Some recipes begin with an ingredient. This one began with a friendship that goes back almost as long as we have lived in Oregon, woven through the years with dogs, adventures and plenty of puppy breath.
Ihana and Becky…a meeting of the minds..a test of wills
We first met Becky through her working with our veterinarian, where we took our Chows. It didn’t take long to notice that she had one of those wonderful, instinctive ways with dogs. They trusted her.
Eventually Steve and I asked if she might be interested in staying with our dogs when travels and dog shows took us away from home. The rest, as they say, is history.
Becky became our longtime dog sitter, but along the way she and her husband, Chad, became dear friends. Our dogs have always known the difference, too. Going to Becky’s isn’t simply being dog-sat. Around here, it’s known as Camp Becky.
Even Ihana has developed a soft spot for some of the Goldens she’s met during her stays there. Below is Ihana and Becky’s Golden Retriever, Quarter…..Of course you know who wins the bench spot!
The photo of Becky above is one of my favorites…. from Ihana’s very first meeting with her. Ihana was a young puppy and has never been a girl who instantly decides every new person is her best friend. Then she met Becky. The expression on her face was priceless. She had met her match.
There was never much question how that relationship was going to go. Ihana loves Becky—and she also became great friends with Becky and Chad’s German Shorthaired Pointer, Rogue, who grew up as a puppy alongside her.
And then came the Goldens
Through Becky we met her amazing mom, Judy, who has been breeding beautiful Golden Retrievers—and now Labrador Retrievers as well under the kennel name Wood Duck—for more than 40 years.
As the photographs scattered through this post will make abundantly clear, Steve and I have enjoyed some rather wonderful fringe benefits of that friendship. Puppy breath. Lots and lots of puppy breath.
I’ve taken hundreds of photographs at Judy’s home, welcomed visiting litters at ours and rarely passed up an opportunity involving a pile of Golden Retriever puppies.
Goldens have always been one of my favorite breeds outside my own, so this has hardly been a hardship. My son and family also have 2 Goldens who will find their way into their own illustration soon!
Cash and Harmony
The two Golden Retrievers in my recipe illustration aren’t just any Goldens.
The fellow coming toward us with his stick in the artwork is Cash, who lives with Becky and Chad. Beside him is Judy’s beautiful Harmony, who sadly is not longer with us . I love having her here in my illustration , enjoying one more golden autumn alongside Cash.
Both were bred by Judy, making them the perfect pair to represent this little corner of Washington—and this much bigger part of our lives.
Becky, Chad and Judy all live across the Columbia River from us in Washington, on beautiful properties where the dogs have plenty of room to stretch their legs and simply enjoy being dogs. And that gave me the setting for the recipe.
A Taste of a Pacific Northwest Autumn
I wanted Cash and Harmony’s recipe to feel like autumn in the Pacific Northwest: rustic, comforting and filled with ingredients that seem to belong here. Mushrooms immediately came to mind.
Our cool, damp forests are famous for fall fungi, and mushroom season brings chanterelles, porcini, matsutake and all sorts of treasures to Northwest markets and kitchens.
So mushrooms became the heart of Golden Hour Soup. I paired plenty of them with nutty wild rice, a modest amount of Italian sausage, fresh thyme and rosemary, and a light Parmesan cream broth. And I do mean plenty of mushrooms.
The sausage is there to add savory little bites and flavor the broth, not take over the soup. Carrots and celery bring flashes of autumn color, while the wild rice adds a wonderfully earthy character.
The result is creamy and comforting without being so thick you could practically stand a spoon in it. Add a crusty baguette and freshly grated Parmesan melting over the top, and I call that dinner.
Make Golden Hour Soup Your Own
The original recipe uses baby bella mushrooms and mild Italian sausage, but this is very much a use-what-you-love soup.
Baby bellas are affordable, readily available and delicious, but you can mix them with shiitake, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles or whatever good mushrooms happen to find their way into your kitchen.
The meat for the soup is just as flexible. Try ground chicken or turkey, hamburger or chopped cooked chicken. And since Chad is an avid outdoor sportsman….., I have a feeling venison or other game meat could very well find its way into a pot of Golden Hour Soup at Camp Becky.
Either would be wonderful with the mushrooms, wild rice and herbs. Or skip the meat and simply add more mushrooms.After all…There are no soup police at Camp Becky.
GOLDEN HOUR SOUP
Creamy Mushroom, Sausage & Wild Rice Soup
Creamy without being heavy, Golden Hour Soup is filled with mushrooms, savory Italian sausage, wild rice and fragrant herbs in a light Parmesan cream broth. Use everyday baby bellas or mix in your favorite seasonal mushrooms.Ingredients
- – ½ lb mild Italian sausage
- – 16 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced
- – 1 Tbsp olive oil if needed
- – 1 small yellow onion diced
- – 1 medium carrot diced small
- – 2 celery ribs diced small
- – 3 cloves garlic minced
- – 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp dried
- – ½ tsp dried rosemary crushed
- – ¼ tsp black pepper
- – ¼ tsp red pepper flakes optional
- – ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- – 5 cups chicken broth
- – 1 cup cooked wild rice
- – ¾ cup half-and-half
- – ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan plus more for serving
- – Salt to taste
- – Fresh parsley or thyme for serving
- – Small rosemary sprigs optional
Instructions
Brown the sausage.
- Cook sausage in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, breaking it into small crumbles. Once browned, transfer to a plate, leaving a little of the drippings behind.
Brown the mushrooms.
- Add mushrooms to the pot, adding olive oil if needed. Cook 5–7 minutes until they’ve released their moisture and begun to turn golden.
- Add the vegetables.
- Add onion, carrot and celery and cook 4–5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, rosemary, black pepper and optional red pepper flakes; cook about 30 seconds.
Make the broth.
- Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Slowly add chicken broth while stirring. Return sausage to the pot.
- Simmer.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the broth has lightly thickened.
Finish the soup.
- Stir in cooked wild rice, half-and-half and Parmesan. Heat gently for 3–5 minutes. Do not boil after adding the dairy. Taste and add salt as needed.
- Serve.
- Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan and fresh herbs. Serve with warm crusty bread.
Notes
Mix & Match Your Mushrooms: Use all baby bellas or combine them with shiitake, oyster, chanterelle or other mushrooms you enjoy. If using wild-foraged mushrooms, only use mushrooms that have been positively identified as edible. Change the Meat: Substitute ground chicken, turkey, hamburger, venison or elk for the sausage. You can also use about 1½ cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey; add already-cooked meat with the wild rice near the end. Make It Meatless: Omit the meat and increase the mushrooms to 20–24 ounces. Use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. Make It Richer: Replace the half-and-half with ¾ cup heavy cream. Wild Rice Shortcut: The 1 cup called for in the recipe is already cooked wild rice. Pre-cooked wild rice is a great time-saver and can simply be stirred into the soup near the end.
Follow Cash and Harmony into our Pacific Northwest autumn to fetch your Golden Hour Soup recipe card or other fun keepsake!
Explore the collection inspired by this illustration in the Dog in the Kitchen™ store.!!
