CELEBRATE EVERY SINGLE DAY

LUCAS CLARK VASQUEZ

'LUC'

February offers many reasons to celebrate, but our family has added another, and possibly our best to date. At the end of January I became a grandmother to the most beautiful baby in the world. By the time the dust settled, it was February and we were home loving this sweet baby. I've spent two weeks on the grandmother mountain top, and it's a breathtaking place to be.

Oh, yes, there was incredible joy and celebration when our children were born--joy that continues to this very day. But to see our daughter and her husband become 'Mama and Daddy' overnight exceeded anything I've ever experienced. Their caresses soothe the questions and wonder of this little fellow. His eyes strain to make sense, his toes beg to be kissed, and meanwhile the sound of his Mama's voice mesmerizes him; his Daddy speaking 'bebe nino' in his ear stills him and he feels safe and loved. He's beautiful, he's wonderful, and we are so blessed.

We have celebrated every single day, and we're just getting started. For Baby Lucas there was first his Mama's birthday, which he now shares—what a special coincidence. Then there was Groundhog's Day—we laughed at the sun, but now we're believing it was a serious prediction. Valentine's Day called for extra love and heart shaped cookies (I'm practicing for a couple of years down the road).

Coming up next we had a food lovers holiday. There's no better time for a culinary blowout than Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Before the fasting of Lent begins we overindulge and enjoy every carb and gram of fat in one big food celebration with no guilt. Lucas wasn't very interested, but we celebrated anyhow.

And then there was snow! His first snow and it was a good one--to quote a friend, here today, gone tomorrow. Becki claims he was trying to catch a snowflake in a yawn. My Mom saw this picture and wanted to know where his mittens were. I just wanted them to get the baby back in the house. It was a quick photo shoot--and the perfect time to wear his little snowsuit. Unfortunately, the little knitted suit we intended for him to wear home from the hospital will probably fit about mid-August. What was I thinking?

Food? Everything tastes good this month. As a matter of fact, EVERYTHING is good. Life is very, very good.

A couple of easy recipes we've enjoyed:

Jambalaya, Shrimp or Chicken

(6 servings)

1 T extra virgin olive oil

4 oz. Andouille Sausage, sliced into quarter inch rounds

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 tsp. Smoked paprika

1 (8oz.) box Jambalaya Mix (I used Zatarain's)

1 (15oz.) can petite diced tomatoes

16 oz. peeled and deveined large shrimp or 1 cooked deli chicken, bones and skin removed and meat shredded

Shredded Monterey jack and mild cheddar cheese as garnish

Add the olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat. Add the sliced sausage, onion, celery and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes. Add paprika and stir to combine.

Add contents of Jambalaya box, the can of tomatoes (don't drain) and two and one-half cups water. Bring to a nice simmer, cover and low simmer for 25 minutes, or as directed on the box.

If using shrimp, add to the rice mixture during the last six minutes of cooking.

If using chicken, add during last few minutes, just long enough to heat through.

I like the finished jambalaya to be loose, not as liquid as soup, but still loose. Add a little more water or chicken broth if needed.

I know that some frown on using cheese with any seafood, but this is delicious garnished with a nice serving of shredded cheese.

Serve in soup bowls or even mugs.

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Turkey-burger Pie

(Pre-Hamburger Helper!)

You can add extras, like sauteed onions and peppers, or change out chili beans for the black beans, chili seasoning for fajita seasoning and ground beef for ground turkey, but this is how we like it. If you don't have an iron skillet, use regular skillet to prepare turkey, seasoning and added cans of beans, corn and tomatoes. Then transfer to casserole dish and top with cheese and prepared cornbread mix.

2 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. Ground turkey

1 packet (1.12 oz.)Fajita seasoning (ie McCormick's)

1 can (15 oz.) seasoned black beans, drained

1 can (7 oz.) Mexican corn, drained (this is a Green Giant product, but you can use any canned corn)

1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes NOT drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or a mixture of your choice

1 box (8 oz.) cornbread mix, mixed according to package directions

Preheat oven to 425°.

Add olive oil to large iron skillet over medium heat. Add ground turkey and saute stirring occasionally until turkey loses its color. Add seasoning and give it a good stir. Add drained beans, corn, and full can of tomatoes and juice. Stir to combine and let it heat through while you mix cornbread.

Mix cornbread according to package directions.

Spread cheese evenly over tomato mixture in iron skillet. Top with prepared cornbread mix, spreading the mix evenly to edges of pan.

Place in oven and bake until cornbread is fully cooked, the time your cornbread mix recommends, usually about 25 minutes.

Fall Soups and a Sandwich

As much as I love to cook, there are times when I'd rather not. That's when I either call for takeout, or fall back on simple, quick meals that don't require much thinking or cleanup. Two of my easy favorites are soups-- Spicy Thai Kale and Chickpea Stew and Chicken Soup with Barley. The chicken soup can also serve as a good cold remedy if you add special hot sauce and some extra garlic. More good news: both these meals are healthy, filled with vegetables, and neither break the calorie bank. I think 'good and good for you' is how the saying goes.

Salads are never a bad addition to round out a dinner meal, but grilled cheese sandwiches are especially nice with soup. I love apple slices on my grilled cheese. I saute thin apple slices in a little Smart Balance just to soften. Layer the apples between pieces of your favorite cheese and good bread and grill until the cheese melts. The result is so good you could almost call it dessert.

The next time you don't feel like cooking, try one of these quick recipes. You'll hardly notice you're in the kitchen.

Thai Stew with Chick Peas and Kale

(8 servings)

2 tablespoons Smart Balance butter

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 inches of ginger, peeled and chopped

One-half teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

One-half teaspoon salt

One-half teaspoon pepper

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup lite coconut milk

One-third cup pad Thai sauce

2 cans (16 oz. each) chick peas, drained

1 bunch of Kale, triple washed, center stem removed and kale chopped

Add Smart Balance to large soup pot over medium heat with chopped onion and sweet potato. Stir and cook until onion begins to soften. Add garlic, ginger, and spices and stir and cook another minute or two. Now add chicken broth, coconut milk, and Thai sauce and bring to a simmer. When soup is bubbling add chick peas and kale, stir to combine, cover and simmer over low heat for 35 minutes.

Serve over cooked barley (or rice), garnished with cilantro and red pepper strips.

This is also delicious served with blue cheese crumbles on top!

Grilled Cheese with Softened Apples

Chicken Soup with Barley

(adapted from Martha Stewart)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 carrots, diced

4 celery stalks, diced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced (or more garlic if feeding a cold sufferer)

3 boneless chicken breasts cut into one-half to one inch pieces

Salt and pepper

6 cups chicken broth

5 thyme sprigs (remove stems after cooking)

1 cup quick cooking Barley

pinch of red pepper flakes

5 cups baby spinach leaves

Shredded Parmesan Cheese, optional

Mongolian Fire Oil, optional garnish (found in Asian food section) for cold sufferers

Add olive oil to large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add chicken, salt and pepper, stir to combine and cook another two minutes, until chicken is becoming opaque on outer edges.

Add broth, thyme, barley and pepper flakes. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through and barley is tender, about 10-12 minutes.

Add spinach, cover and cook another minute or two until spinach is wilted.

Adjust to taste with salt and pepper and serve with shredded Parmesan cheese and Mongolian Fire Oil, if desired.

Beaufort Clams

I've written before about my love for our new home-away-from-home. The friends we've made in this energetic community top my 'reasons why' list. Quickly following is the beauty of the area. No matter what time of year, it's a gorgeous place to be. Fighting for the number two spot is the food. There are so many good restaurants within walking distance of our house, not to mention frequent invitations to our neighbor's home just at the end of the street. Fred and Sue have given us such a good tutorial on the local fare. The other night we had clam chowder with cornmeal dumplings and fried cornbread (so I could try both). As I understand it, the cornmeal dumplings were cooked into everything with a broth, from beans to chowder, a generation or two ago.

My early exposure to seafood included fried catfish, occasionally grilled trout, and shrimp cocktail in a little glass jar found in the cold cut section of the grocery store. Oh, and fish sticks in the lunch room every Friday. Now, I can ride my bicycle to two fresh seafood markets. It's almost like heaven to me.

This week we enjoyed Clam Chowder with our neighbors, and then I made Beaufort Clam Soup with Cannellini Beans and Roasted Tomatoes. When the fresh, local clams are available, I can't help myself!

Beaufort Clam Soup with Cannellini Beans and Roasted Tomatoes (4 servings)

4 dozen fresh clams, cleaned (discard any clams that remain open)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cups chardonnay wine

1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained

1 can (15 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice

2 tablespoons fresh basil cut into a chiffonade

Add butter and olive oil to wide bottomed pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, cook until transparent (3-4 minutes) and then add garlic and cook for another minutes, stirring to combine. Add parsley, red pepper flakes and wine. When wine is heated to a simmer (you may need to increase heat a bit) add clams and cover pot. Let clams steam in wine for about 5 minutes, until they open. May take an extra minute or two. Discard any clams that do not open.

Remove clams to separate serving bowls and add beans and tomatoes to pan. Stir to combine and simmer for a few minutes. Sprinkle basil over clams. Then spoon hot soup mixture over clams and serve with crusty bread.

Collard Greens-Black-Eyed Peas-Country Ham-Cornbread

HAPPY 2011!

Our family traditions spill directly into the New Year. I'm just now realizing how comforting a lifetime of traditions can be. They are the glue for our widespread family. Even when circumstances keep us apart geographically, we know the drill. Some traditions are our own, some we share because of our Southern Heritage, and some we have picked up from new family and friends. No matter whether they're old or new, our traditions, along with lots of love, hold our family together.

For many, the New Year signals a rededication to healthy eating and living. We don't restrict our health consciousness to January. You can do that anytime of year—any day is good.

But we do begin the New Year with a traditional meal of collard greens, black eyes peas and ham, signifying money, luck and good health. I personally can't imagine not having this meal on January 1^st. I've changed it up a little, with Collard Greens and Ham Soup garnished by my version of Hoppin' John: black eyed peas combined with chow-chow. Add cornbread, cooked in my grandmother's old black cast iron skillet, and you have our traditional New Year's Day meal. It's OK if you don't eat it on January 1^st. As long as you consume during the month of January, you're giving yourself the chance for a year filled with prosperity, luck and good health.

Happy 2011!

New Year's Collard Greens and Country Ham Soup with Black Eyed Pea Chowchow

Having the 'pot likker (vitamin rich broth from cooking greens)' in the soup is a little like 'having your cake and eating it, too'. The pot likker was my grandmother's favorite part of a pot of greens.

1 T canola oil

1 sweet onion, diced

~10 oz. Country Ham trimmings (more lean than fat)

1 lb. Trimmed Winter Collard Greens (center stem removed, rolled and cut into strips)

One teaspoon tabasco, or more to taste

6 cups water

Salt to taste

1 tsp. Black pepper

pinch of Sugar

2 cups cooked white rice

2 cups cooked black eyed pea chowchow* for garnish

Add canola oil to large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onions with ham until onions are soft and translucent. Add collards, stirring to coat and wilt down. Add tabasco, water, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover pot with lid slightly ajar, and cook for about 2 hours.

Check seasoning, add cooked rice and serve with Black Eyed Pea Chowchow and cornbread.

*Black Eyed Pea Chowchow

1 tsp. Canola oil

2 strips bacon, diced

One-half sweet onion, diced

2 cups frozen black eyed peas

One and one-half cups water

1 tsp. Salt

One-half cup chowchow

Add canola oil to medium sized pot over medium heat. Add diced pieces of bacon and cook until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally. Add diced onion, and continue to cook until onions are soft and translucent. Now, add the black eyed peas and stir to coat with bacon drippings, then add water and salt. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover with lid ajar to simmer and cook until peas are tender, about 40 minutes.

Drain peas, onion and bacon (you can add the remaining cooking liquid to your Collard and Ham Soup.)

Combine pea mixture with chowchow and serve as a garnish to soup.

BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

(The buttermilk makes this a nice, moist cornbread.)

3 cups self-rising stone ground corn meal (ie House Autry Self-Rising Cornmeal)

1 T sugar

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

2 T canola oil

2 cups buttermilk

3 T butter for pan

Preheat oven to 425º. Add butter to 10 inch iron skillet and preheat in oven.

Stir cornmeal, sugar and salt together. Beat eggs and oil and add to cornmeal. Add buttermilk, stirring with a fork to mix well. Pour into hot skillet and bake for about 25 minutes, until top is beginning to brown.

Turkey--More than the main event!

The Main Ingredient that Keeps on Giving!

With the Thanksgiving Feast fast approaching, I cook with left-overs in mind, especially when there's lots of company and many more meals to come. Extra turkey for later is almost more important to me than the warm slices that will nestle against the dressing and cranberry sauce.

I cook an extra turkey breast to assure that everyone gets a turkey sandwich or two. That's one time I highly recommend white bread (specifically Pepperidge Farm House White): turkey, mayo (Dukes of course), lettuce and plenty of salt and pepper on really fresh white bread. I'm already there!

I'm a big turkey fan. I learned to do the carving long before I was actually doing the cooking. I can admit now that it was a selfish gesture. No one seemed very interested. We didn't do the dramatic carving at the table, so while Mama whipped the potatoes and kept the rolls from getting too brown on top, I sliced my way through the bird, which meant that I could also steal the very best bites of crispy skin that dislodged from the meat and would never make it to the table anyway! My very favorite part of the turkey!

I learned a lesson from those carving days. Now I want everyone to enjoy their favorite bite, so while the turkey rests, waiting to make its way to the table via carving board, I encourage those who are so inclined to snitch a little bite. It's our Thanksgiving 'amuse-bouche'!

I also take care of the entire bird while carving, right down to cleaning the bones. The tiny little pieces that fall apart or cling to a bone get stored in a ziplock bag and refrigerated. When the feast is over, I store the sandwich pieces in a separate ziplock, and all the extra little pieces left on the platter join their friends in the scrap bag. These little scraps are going to turn into two of my favorite post-feast turkey meals: Curried Holiday Turkey Salad and Turkey and Corn Chowder. Both of these recipes have such nice flavors, and are distinctly different from their origin. You don't really notice that you're eating leftovers.

There's no better place to count our blessings than around the Thanksgiving table. May yours be especially thankful and delicious this year.

Turkey and Corn Chowder

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 slices of lean bacon, diced

1 sweet onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 T butter

2-3 cups cooked turkey, diced (or chicken)

1 small can green chilies

1 teaspoon cumin (or more, to taste)

1 T hot sauce

One-half tsp. Salt

2 (~15oz.) cans white and yellow corn, drained (or fresh or frozen corn)

32 oz. chicken broth

2 cups half and half

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or your choice of a flavorful melting cheese)

Chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

Lime slices to garnish

Extra shredded cheese to garnish

Extra hot sauce to garnish

Pour olive oil into soup pot over medium heat. Add diced bacon and cook for a couple of minutes, then add diced onion and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Now add butter, and when melted add diced turkey and stir to combine. Next add green chilies, cumin, hot sauce and salt, along with corn and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and add half and half. Next, add cheese, and stir until melted and combined. Taste and adjust for salt and hotness.

Serve with chopped cilantro, lime slices, extra cheese and hot sauce as garnish.

The garnishes add great 'kicks' of flavor!

Curried Holiday Turkey Salad

Tip: for a really pretty presentation, cut the ends from croissants and fill with turkey salad. They look like little cornucopias.

1 cup dried cranberries

One-third cup orange juice (or wine, or apple juice)

7-8 cups chopped cooked turkey (light and dark meat)

1 cup quartered seedless grapes

1 cup toasted pecan halves, roughly chopped (want big pieces)--

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 T cider vinegar

2 T sugar

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Curry powder

1 cup mayonnaise

Add dried cranberries and orange juice to small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stir, remove from heat and let the cranberries plump while making the rest of the salad.

Add chopped turkey, grapes, pecans and celery to large mixing bowl. Gently toss to combine.

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, salt and curry powder. Then add to mayonnaise and thoroughly combine. Add more salt or curry to taste.

Pour dressing over turkey mixture.

Drain cranberries and add to mixture. Gently fold together until everything is well combined.

Store in refrigerator.

Big Soups-Big Flavor!

This post is featured in the Wild Table portion of the current Wild River Review! Thank you, Warren Bobrow!

http://www.wildriverreview.com/wildtable/?p=1415

Tuscan/Southern

Culinary

Conspiracy Theory

Since my first experience with traditional Italian food from the Chianti region, I've been quietly obsessed with the similarities between the recipes of my Southern background and these newly found treasures. There's much more to this than I can cover in one blog post, but to give you a good example, I'll begin with my Grandmother's Chicken and Dumplings.

Everyone thinks their mother, or grandmother had the best recipes for their favorite things. I know that, but in this particular case, I am absolutely sure Mama Nell's Chicken and Dumplings were the best in the whole world. She knew we loved them, so she made them often.

I liked playing with the dough and sneaking a bite of chicken. I wish I'd been paying more attention to exactly what she was doing, because try as I do, mine still aren't as good as hers, but I'm not giving up.

Mama Nell made what she called 'slick' dumplings. She made her dough, using cooled broth from the simmering chicken. And I can still see her bringing the dough together in a big bowl. I wish it had been a dough board, but it was just a regular glass bowl. And I also remember her spreading a piece of newspaper over the counter, taping it down, and rolling her dough on the paper after flouring it. I really don't know why, unless is had to do with drying the noodles a little before dropping them in the simmering broth, or maybe it made clean up easier. Whatever the reason, making slick dumplings is a part of my Southern heritage.

On the other hand, and completely unrelated in my mind, I had a real desire to take pasta classes and learn to make fresh pasta. No matter how many times I saw Mario Batali on the Food Network make the well of flour, and mix the eggs, I didn't make the connection until I actually went to Italy and was standing in the the kitchen of a wonderful Italian 'Mama' and we made pasta together on her kitchen table, and then it hit me: this is just exactly like making slick dumplings with Mama Nell. Well, it wasn't exactly. The ingredients were basically the same, but with different proportions. The kneading and rolling were much more intense making pasta, but it's a very similar process with a very similar result!

Chicken Stew with Pasta or Slick Dumplings
Step 1:
4 lb. whole chicken cut into pieces, including neck and giblets
2 celery stalks cut into large pieces
1 onion, quartered
2 carrots cut, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 sprigs of fresh sage
4 sprigs of fresh parsley
2 tsp. Sea salt
1 tsp. Freshly ground pepper

Place chicken pieces in soup pot and cover by two inches with water. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot leaving a little opening, and cook until meat is tender, about 30-40 minutes. Remove chicken to bowl and set aside to cool. Discard vegetables, giblets and neck. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard bones and skin. Roughly shred chicken.

Step 2:
Slick Dumplings* OR 16 oz. dried wide egg noodle pasta

Place chicken broth over medium-high heat. When it boils, reduce heat to simmer and add noodles or dumplings to pot. Cook as directed. (Add extra chicken broth**if needed.)

Step 3:
1 T butter
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 T all purpose flour
One-half cup whipping cream

Add butter and olive oil to medium sized pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onions, and saute until vegetables are tender. Add flour, stirring to combine, and cook for 2 minutes while continuing to stir. Add whipping cream, stir, and set aside until ready to add to soup pot.

Step 4:
When noodles are cooked, add shredded chicken and cooked vegetables with whipping cream back to pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about five-ten minutes until broth thickens a little.


*Slick Dumplings
2 eggs, beaten
3 oz. Broth, cooled
4 T cooking oil—a little less if using fatty broth
1 tsp. Salt
2 cups all purpose flour

Beat eggs, broth, oil, and salt together. Slowly add flour continuing to stir and mix until dough forms. Knead in bowl a couple of minutes and form smooth ball. Cover and refrigerate for one or two hours.

When ready to cook, remove dough from refrigerator and halve. Roll half the dough on lightly floured surface until thin. Cut into one inch strips, and then cut the strips into 4-5 inch pieces.

Now they are ready to drop into simmering broth. Allow to cook in simmering broth without stirring for about five minutes.



**Chicken Broth

When you roast chicken, save the bones or carcass, along with any pan drippings.
Place in soup pot, cover with water, add roughly chopped vegetables (carrots, onion, celery—or other vegetables you might have, but beware—think ahead about the flavors you might be adding to your broth). Also add any fresh herbs, sage is my favorite for chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer bones, pan drippings, vegetables and herbs for about 40 minutes. Cool and strain. Freeze broth and have it ready whenever you need extra chicken broth.

Cold Day--Warm Fire!

Perfect Day for Turkey Soup!

The freeze is on...and wouldn't you know that along with the sub 32 degree weather, the rhinovirus would strike. I was lucky to avoid it during the holidays. Now I have time to sit quietly with a cup of tea, my knitting and a box of kleenex. They say a week to ten days, and no matter what the treatment, I'll be back to my old self.

So my treatment of choice is rest in front of the fire, Turkey Soup and a glass of wine now and again!

After the official Christmas dinner I had a turkey breast with plenty of meat and flavor left clinging to the bones. I did what any soup loving person does and threw the leftovers, including the drippings I didn't use for gravy, into a zip lock bag and froze everything for another day. Maybe the smartest move I made during the entire holiday season, because today everything came out of the zip lock and went into a stock pot. I covered it all with water, and now it's smelling like dinner. I added a quartered onion, three smashed garlic cloves, a sprig of fresh sage, and a couple of thyme pieces with some salt and pepper. The stock pot will simmer for about an hour, partially covered.

Meanwhile, in pot number two, I added one tablespoon butter, one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, one medium sweet onion, chopped, three celery stalks, chopped, about a cup of chopped carrots, and two more garlic cloves minced. This only needs to cook until the vegetables are tender.

After the turkey breast leftovers have simmered for about an hour, I'll pull the bones out and set them aside to cool. The quartered onion, smashed garlic and herb sprigs should be discarded.

When it's cool, I'll remove the meat from the bones and add it back to the stock pot, finally discarding bones.

Sauteed vegetables will go in the stock pot with salt and pepper added to taste.

Voila! Turkey Soup! Add cooked rice or pasta before serving, and a healthy dash of Mongolian Fire Oil for a kick. Grated cheese and chopped parsley make a nice garnish.

This soup may not cure the rhinovirus immediately, but I think I feel better already!

Creamy Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup with Parmesan Cheese Garnish

Julia Child has definitely been at the center of my cooking interest for the past couple of months. It's hard not to be drawn into the aura of Julia. The first recipe in her Mastering the Art of French Cooking is for Potage Parmentier, Potato and Leek Soup. It didn't sound terribly exciting. But then I accidently stumbled onto a food blog (www.thehungrymouse.com) that focuses on guiding you through recipes with visual images. One of the currently featured recipes on this blog is her take on Julia's classic, and the photographs to lead you through the preparation. By the time I made it to the bottom of the pictorial, my mouth was watering for the soup. It didn't hurt that the weather had suddenly turned cold, and soup was my top choice for dinner. Plus, the ingredient list is quite short, and I don't think there could be an easier soup recipe.

So, here is my take on a combination of Julia's recipe, and The Hungry Mouse version, plus a few pictures to entice you.

Visit The Hungry Mouse, and have a look. I can't wait to try the cheesecake recipe!

And, by the way, this soup is truly delicious.

Creamy Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup with Parmesan Cheese Garnish

2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 slices of thick bacon, cut in half longwise, and then diced

3 cups sliced leeks, one-fourth inch rings (white part of 2-3 leeks)

3 cups white potatoes that have been peeled and diced (last joint of ring finger size)

7 cups water

1 T sea salt

2 tsp. Dried minced Thyme, or 1 T fresh Thyme leaves, minced

One-fourth tsp. Pepper

3 T butter

One-half cup heavy cream

1 T Cognac for each bowl, optional

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded, for garnish

Add the olive oil to your soup pot over medium heat. Then add the diced bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned.

Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels to drain.

Remove most of the bacon drippings from the pot and discard, leaving about a tablespoon in the pot.

Add the leeks, stirring to coat, and cook for several minutes.

Then add potatoes, stir to combine.

Add water, salt and thyme.

Bring pot to a boil, cover with lid slightly ajar, reduce heat and cook at a low simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove soup from heat, and with a stick blender, puree soup.

Return soup to low heat.

Add pepper, butter and cream to soup and stir until heated through.

Place about one tablespoon of cognac in the bottom of each soup bowl.

Ladle soup into bowl.

Garnish with crisp bacon, a little parsley, and shreds of Parmesan cheese.

Bon Appetit!