Getting Cozy (Not Complacent)

Pumpkin was kind enough to stroke my ego last week with a short list of recipe requests, and I was tickled that someone else had noticed that Soup Season has begun. My only complaint about summer is that it precludes all manner of my chowder recipes. And I luuuuurrve chowders. In these parts of the world, we only get about four months of cold weather, and two of those months would be laughable to anyone who lives 100 miles or so north of us. I'm more of a South Florida kind of person as a general rule, but very few things can make me feel as cozy and comforted as a big pot of soup simmering on the stove.

I experimented with some different soup recipes last winter, but was often frustrated by how seemingly few options are available to those who eschew meat in their diets. To add to the issues, The Carnivore is rarely impressed by tomato-based vegetable stews. Our options were dwindling.

I have one great Italian Vegetable Soup recipe that can be enjoyed year-round (yes, even in summer - though possibly not in South Florida), along with a great onion soup. For the winter, I save my small handful of chilis, New England style chowders, and bean soups. But my problem is that I crave variety. And ease of work. Two often very conflicting criteria. Plus, the more Vegetarian-ish a soup is, the more The Carnivore sighs heavily and asks me if I can go by the store to pick him up some meat.

A week or so ago, while Odd Toddler and I were snuggling under an afghan in our pajamas, watching Lord of the Rings for the seven hundredth time, my annual soup cravings started again. Sadly, there were no memorable recipes from last winter, so I kicked the soup idea around in my head for a few days before running into a time crunch while making the menu and grocery list for last week. I grabbed a couple of past issues of Cooking Light on my way out the door and reached for the recipes I'd marked to try, hoping something would strike my fancy on the fly. Lucky me, there was a Leek and Potato Chowder in the Reader Recipes section that sounded worthwhile, and called for an intriguing list of ingredients.

I was excited to make the soup on Friday night, and asked The Carnivore to stop by the store and pick up some French bread on his way home. Alas, I made it almost to the end of the recipe before realizing the arugula in the crisper drawer had died a sad and science-project-like death. I stood in despair by the stove for a few minutes before admitting defeat and starting over on a completely new dinner. The unfinished soup was set aside and refrigerated overnight to be completed on Saturday.

Saturday came, along with yet another trip to the store (the only store in this whole dang town who actually carries arugula, and I was finally ready to finish the soup. The Carnivore built a fire, the soup simmered on the stove, the bread was crisping in the oven, and my little family was happy and healthy. All the good things about winter were coming together at the same time. Of course, I still had my doubts about the soup, even as I was cooking it. The cook's notes at the top of the recipe mentioned that the author had developed the recipe for a vegetarian hiking retreat (not something I wanted to mention to The Republican Carnivore ahead of time).

I've mentioned it before, but its worth repeating. Recipes that are deliberately vegetarian can lean towards the pointless. This particular vegetarian looks at all Vegetarian Recipes as possibly suspect.

After a few taste tests, and a few additional tweaks to the original recipe, I was cautiously hopeful that I had a winner. When everything was ready, I ladled the soup out and served it with warm, crusty French bread. I took the first couple of bites and was more than a little surprised at how delicious it was. The creamy base of the soup came from pureed potatoes rather than milk or cream, and while it sounds great in theory, I had been worried that the lowfat trick would affect the texture and the depth of flavor. I found though that a complexity of taste could be faked with the addition of some cooking sherry (I love adding this stuff to bisques and chowders), and a little (okay a lot) of added salt and pepper helped punch up the flavor of the potatoes .

And most surprisingly, The Carnivore loved it (and even mentioned that he thought the texture was wonderful - imagine his surprise when he found out the texture came not from cream, but from the potatoes themselves). Even Odd Toddler enjoyed the soup, although his pleasure came mostly from dunking his bread in the soup and then slurping up the soggy crumbs. We're thrilled to have a new and different, and extremely healthy, chowder to add to our winter soup repertoire.

POTATO LEEK SOUP (serves four, created by Lisa Gilbert, heavily adapted by Sarah)

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 to 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed
• 2 1/2 lbs cubed Yukon gold potatoes (keep the peel on for added texture and fiber)
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups thinly sliced (or chopped) arugula
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 cup sherry (cheap cooking sherry is fine)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks and saute 5 minutes or until tender.
2. Add potato and vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until potato is tender.
3. Place 3 cups of potato mixture into a blender (remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape) and blend until smooth.
4. Return pureed potatoes to pan; bring to a simmer.
5. Stir in arugula, salt, both kinds of pepper, and sherry; simmer for another minute or two until arugula wilts.
6. Serve with warm bread.
7. Snuggle in front of the fire with your family and be thankful that you aren't going cold or hungry.

Please remember that Tuesday, November 7 is Election Day. Our right to vote is just one of the many things that make this country so great. It doesn't take much time or effort to educate yourself about the issues and the candidates , and it is hardly an inconvenience to go to the polling place and cast your vote. It is abysmally sad that only about 45% of registered voters are expected to hit the polls for the midterm elections. The polls are open for twelve hours. Make the time to get your voice heard.