A Precious Food Memory.... Potato Soup

Potato Leek Soup is on the menu for us tonight.  

It is a nourishing comforting meal for me.  

When I was a child, my father would make potato soup for us.  I remember that he would make it for us after a period of illness.  The first thing I would eat once my appetite would return would be potato soup on many occasions.  It is something I still crave when I have been sick in bed without an appetite for a few days.  

I remember my first year of marriage to Dan.  I was finishing up my degree in education with my student teacher semester and we were nearing the end of the semester before Christmas.  I became quite ill and was diagnosed with pneumonia and sent to bed for about two weeks.  At one point I could not even sit up without throwing up.  I did not eat for days because I just could not.  You know you are loved when someone holds your hair, keeps cold washrags ready for the back of your neck and forehead and fusses over you for weeks at a time.  Not every man is willing...  

My precious husband was at his wit's end on how to help me.  He got me to the doctor and got the medications that the doctor prescribed and put me straight to bed.  He brought chicken broth, Gatorade, water, ginger ale... anything I could keep down to get more liquids in me.  

Once the fever finally broke and I was able to sit up for a little bit at a time I began to eat a few bites of toast here and there.  My husband knew that my appetite was returning and in an attempt to find out what he should get for me once that happened he called my father to ask.... "What do I feed her once her appetite returns?"  Without missing a beat my dad told him to make potato soup and then proceeded to tell him how to do it.  

He came in, sat me up and propped my pillows behind me.  He went back out of the room noting he would be right back and then proceeded to bring in a bowl of that soup.  I was completely baffled that he made soup and had to ask what happened.  He told me about the phone call and then sat in the chair beside the bed while I started eating.  I had that soup over the next two or three days and savored every bit of it.  It restored strength to my body and spirit quickly.  I cannot, to this day, eat a bowl of potato soup that I do not think about the two most important men in my life.... my Daddy and my Danny.  

Here is the link to the recipe we will share tonight... perfect timing with all the sniffles and coughing going on around here in the last week.  Even allergy season deserves Potage Parmentier

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Potage Parmentier (Potato Leek Soup)

A recipe I spent some time teaching my daughter today was Julia Child's Potage Parmentier.  It is not a hard recipe but it takes a little time because you peel potatoes, cook them until they are soft and then puree everything before finishing.  It is about a 2 hour process but you wait a lot in the between time so you could read a chapter or two in a favorite book while you wait.  LOL  Here are the results...

First... the recipe... you can find it here.

 The first steps of the process are to peel and quarter potatoes.  It is preferable to make this with the standard Russet Potatoes.  This makes for the best texture I think.

Then you want to cut up your leeks and soak them to get rid of any dirt that gathers in the folds of the plant.

Place the potatoes and leeks in a big pot and fill with water to just covering everything.

When cooking potatoes in water on the stove you do not want to boil them.  You want to simmer them over a lower fire until they are soft enough to pierce with a fork to break them up.

Once everything is cooked and softened you will want to run it through a blender to puree or through a food mill or use an immersion blender to make it smooth.

Once the soup is pureed you are ready to season

salt/pepper

chives or parsley of some kind

butter and cream

A Soupy Month Ahead....

I LOVE soups.... love love LOVE them!!!  I am making a plan to have lots more this month and will share all the soupy goodness with you along the way.  :)  I am planning on using some seasonal things..... mushrooms, pumpkins and squashes, beans and lentils, some heartier items that I have been wanting to try but it has just been too warm until now, etc....

Stay tuned for my SOUP ADVENTURES!

Clean out the fridge Pasta e Fagioli...

Some friends and I were discussing the Pasta e Fagioli from Olive Garden yesterday and so I got a "hankerin'" for it. I came home and scoured my pantry and fridge for stuff to make it and had almost everything.  The beans are the "non" authentic item in the mix.  I had to use my bean mix that I made up for vegetarian chili this weekend but it was still delicious!!! 

It is not a hard soup to make and it is hearty and nourishing with just a few specific ingredients you can whip up a pot in no time.  

I chopped up...

*   an onion

*   a shallot (had no garlic in the house which is weird)

*  three zucchini

*   four carrots

I set them aside while I browned a pound of ground beef but you can use turkey or sausage... whatever you like.  I had ground beef in the fridge that needed to be used so that is what I went with today.  If you want it vegetarian then just leave the meat out.  It is quite delicious that way, too.

I drained the beef and I tend to rinse it, too... it takes all the fat off and makes a much leaner soup.

I put the meat back in the pot and seasoned it with oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder and added a little olive oil but not tons.

Then I added the veggies and beans (about 2 cups or as much as you like) into the meat and cooked them until they started to soften a bit.

Once they were softened I added two large cans (28 ounces each) of small diced tomatoes and then filled the cans up once each with water to add, too.  I wound up having to add more water before putting the pasta in.

I added about 2 cups of cleaned spinach with stems removed and then two pounds of pasta.  You could choose to substitute a rice pasta if you want gluten free.  That would work great!  :)

Once you serve it up...

don't forget to top it with Parmesan.  You can also add some basil or parsley.

Once it is done you season it to taste.  I don't tend to over salt due to my husband's high blood pressure. 

Note... this recipe makes a sizable pot of soup so you might want to cut it in half or fourth if you are not serving a small army like I do each night.  LOL  

Enjoy!!!

Potage Parmentier.... (Potato Soup)

Told ya I would share with you... this is FABULOUS!!!
It is the first recipe in the book and one that Julie Powell talks about in her book, too.

The page

The soup...

OH.MY.YUM!!! The kids were in HEAVEN!!!!!

Halfway through my bowl I just had to show you another shot....
you MUST make this!!!
It is so simple and yet so nourishing!!!!!

Chunky Lentil Soup...

I recently purchased this book...


by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks fame

and these French Lentils...


So I made this today...

and it is so healing and wonderful!!!


I also had these little rolls...


Which I made while I was making our bread for the weekend. :)

Have a great weekend! :)

Oh, here is the basic recipe but I substituted carrots for the squash and I used the chunkier tomatoes instead of the pureed ones 'cause I just like them.
Makes 5 servings
1 1/4 cup dry lentils
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cups butternut squash, cut up into tiny (1/4th inch) dice
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sea salt
pinch of chile powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
parmesan cheese for topping
1. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil then add the lentils and simmer for about 25 minutes or until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil and saute the onion until soft, about 4 minutes or so. Stir in the squash, tomatoes and broth and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the squash is tender.
3. Add the lentils and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, chile powder and cayenne pepper to taste.
4. Serve with a tsp of grated parmesan cheese on each bowl.
346 calories, 10 grams fat per serving.

It's soup!!!

I had soup at a friend's home yesterday and it inspired me to do my own version tonight. Basically what I did...

Mirepoix (1/2 onion, 1/4 carrot, 1/4 celery - these are not measurements in cups but rather a formula for mirepoix like 2:1:1 - so if you have 1 cup onion then you have 1/2 cup carrot and 1/2 cup celery and so forth)
Chopped sweet potato (5 small peeled and diced)
Chopped zucchini (2 diced)
Chopped acorn squash (1 peeled and diced)
salt and pepper to taste
nutmeg pinch
curry powder to taste
Garbanzo beans (about three cups)
1 small box frozen spinach
Vegetable Broth (32 ounce box)
Water (about 8 cups or so)
Can of diced tomatoes (large can)
2 cups uncooked barley

Saute' all vegetables in olive oil. Add precooked garbanzo beans. Add broth, water, tomatoes, spinach and bring up to boiling. Add the barley and cook until plumped and ready. Serve with cornbread, herb bread or crackers. I think I might be making a carrot and herb bread tomorrow to enjoy with it for lunch. YUM!!!

I made a rather large batch. It fed 6 easily and we have lots of left over for tomorrow for lunch.

Corn & Green Chile Chowder (vegetarian style)

The original corn chowder recipe from chefs.com is here. I modified it to our southwestern tastebuds...

I added some of my Hatch Chiles and YUMMO!!!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutesServes: 14

Ingredients

2 lbs. white new potatoes, cut into cubes

1 bay leaf

3 Tbsps. unsalted butter

3/4 lb. onions\cooked, finely chopped

3 Serrano chiles\roasted, peeled and roughly chopped

3 Tbsps. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. Sage or cumin

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 cup vegetable broth

2 cups milk

1 lb. frozen corn, or kernels from 3 ears of corn

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

add salt to taste

Instructions

Cook potatoes with bay leaf in 4 cups boiling water until just tender. Remove from heat. Drain and reserve cooking liquid. Melt butter in a heavy nonstick pan over medium heat. Add next 2 ingredients and cook 10 minutes, stirring, or until onion is soft. Remove from heat. Add flour, sage and pepper, plus a little of the potato water, and stir until well mixed. Stir in the potatoes and remaining potato water and vegetable broth, milk and corn. Return to heat and stir until soup is thickened and hot. Pour into individual serving bowls and sprinkle with cilantro.

Here is the finished product...

Corn and Green Chili Chowder

Corn and Green Chili Chowder

5 large boiled or baked potatoes peeled and cut into cubes

½ a large onion

3 large Serrano or Hatch chilies (we buy these in season locally - they are shipped in and we buy 50lb bags and have them roasted and then freeze them - that are DABOMB!!!)

2 cups frozen corn thawed or two cans sweet corn drained

5 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

4 cups half and half or whole milk - the skimmer the milk the more thin it will be

2 Tbsp. Flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by browning onion, chilies, corn and bacon together in stew pot. Add cubed potatoes and toss over heat for about a minute or so. Use potato masher and mash all ingredients in stew pot until chunky. Add flour and stir into mixture. Add milk and bring to a boil slowly. You can add water to thin as you need to and add salt and pepper to taste. I serve this with Mexican Cornbread or a quiche.

~Leann's Lentil and Leek Soup~

My latest concoction... good for vegetarians! ;)

~Leann's Lentil and Leek Soup~

1/2 pound dry lentils
8 cups rich chicken broth or vegetable stock (preferably home made)
1/4 cup peanut oil or coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaf
1/4 - 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 cups chopped, trimmed and well-washed leeks (white parts only, with about 2 inches of green)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

4-5 button mushrooms cut up to saute (about 1 cup)

Bring chicken or vegetable stock to a boil and then add the dry lentils. Turn heat off and let them sit for about 15 minutes. While they are sitting you can add the oil to a wok or saute pan and heat it. Add leeks, garlic, ginger and mushrooms to oil and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add seasonings (thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper) to veggies. Add the sauteed veggies to the lentils and broth and bring to a boil again. You can add the Tabasco sauce to individual bowls if not everyone wants it or add to pot. This is a very chunky and filling soup. Serve with bread of choice and salad, sandwiches or wraps. This is so very yummy!!!

Yellow Split Pea and Carrot Soup with Cilantro Yogurt

Yellow Split Pea and Carrot Soup with Cilantro Yogurt

1 cup yellow or orange split peas, about 6 ounces 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped 5 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup yogurt 1/4 cup cilantro chopped 8 cilantro sprigs Pick over the split peas and discard any damages peas or stones. Rinse the peas and drain. In a soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions, cumin seeds and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, 10 minutes. Add the stock and split peas, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the split peas are completely soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat. Let cool for 30 minutes. Working in small batches, puree the soup in a blender on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes per batch. Thin with water or stock if the soup is too thick. Return the soup to a clean pan. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, reheat the soup gently. In the meantime, place the yogurt and cilantro in a bowl. Stir together. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with the yogurt and serve immediately. CBS - Joanne Weir Chef on a Shoestring