almost doneAfter some amazing mashed potatoes courtesy our friend Kris (and chicken and stuffing!), i found something in me wanting potatoes. most of sunday morning i was looking for recipes; eventually found a great escargot-mushrooms recipe (that I made with some creminis and it was the real dizzle; no snails harmed in either my/smitten's recipe).
One persistent thing that stuck in my head was a potato leek soup and its variation baked potato soup.
But, I didn't have any leeks and only 5 medium potatoes. and I had already gone to the store the day before, and fresh snow was coating the road as the sun was nearly gone without a trace by the time i would've needed to hop on my bike. in the winter. to go spend money. when im broke. in the winter.
So that enamouring potato leek vision in my mind quickly became vegan potato soup. but i don't like potatoes much on their own. especially how they're generally prepared in (cream of/not) potato soup. But referring back to the Cauliflower soup successes started by honey, thought i'd take the base recipe and make it with a good vegetable stock, carmelize-y onions, and engineered with a poultry seasoning bias.
chopped mushroom and broccoli stemsStart the juices with 1 1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Vegetable base in 2 cups water, bring to a simmer while stirring. Next get the goods started by finely cutting up a few cloves of garlic, then a large white onion; i did 4, but i could easily have upped it to 6 and stayed not too pungent. Toss garlic into oil, saute, once softened follow with the onion and two tablespoons earth balance and let it stew for a solid 10 minutes to get it translucent (i didn't go all the way with the carmelize*), add some paprika about half way through. Wash and peel 5 medium or large potatoes. Cut into 3/8" cubes (ha! or whatever; smallish cubes), submerge in cold water until onions are sufficiently done.
Now back to the juices. My mom always makes a big deal about juices; particularly in baked meat dishes, and for good reason. (That's how people who hate eating fat get its flavor without chewing!) Anyway, we're starting with Penzey's base and making 2 cups of stock, then adding whatever vegetable scraps are around the kitchen. On hand were some Cremini stalk scraps from the day before; about 1 1/2 cup chopped. Also, three carrot stalks (left whole and discarded before combining). And 3 broccoli stalks (no florets); cut of skin, cut lengthwise in half, julienne, chop. Add all those, and 2 bay leaves, to the juices. Keep it simmering.
Now your onion is probably done. Hopefully you didn't overdo/burn it. Add 1 cup almond milk, 2 cups water, and your potatoes. stir it all up. Hopefully your juices got a good chance to simmer. If not you can let the goodies go while the juices get a bit stronger. Basically you'll want to simmer for 20 minutes or so; the longer there's less liquid the more cooked your potatoes get. During this process you will want to get your spices in line (herbs are reserved for the second part). I added fennel seed, coriander, sage, salt (2 teaspoons, but couldve used more), white pepper, mustard (a lot, there's a few different oils so its for the coagulating properties, but the savory taste too), and some garlic powder for a little more punch.
I mentioned it before, the Cauliflower successes. It's based on taking half your soup and pureeing it to get a creaminess out of whatever you're creaming. This is what the twenty-minute mark was for. So I presume you added the juices about 2 minutes into the 20, and it cooked up nice and good with the rest of your dish. if not, FAIL; nah just kidding, add it and let it simmer a few before continuing. You're going to blend half your soup in the processer (make sure to pull out bay leaves first). Not quite a puree, some chunks give a variety of texture which is nice (especially in case you add sour cream later).
Anyway, add the puree back, simmer another ten minutes. Add 1 1/2 cup chopped curly parsley, penzey's Bavarian seasoning, thyme, other herbs. It should be good around there.
So, long story short? Saute garlic, then onions until syrupy. Add chopped potatoes, water, and vegetable stock, and spices. Simmer 20 mins. Puree half, return to pot, add herbs. Simmer another ten. Serve with sour cream and chives.
1:37PM in 
New Gallery up from my recent entry for Dreamsfood's first bounty, vegan comfort food. It is an attempt at creating a pot pie using a cupcake format. The first one, "Soothing Savory", had apple-smoked sweet potatoes, peas and charred corn. The second one, "Sassy Savory", had some apple-smoked seitan, leaks, butter beans, and smoked turnips. Both were served in pizza dough shells with corn bread biscuits and a nice dose of vegan hollandaise.
