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In a saucepan, combine wild rice and water. Bring to a boil, stir once, and cover. Reduce heat to low and let cook about 35 minutes (I usually start this before I chop any vegetables).
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Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until celery and carrots are no longer crunchy (I loathe crunchy carrots and celery in my soup). Add the corn and mushrooms and sauté 3-4 minutes more.
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Add flour and stir well, until vegetables are well coated. Pour in the vegetable broth, stirring until everything is well-combined and there are no lumps of flour. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. It should thicken up slightly.
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Add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, ground black pepper and almonds. If you're using homemade or low-sodium broth, you may want to add more salt (mine always needs another tsp at least).
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Pour in the half-and-half. Let the soup gently simmer for at least 10 minutes and as long as 90 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until quite thick.
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Serve hot. Preferably with biscuits.