Friday, March 13, 2009

Soup for a rainy, cold day

If you're going to have a day when you are sleep deprived and allergy-ridden, this is the day to do it.  I had a really hard time sleeping last night.  No real reason why, I just think too much.  You know how that is.  You go to bed at a decent hour, exhausted from running around town all day.  You put on your favorite pjs, shimmy under the warm covers, and promptly start thinking about travel arrangements, party menus, committee to do lists, and on and on and on and on and on...  I did this until about 3:30am.  Blech.  Then I woke up feel like someone had stuffed cotton up my nose and glued my eyes shut and thanked God I had nowhere to be today.

Mr. M finished his work pretty early and snuggled under the covers to watch Thomas and Friends Carnival Capers with Jr.  He's such  good man.  He has endured that movie at least 15,769 times in the last three months alone.

Tired of sitting on the sofa in an oxygen reduced stupor, I got up and threw some things onto the stove and came up with a delicious soup.  I thought I'd share it with you.  It's the kind of soup that is relaxing to prepare, chopping vegetables at the kitchen table while talking with your spouse or an old friend.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
7 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 cups chicken stock*
2 sprigs of rosemary, plus more for garnish
Kosher sea salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

Add potatoes to pot of boiling salted water, cook until soft, about 20 minutes, then drain.

Meanwhile, drizzle olive oil in sauté pan over medium-low heat.  Add garlic, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, and 2 sprigs of rosemary and let simmer while preparing other ingredients. When it is ready to be added to other ingredients the mixture should be translucent and soft.  

While the other two sections are cooking, warm chicken stock over medium heat.

When ingredients are done, add then to a food processor, add milk, and blend until smooth.  Add to large pot (the one you cooked the potatoes in is just fine!), add any more salt and pepper desired to taste.  Let cool for 10 minutes and transfer to bowls.  Add a dollop of crème fraîche (sour cream works, too, but just a little!) and a sprig of rosemary for garnish. Enjoy!

*Today I used Kitchen Basics chicken stock, one of my favorite go-to's, but had I been feeling more industrious (like, a day or two before hand)I would have used Ina Garten's fabulouso chicken stock recipe.

1 comment:

  1. Love the unexpected little heart-shaped creme fraiche on top. Hope you're feeling better!

    ReplyDelete