simple cream of mushroom soup with fresh herbs

add 1 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter to a large soup pot and turn on to medium heat.while pot is heating up finely dice the onion, then add to pot.roughly chop the crimini mushrooms while the onions sauté.add crimini mushrooms and increase the heat to medium high, stirring to combine ingredients.while they cook fine dice the portobello mushrooms (after cutting horizontally once and perpendicularly once you may want to pass your knife through the pile once or twice more to get a smaller size since these mushrooms tend to be quite thick).add portobello mushrooms to the pot with the onions and crimini's and stir, continuing to cook for about another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until you can see that most of the water from the mushrooms has been released and evaporated. taking this step ensures that your flavors get nice and concentrated.reduce heat to medium, add the other tbs of butter along with the 3 tablespoons of flour.stir and cook roux for about 1 or 2 minutes. the mushroom and onion mixture will get pretty thick and the brown crust on the bottom of your pan will increase.add the chicken stock and thyme, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pot (hello yummy flavor booster!)increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes.if using fresh thyme remove the sprig of thyme, reduce heat to low, and add the heavy cream, stirring to combine.take out and blend about 1½ cups of soup and return to the pot.stir in fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper.serve with hot sauce on the side if desired.