simmering soup will cure the gloom

I'll never lose weight at this rate... with the snow (still) falling Sunday, and the day gloomy and grey, it seemed the perfect time to use the lovely leeks that our friend Jim gave us fresh from his garden. I've never cooked with leeks but thanks to the internet a plethora of recipes was at my fingertips.

'Leek and Potato Soup with Bacon' caught my eye with the bonus that it would be made in the instant pot, my favorite kitchen tool. I washed and sliced the leeks while Carm peeled the potatoes. With both of us working it took about 30 minutes to get the soup in the sealed pot. Seven minutes (once it came up to pressure), followed by fifteen minutes of natural release and we had steaming bowls of the most delicious soup warming us. Oh my it was tasty, but gosh, not low calorie... We have soup for two more meals - hurrah.

The warmth from soup rivals the heat from the sun, warming not just my tummy, but also my mood as it chases away the gloom of a dull day.

Monday night we had another meal of beef bourginion but instead of rice made some fluffy mashed potatoes. I use the instant pot for those too - instead of losing all the flavour in a boiling pot of water, the potato chunks are steamed in chicken broth. Carm uses the broth to mash, and last night since I didn't have any butter we used goat cheese. Not low calorie...

Food, glorious food.

Yesterday I visited my brother Graham. When we run out of things to say we transition onto the ever popular topic of music. Graham is 15 years younger than me so it isn't a surprise that our tastes diverge at some points - rap isn't my favorite - but sometimes I am introduced to newer music that suits my ear.

Carm bought a water pick yesterday... the first test spewed water all over the bathroom which has necessitated reorging the bathroom counter and moving all my stuff into the depths of cupboards and drawers. Not very convenient when all I want to do is put on some lipstick! I suppose the counter looks neater, and all that water everwhere will mean that it gets cleaned up more often :-0

"The lore has not died out of the world, and you will still find people who believe that soup will cure any hurt or illness and is no bad thing to have for the funeral either.” 
~John Steinbeck