Meaty Mushroom Bisque

Been awhile since I posted recipes here – mostly as I was experimenting and the results were less then stellar.  But I had another out-of-the park experience by fusing a few recipes together: Meaty Mushroom Bisque.

I saw a mushroom soup recipe, but don’t like things loaded with salty vegetable broth, and as I had a portobella recpie that made mushrooms taste meaty, and found a potato made things creamy (without using fatty cream), I kitbashed the first recipe, the second recipe, and a veggie broth herb mix substitute I’ve been trying (basically oregano, basil, sage, dill, thyme, marjoram, garlic, and onion make a good broth substitute)

  • 2 Tbsp Spread/Butter substitute
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
  • 1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, mixed
  • 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp dried basil
  • 2 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 large potato, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp dill weed
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp sage
  • 1/4 tsp ground marjoram
  1. Saute onions in butter/spread until they soften and brown a bit (5-7 min)
  2. Add garlic, mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, and soy sauce.  Saute until the mushrooms soften.  This is usually 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add all else, stir.
  4. Lower heat and bring to a simmer.  Cover. Stir every few minutes.
  5. When everything is softened (about 20-30 minutes).  Remove from heat.
  6. Let cool, somewhat, then puree in blender or with immersion blender.
  7. Reheat.  Serve.

Makes 4 large main-course servings or 6-8 side servings.

Read more

The Official Marvel Universe Handbook Reduxe

A brilliant artistic experiment: re-envisioning characters in the Marvel Handbooks.

I have a fondness for the old Marvel Handbooks, those giant gatherings of Marvel info and profiles..  I’m a worldbuilder and I delight in detail, profiles, stats, and more.  They’re also historical, noting obscure characters and little-remembered events in Marvel’s convoluted history.

The re-envisioning idea is brilliant, and covers far more obscure characters than many remember.  A worthy effort, we’ll worth glancing through.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

And My Gaming Confessional Is Here

Yes, over at Fan To Pro I admit I have no idea WTF is going on with gaming careers, and I’m not doing so hot on gaming itself.  CES and a few other things blew my mind.

Honestly, it’s insane out there.  In fact I think the probably big company/small company split is going to make it harder for people to break into gaming – at least more confusing.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.