Titles for future books Mom’s Potato and Carrot Soup This is something great to serve the year round, but we especially love this meal on cool, chilly days when the wind outside is howling and the temperature is falling. It’s one of the joys of comfort food, and this one is on my list of fall-back recipes that my family embraces. This soup is easy to make, very inexpensive, and goes great with toast, crackers, or any hard bread you’d like to serve with it. Ingredients 2 russet baking potatoes, diced, or 8-12 new potatoes, whole (we like Yukon Gold, but red are great, too) 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped, or 10-12 baby carrots, whole 2 cups water (to boil potatoes and carrots) 1 onion, medium, diced 4 Tablespoons Butter 4 Tablespoons Flour, all purpose 1 cup Milk (we use 2% or 1%) 2 Dashes Salt 2 Dashes Pepper Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste Directions In a medium pot, cook the potatoes and carrots in two cups of water. After bringing the pot to a boil, simmer on Low heat for 10-12 minutes, or until a butter knife pierces the vegetables easily. While the veggies are cooking, in another pot, melt the butter, then sauté the diced onion on Medium heat until the onion is softened. Turn off the heat, and then add the flour, stirring until it’s incorporated. Add ¼ cup of milk to the onion/flour mix and stir until that’s incorporated as well. Next, add the rest of the milk and turn the heat on High, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. This will occur just before the mixture comes to a full boil, and I usually turn off the heat as the bubbles first appear in the sauce. Remove from heat and cover. Most likely the veggies will be ready now, so after they are cooked, drain them using a sieve, reserving two cups of the liquid. Once the veggies are drained, add them to the pot holding your sauce and stir. Coat the veggies with the sauce, and then add approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and stir that in as well. This can be modified to match the level of soupiness you desire, and sometimes I add more milk to the mix earlier and skip this step entirely for a more chowder-like consistency. This soup can sit for up to 90 minutes before serving, but it’s good as soon as the veggies are incorporated into the sauce and everything’s mixed in together. Top each bowl with grated Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
