Cream of Mushroom Chicken Soup

I've been trying to experiment with more dehydrated meals lately and I am particularly excited about this one. It turned out really good and I packed SO many vegetables into it. I've been contemplating a lot lately how we in the civilized world have ended up eating just a few vegetables over and over again. Carrots, onions, celery. Carrots, celery, onion. Onion, celery, carrots. But there are so many other foods out there and each one offers a unique energy for your body to use. So in this meal, I tried to use a wide variety of vegetables. Ideally they would be from the wild because there is so much more energy to be drawn from wild places than from a cultivated garden or farm, but this is what I had available. I used two different types of mushrooms, onions AND leeks, cauliflower, garlic, kale, peas, and sweet potato. I think all the different ingredients also give it a much more complex flavor, something that is essential (and often lacking) in backcountry foods.

1 TB cooking fat (I think I used lard)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
2 cups crimini mushrooms, chopped
2 large white sweet potatoes, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
2 quarts chicken broth

1 TB cooking fat
1 large leek, diced
2 large portobello mushrooms, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB dried rosemary
1 TB dried thyme
1.5 lb. ground chicken

1 bunch kale, chopped
1 bag frozen peas

In a large soup pot, heat the cooking fat over medium heat. Add onion, cauliflower, crimini mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and sea salt. Stir to coat with the cooking fat, and cook until veggies begin to get tender.
Add chicken broth to the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer veggies in the broth until they are very soft.
Remove pot from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of cooking fat in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add leek and portobello mushrooms and sauté until veggies are tender. Add the garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Stir for about a minute to release the fragrance, then add ground chicken. Break up the chicken into small pieces with a wooden spoon and cook until chicken is cooked through.
Once broth and veggie mixture is cool, run it in small batches through the blender to puree (I like to put a towel on top of the blender and hold down to make sure splatters are kept to a minimum).

Add the blended broth mixture to the cooked leeks, mushrooms, and chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let simmer about 20 minutes.
Towards the end of the cooking time, add the kale and frozen peas. Stir to incorporate and cook until kale is wilted and peas are thawed.
Remove pot from heat and let cool.

Dehydrating & rehydrating directions found here.