I’m all for being spontaneous, but it doesn’t always work. My husband is cutting a hole in the back of our house because he wants to put in a door. This is good, but it’s cold outside, so I started to look for a place to go with Ferdinand that was warmer than below freezing. I had all intentions of leaving at the end of the week, but what do you know, my cousin was in NYC and going back home to MA this morning at 7:30 am. I hate to drive so much, that I lost all sense of what day it was, and jumped in the car with my boy.
I have so many appointments that I may as well have been getting married. Spontaneity is good when there is no overwhelming fear involved. In other words, if you are afraid to bake, it is going to do you no favors to start a six week course in Paris in cake decorating on the day you should be making cupcakes for the kindergarten. Fear makes you lose sight of the whole picture.
Not only did I forget what day it was, I had made a whole pot of soup last night, thinking I was being so careful to leave food for my husband, and I forgot to put it away.
It was potato leek. Have I told you how to make potato leek? It’s easy, and you can even get spontaneous without it being a problem, as long as you remember to put it all in the fridge when you are done.
Whittle the green ends of the three leeks to a point, so that you get rid of most of the hard green leaves. Cut each leek in half, and soak in cold water. Drizzle the bottom of a heavy soup pot with beautiful olive oil, and add a Tablespoon of butter. Add a clove of garlic, and six chopped, peeled potatoes. Throw in a sprig of thyme, and sprig of parsley. Add the leeks. Stir around until the potatoes start to stick a little, and then cover with water, just to the top of the potatoes. Add salt. Cook over low heat, covered, until the potatoes are fork tender. If you like, (woo woo) you can add broccoli about two or three minutes before the potatoes are done. Whir up the whole thing with an imersion blender. Taste for salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with a spicy salad like endive and radicchio, some crusty bread, and maybe some cold roast beef and a good maytag blue.