| 1 | *one oz. = 2/3 cup. |
| 2 | Suggested mushrooms are cepes, porcini, steinpilze or boletes marketed as "chilean dried mushrooms." combine mushrooms in a bowl with 4 cups very warm water. |
| 3 | Push them under the surface, weight them with a saucer, and let them soak overnight or for at least 6 hours, until they are very soft. |
| 4 | Stir them occasionally. |
| 5 | Lift mushrooms from the liquid with a slotted spoon (save the liquid) and chop them fine, saving as much juice as possible. |
| 6 | Combine them with the remaining 2 cups water in a saucepan, bring them to a simmer, and simmer them, covered, for 20 minutes. |
| 7 | Meanwhile, to clear the soaking liquid of grit, pour it carefully into a bowl, leaving behind the sediment - this is certain to be sandy. |
| 8 | Let the liquid settle again and again pour it off; repeat, if necessary, to be sure any grit has been left behind. |
| 9 | Pour the simmered mushrooms and their liquid into a sieve set over a bowl and lined with fine nylon net or two layers of dampened cheesecloth. |
| 10 | Press hard on the mushrooms to extract all possible liquid; discard the debris. |
| 11 | Let this second batch of liquid settle, then decant it as described for the soaking liquid; repeat if necessary. |
| 12 | Combine the two batches of liquid with the shallots, peppercorns, mace and bay leaf in a saucepan. |
| 13 | Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer it briskly, uncovered, until it has reduced to 2 cups. |
| 14 | Strain out the solids and let the concentrated liquid settle for one last time - we"re still on the track of any sand that may remain. |
| 15 | Decant the cooled essence, then freeze it in an ice-cube tray. |
| 16 | Remove the cubes from the tray and store them in an airtight freezer container. |
| 17 | Keeps for up to a year in the freezer. |
| 18 | Yield: 16 cubes, about 2 tb. each. |
| 19 | Helen witty, "fancy pantry" |
