An owl ode to Elizabeth

When we ate at Elizabeth Restaurant in Chicago, described in this post, we were served a mushroom tea in the cutest owl mug.

Once home, I found these mugs online, available on Amazon. (How did we buy things before Amazon?) I ordered the tea set version, with a tea pot and two tea cups.

For its first use, I made a strong mushroom broth, served in the tea pot and poured into the cups: an ode to Elizabeth.

Mushroom broth is easy. Save your mushroom trimmings in the freezer until you have a large container. When ready to make the broth, put the mushroom trimmings in a small pot and cover with water. Add a bit of salt as well, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. I usually let the broth cool before straining it, particularly since I usually make it in advance.

If you don't want to drink it straight, mushroom broth is great to use for many things, including risotto.