Busy days and busy nights have kept me away from blogging.  I can’t help but think of a wise woman who once said to me: “action precedes motivation.”  So here’s a little post just to get the engine started once again.  I’m taking 10 minutes out of my time today to quickly write this entry.  Baby steps, right?

Potato Leek Soup for lunch today…with a slice of toasted five grain bread.  This was very simple to make.

Check it out:

Slice leeks in half inch round discs and then slice those in half.  I used 3 leeks (I discarded the green part).  Peel 4 large potatoes and dice those in small pieces for quicker cooking time.  Keep potatoes aside. Roughly chop 2 – 3 cloves of garlic and one quarter of a yellow onion in big chunky pieces.  Saute leeks on medium/low heat in 2 tablespoons of butter.  When leeks seem soft, add garlic and onions.  Saute everything until the onions look translucent.  Add potatoes and turn up the heat slightly, mixing everything together.  Add 2 – 4 cups of chicken stock and a little ground black pepper.  I didn’t add any salt to this dish as the chicken stock had more than enough.  Allow everything to boil until the potatoes are tender.  When potatoes are finally soft, remove everything with a slotted spoon and transfer to a food processor.  Leave the remaining stock aside.  Puree the mixture and transfer to another bowl.  Add the remaining stock and mix everything together.  Your potato leek soup is pretty much done.  Serve with a ladle and garnish with whatever tickles your fancy.  I garnished mine with grated parmesan and a sprinkle of course black pepper.  It would have been nice to garnish with crispy shallots or minced chives…but I didn’t have any of that available at the time.

My fiancee and I bought a half loaf of five grain bread from Le Pain Quotidien the other day.  We were happy to find good use for it.  Most times we buy a whole baguette or a whole loaf of semolina bread and they go stale pretty quickly.  Maybe because I hardly eat any of it…and it is just the two of us…so it was nice to get a half loaf of this five grain bread and not have it go to waste.

Okay, so maybe this post took more than 10 minutes….just one more thing before I go.  You will have leftover soup.  Simply refrigerate in tupperware and when you’re ready to eat the next day, just pour the amount needed into a saucepan, heat up, and pour into a bowl.  Brooklyn, EAT your heart out!