Mushroom Soup (no cream)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 1/2 hours + 15 minutes
Serves 4 if you have small bowls

1 1/2 to 2 pounds mushrooms
--note that you can use white button, large white, bella, shitake, etc. I personally used approximately a 4:1 ratio of large white to bella to shitake.
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
One half onion (white or yellow, not sliced or chopped)
4 stalks of celery with leaves
3-5 peppercorns (uncracked)
Salt to taste
Garnish with fresh finely chopped parsley or dry parsley flakes

Place the onion, celery, and peppercorns in the pot with the liquid. Bring to a boil.
Add one pound of the mushrooms. Bring to boil again, then let simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 hours.

After the simmer period, strain the contents of the pot* and return the liquid to the pot.
Add remaining mushrooms and boil for another 10-15 minutes, until mushrooms are slightly cooked.
Salt to taste before serving (with parsley garnish if preferred.).
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When making this, I discovered that the shitake mushroom stems became extremely chewy and it is not recommended to use those.

Also, if you like having "chewables" in your soup, you'll want to use more mushrooms during the second cooking step. Note that they will reduce down as they cook and it won't look like there's much in there at all.

Also
* Most recipes would say "discard mushrooms/onions/celery". I saved them. I plan on either blending these and use in a stew or just saute with a little butter and serve over porkchops later this week.