1 qt Milk; whole, low-fat or skim 1 sm Onion; peeled and stuck with 2 Cloves 6 Whole peppercorns (or more) 1 pn Salt -------------------------------BOUQUET GARNI------------------------------- :Tie in cheesecloth, 6 Fresh parsley stems, 1/2 ts Dried leaf thyme 1/2 Bay leaf --------------------------------SOUP, CON'T-------------------------------- 4 tb Rice flour -(or barley or oat flour) 4 tb Cold milk (about) 8 oz Shiitake mushrooms ----------------------------------OPTIONAL---------------------------------- 6 tb Heavy cream 2 tb Madeira Reserved mushroom slices This rich, earthy soup has but 100 calories per serving if made with non-fat milk. PLACE THE MILK, ONION, peppercorns, salt and bouquet garni in a saucepan and bring slowly to a boil. Form a smooth paste of the rice flour and the cold milk. Put into the just-boiling milk and stir briskly until there are no lumps. Simmer over very low heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut off the tough ends of the mushroom stems. Reserve a few mushroom slices for garnish and chop the remaining mushrooms coarsely, then place in a food processor with a steel blade and chop as finely as possible. Strain the milk mixture through a fine sieve back into the saucepan; add the chopped mushrooms and continue simmering 5 minutes. Add the cream and Madeira, if you wish, and serve in hot bowls, garnished with a slice of mushroom.
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