You probably need to right now. I know I did. After over a week of lovely guests to my home, one concert, three holiday parties and the completion of an intensive holiday embroidery contract all on top of working through my second last week of retail my brain is flat out zonked. This evening I was planning to get to work on my last holiday crafting contract (hooray people are still interested in hand knit garments!!!) buuut I found myself too exhausted to focus on work and too restless to nap with the cats. So I turned to my two favourite activities for problem solving: wandering and cooking. Both wandering and cooking seem to help me sort my thoughts and energize my body. It makes sense activity + nourishment ='s yes I can complete the revised pattern tomorrow before I go to work!
What I wanted to share with you tonight is a recipe. As food is one of those lovely places where art and craft unite I thought this post would be appropriate. This is a simple, simple, simple recipe. I first experienced a version of it when I was a fourteen year old hostess in a restaurant in my home town. It was a great job that started me on my long journey in the food industry where, by accident, I wriggled my way up from hostess, to waitress, to bartender, to cook, to finally assistant kitchen manager! I could have stayed in food too...... But I didn't, I chose to finish university, and chose to live a bouncy life in many fields.
The ever healing soup du jour is a rendition of Leek and Potato.
Ingredients:
2 cups of just larger than bite sized potato bits that have been roasted in the oven till golden
*please roast these in oil and salt
1 Bunch of Leeks- thinly sliced and well rinsed
1 bit of garlic- minced
1/4 c of butter (please use butter unless you are allergic or vegan- then use a cooking oil at 2.5 tbsp)
1.5 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp ground black pepper-I love pepper if you do not then only use a little to taste
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tamari sauce
1/4 c of fresh thyme rinsed and picked- don't chop it though the leafy appeal is nice.
6 cups of water
1 package of organic instant Mashed Potatoes- while this sounds a bit lazy it is actually amazy!
Ohkeh now with all that you do the following:
1-Sautee the leeks in the butter until they soften(8-10 minutes on medium heat), then add the garlic sautee for 5 more minutes.
2- add 2 cups of water, the salt, pepper and the thyme bring up to an even heat before adding the rest of the water.
3- once the rest of the water is added you may put in your pre-roasted potatoes.
4- once this is all consistently warmed up add in 1/2- 3/4 of the package of instant mashed potatoes, stirr it in with a fork. Then put in the worcestershire and the tamari.
5- Let simmer on medium for the length of time it takes you to read a few interesting things via twitter.
6- take off of heat and allow some time to cool.
7- dish it out into your favourite bowl or cup, top with uncooked thyme.
8- eat and smile.
Now this is a hearty version, if you think you may be serving delicate (babies/very old/very wealthy) people you may want to follow your cooking by pureeing the soup so that it is smooth.
My suggested friends for this soup are : green beans with almonds, frisee and kale salad with shredded beets, little airy pouffy crackers, and a fireplace, bonfire, blanket or cat.
yep, it was delish!
ps. I am not a foodie I simply am familiar with eating because I like to eat most days and I really like the idea of the rest of the world doing so as well. Please do yourself a favor over the busy holiday season and make some kind of soup to slow down with- it does a world of good.
goodnight.
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