you want to pay the taxes on the land? No? Go away." or "Oh, well, in exchange for 200 hours of volunteer farm labor and $6,000 to split the taxes, you are welcome to hunt here. Oh, you don't want to do that? Go away." However, I merely say, "No." It's a bit unnerving to think about a bunch of "randos" walking around the property with loaded guns. No, we are very particular about who we allow to hunt on our land.

Our ponds are safe havens for our Canadian geese friends. Each year, they safely hatch goslings, and with some luck and good parenting, their babies grow to adulthood. This year, two pairs have hatched goslings. One pair hatched six little ones, and they are all doing well and growing quickly. Most recently, a second pair hatched three goslings. The gander of this pair is one bad-ass mo-fo. Seriously, this guy is not to be messed with. I have never seen such an aggressive goose. Driving down the driveway requires diligence, a plan, and tactical driving skills.

Sunday was the first day we were assaulted by the overprotective father. His family was crossing the driveway. We stopped the truck at a respectful distance to allow them to cross safely. As Mama quickly herded her little ones off the drive, into the grass, and under the fence to safety, the gander decided to confront the large white F150 and teach it a lesson. He ran at the truck full speed with his head down, making an angry honking noise. As we slowly descended the drive, he flew at the windshield, causing us to duck, scream, and swear. Luckily, the windows were up. With him beside us, we cautiously made our way down the drive, hissing, honking, and flogging the truck the entire length of the drive. He chased us out onto Tonkin Road almost to our neighbor's house before giving up and giving one last angry honk. If you would like a good laugh, you can view this attack on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

We must go into ninja mode to sneak out of our driveway. It is futile. No matter how slowly or quickly we travel, he finds us, flogs our vehicles, and chases us. I sit at the end of the drive to pick up The Bean from the school bus. Should the attack goose flog her when she gets off the bus, we have a plan in place. The central part of this plan is recording it and laughing. With the antics of a now surly teenager, seeing her flogged by a goose would be sufficient punishment for snide comments, eye rolls, and a bad attitude. However, I am quite sure allowing your child to be flogged by an angry goose, laughing about it, and recording it is considered bad parenting. Sigh. Why is everything fun wrong? Anyhow, the plan is I will open the back hatch using the interior controls, she will dive in, and I will close the hatch, all with the push of a button. It is not illegal for me to imagine her being flogged by an angry goose, and I spend more minutes than I would like to admit creating hilarious scenarios. Sigh, it's a curse to be a creative parent.

Once he is behind us, I have found it best to gun the engine and race to the house as quickly as possible. Swerving a bit seems to throw off his trajectory so we can stop some of the actual contact with the vehicle. I say swerve a bit because our drive is lined with oak trees. I am sure I would never hear the end of it if I ran headlong into an oak tree, fleeing an angry goose. It is more of a wiggle than a swerve. Seriously, I am not inclined to leave the farm often. Trying to outmaneuver an angry goose makes leaving the farm even more unappealing. I simply don't want to deal with him.

When one thinks of an overprotective parent, one often thinks of a mother bear. Why has no one ever used an angry gander as an example? This guy could put a grizzly bear to shame. He is not only agile but also relentless. Pound for pound, I find the angry goose more intimidating than a bear. This nasty bugger will go for miles to kick your ass. He is not just strutting his stuff or trying to intimidate. He means business, and no one is getting past him.

We have sent messages to everyone who regularly comes back the lane. I sent our mail lady, Cindy, a message to warn her to keep her windows up and to go slow. We also messaged Jenna and Abby. Everyone thought I was joking until I sent them clips of the video. I can't make up this level of ridiculousness. How many people do you know who must warn visitors about an attack goose? The poor delivery guys. We have no way of warning them. UPS trucks often have their doors open on nice days. The poor, unaware delivery guy pulled in, looked flustered, and said, "Wow! That is one mean goose! Seriously, that guy is scary!" Yeah, we know, kid. You should try leaving multiple times a day. However, watching people's reactions to an attack goose never gets old. It takes so very little to entertain me these days.

Hopefully, this overprotective behavior will dissipate soon. It's going to be a long summer if we have to put up with this mean guy until his babies are grown. However, we give him a pass on bad behavior because he merely does what all fathers should do: protect their little ones. We try to work with nature, not against it. Also, as long as there is an attack goose on the loose, we have a threat to hang over our teen's head. If she doesn't lose the bad 'tude, we can always send her out the driveway for an attitude adjustment. Ah, the very thought makes me giggle.

Stay safe and be smart on this lovely spring day. It's okay to imagine your snarky teen getting flogged by a goose. Unfortunately, it's not okay to make that happen. Respect nature and its process. It's always best to keep your distance from wildlife and keep washing your hands.