This Rice is Wild

I can't believe it's been a month since my last update! I've been super busy settling in at the new job, and I'm really enjoying it. I had a nice relaxing Christmas with my parents, which involved a lot of movies, reading, and being horizontal. Unfortunately, this was followed by a week of sinus cold that Dave brought back from Edmonton with him. Boo!

When you have a cold, nothing is more appealing than a warm, comforting bowl of soup. Luckily, I recently picked up A Beautiful Bowl of Soup by Paulette Mitchell to add to my ever-expanding cookbook collection. It has a lot of unusual, but delicious-sounding combinations, including the one that appealed to under-the-weather me: Wild Rice Cranberry Soup. I'm a big fan of wild rice, but I had never had cranberries in soup before. Since it was the holiday season, I thought the fruit would add a festive touch -- it did, and the soup was amazing.

Wild Rice Cranberry Soup

3 tbsp butter
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp flour
3 cups veggie stock
1.5 cups wild rice, cooked
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup milk
2 tbsp dry sherry
salt & pepper, to taste
chopped italian parsley to garnish

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and a pinch of salt and cook for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
2. Add the flour to the pot and stir to combine. Add the veggie stock one cup at a time, stirring thoroughly between additions to prevent lumps. Increase the heat slightly, and cook until soup thickens (5 minutes). Stir in the wild rice and cranberries , reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in milk and sherry, and season to taste. Warm through.
4. Serve in warmed bowls with some parsley and freshly ground black pepper to garnish.

serves 4