Wookiee Hut Cuisine presents: Frodo's Favorite Mushroom Soup by GilArda This recipe was discovered in a much-worn journal apparently carried by Samwise Gamgee during the journey of the Fellowship of the Ring. Before the hobbits even left the Shire, they took a shortcut cross-country and ended up on Farmer Maggot's property. Frodo had been terrified of him for years after an incident during his childhood involving misappropriating Farmer Maggot's mushroom crop. All turned out well and Maggot helped Frodo and his friends reach the Brandywine Bridge undetected by the Black Riders. He even gave Frodo a huge basket of fresh mushrooms as a parting gift. What was not mentioned however, was the supply of dried mushrooms that he gave Sam, telling him "These will keep a long time on your travels. Mark me, you'll be glad of them." As the journey continued into deeper and deeper peril, these dried mushrooms came to be as precious to Sam, the designated camp cook, as his supply of salt. He added them to stews and soups to flavor and earned him high praise from hobbit, human, dwarf, wizard, and elf alike. But what meant the most to him was the look on Frodo's face when he served up this soup to the Fellowship. He knew Frodo was heartsick at leaving the Shire behind on this quest, but the soup was a little taste of home in the wilderness. 2-3 oz dried porcini mushrooms 2 cups water to rehydrate mushrooms 2 medium onions, chopped 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 cups beef stock 1 cup water 1 tablespoons Vegeta soup seasoning ˝ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground 1 cup instant barley Put the dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover with 2 cups lukewarm water to rehydrate for 20 minutes. Do not discard the liquid. Place the oil into a soup pot and sauté the onions till translucent. Drain the mushrooms, but save the liquid. Put the mushrooms into the pot and stir. Strain the mushroom liquor to remove any impurities, then add to the pot. Add the beef stock, the additional water, Vegeta soup seasoning, and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in the instant barley and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes approximately 6 servings. Disclaimer: All content is made up, and no profit or lucre is expected, solicited, advocated or paid. This is all just for fun. Any comments, please e-mail the author or WOOKIEEhut directly. Flames will be ignored. Characters and situations are based on those which are the property of their respective original owners and developers. This story may not be posted anywhere without the author's knowledge, consent, and permission. This recipe is provided "as is," and neither Wookieehut nor any person associated with the website is responsible for any success or failure of the recipe, nor any implied effects. If there are questions, please email the author.