Cream Of Shiitake Mushroom Soup

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.