Creamy Wild Rice Soup

I pinned this recipe a few weeks ago and I intended to leave it until we had turkey leftovers, but when we had just enough rotisserie chicken leftover, I knew I had to try it out.  It did not disappoint!  I have been experimenting, with great success, using canned coconut milk and a cornstarch based thickener when savory recipes call for heavy cream.  It has been very very successful.

I adapted this easy crockpot recipe from Pinterest, it originally came from Taste of Home.

Ingredients
8-10 cups turkey or chicken stock, divided
8 oz. uncooked wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chicken soup base
4 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
4 Tablespoons Cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup of cold water
1 Can of Coconut milk-stirred well! I ended up using about 3/4 of the can
2 cups diced cooked turkey or diced chicken
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or one tablespoon dried parsley flakes)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
    Add eight cups of stock and the uncooked wild rice to a crock pot set to high. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and sauté onion, celery and carrots until onion is transparent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 1 minute and stir consistently making sure not to burn the garlic.  Season with the black pepper and salt, and add the sautéed veggies to the crock pot.
     Stir in the chicken soup base. Cook on high for 3-4 hours (or on low for 6-8 hours) until the wild rice and veggies are tender.
    In a small saucepan melt the butter and add about 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk in cornstarch and water mixture, and cook for a minute or two. At this point you will have a thick and creamy rue.  Gradually add the coconut milk, whisking constantly. When it is all incorporated and completely smooth, add the white sauce to the crock pot and stir to combine.
     Add the turkey/chicken and the parsley (and perhaps another cup of stock if you prefer a thinner soup), and cook on high for another 15-20 minutes until heated through.  
   I like my wild rice soup thick and creamy so I actually skipped the extra broth, waited about 15 minutes and added another round of cornstarch dissolved in water to the crock.  I then cooked it another 10 minutes and served.  It was delicious!