Sauteed Cabbage & Potatoes via Tash's Noshes

As promised in the previous post, here's some more from Crop Share member Natasha's healthy food blog, Tash's Noshes.  She did a figure friendly take on cabbage & potatoes with the contents of our St. Patrick's day boxes.  So if you're still staring down that cabbage or have leftover potatoes (on top of the even MORE potatoes we all got this week, hooray!!) give this recipe a nosh!  For all of you runners out there (Lord knows I am NOT one of them, the only thing in my life that runs is my stockings), especially those of you who have done or are planning on running in the Marine Corps Marathon this year, this lovely lady is "fundracing" on behalf of Back On My Feet DC for this year's MCM.    So absolutely run over to BoMF's website to check out the amazing work they do with those in our community transitioning from homelessness, addiction and abuse (even consider getting involved!), and then if you are so led, consider throwing some coinage towards Tash's fundracing efforts on her official fundracing page!  

Sauteed Cabbage & Potatoes via Tash's Noshes

And as a bonus (and a slight teaser on the next recipe I'll be posting), check out how she used up the delicious pears in this protein packed salad, perfect for a Meatless Monday lunch...

Arugula & Pear Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

What's Cookin' In Your Kitchen

It's no surprise that we've got some pretty talented foodies in our Crop Share midst.  But good gravy folks, we've clearly gone wrong by not just showing up at some of your homes for dinner!  I was pouring over the Instagrams tagged with #onlyatnalls and all I can say is...dang, I am hungry now.  So while I await the dinner invitations to pour in (*hint hint*), here are some of the most drool-worthy photos to come out of some of our members' kitchens over the past few months.  Hopefully you'll find as much foodspiration from these culinary creations as I did...or at least go raid your pantry for something to nosh on while you scroll!

Without further ado, I give you a glimpse into the Crop Share family kitchen...

Natalie Fortunato just got onto the #onlyatnalls bandwagon, but she's already making us drool over her veggie-tacular delights!  Who needs meat when veggies look this hearty and delicious?!

"Minnesota Winter Chili" with Crop Share Veggies - perfect for this Polar Vortex Part Deux

She calls this a "lazy girl's lunch" but we think this Vegan Taco Salad with Boston Lettuce looks anything but lazy!

Natasha Gannon is so addicted to Crop Share apples she's declared her need to attend AAA Meetings - Apple Addicts Anonymous.  When she's not eating all the apples or Instagramming what she's made with them, you can find her running (literally) around town and doing her own healthy food blogging over on Tash's Noshes.  If you just enter "Tash" into the search box in the top right, you can see some of the recipes of her's we've shared here on Nalls' Kitchen.

Quick Apple Crisp in Mason Jars with Cameo Apples

Louise Burnett not only  has a completely infectious smile (it even shines through in her e-mails), but she also has the uncanny ability to sneak extra veggies into any dish.  Having mac & cheese?  She's going to throw at least 2 extra veggies into it!  Making soup?  Prepare to eat an entire week's worth of produce in one bowl.  I imagine her meals to be like Mary Poppin's bag, there are items in there you can't imagine how she snuck that in!  She's also brought you the Squash-Cauliflower Soup, which again is so packed with veggies it could make a vegan blush!

Salmon in a Grapefruit & Dill Cream Sauce with a side of Collards and Squash Puree

Mac & Cheese with Chicken, Acorn Squash & Spinach

Homemade Cabbage Pierogies

Chicken Pot Pies with Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Red Onion and Corn

Kielbasa, Kale, Black Bean & Mushroom Soup

Ceviche Salad with Spinach, Avocado, Red Onion, Cilantro, Green Pepper, Jalapeno & Homemade Lemon Vinaigrette 

And finally, Bethany Duffy, who brought you the Cabbage & Collard Greens Slaw, may just be the one person who gives me a run for my money in the photographing everything you eat category.  But when you cook like she does, you need to photo document that for posterity.  Some people will show their children and grandchildren photos of them in the throes of athletic greatness...foodies will show their children and grandchildren photos of the delicious dishes we prepared.

Braised Kale with White Beans & Parmesan over Linguini

Making Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Baked Chicken Sausage with Potatoes, Apples & Onions

Early Autumn Minestrone with Eggplant

Spiced Acorn Squash Muffins

Quick Pickles

Kale, Leeks, Cherry Tomatoes, Carrots & Mushrooms Sauteed with Garlic, Herbs & Tomato Sauce, then topped with Mozzarella and broiled into loveliness

Spinach & Mozzarella Mac & Cheese with Chicken and Tomatoes

Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs with Roasted Cauliflower, Cherry Tomatoes, and Olives with Lemon & Thyme

Fresh Mint Margaritas - Bethany is also a fellow believer in drinking her Crop Share.  Good girl!

Broccoli Cheese Soup in Bread Bowls

Pear Walnut Bread

Like I said...I patiently await my invitations to dinner to come flooding in.  Any minute now...any minute...

Oh Honey, Let's Be Rad...ish!

If you haven't figured this out yet, I'm incapable of talking about radishes without making a pun.  It will keep happening, so just smile and nod.

Anywho, last evening I finally got around to using up my radishes from two weeks ago (thank you cooler season produce for lasting so much longer and suiting my procrastination tendencies), and was able to finally make this Radish Dip that Crop Share member Missie Welch had shared with us.  She was oh so right with how delicious it is.  We baked up some Beet Chips to go with it, but this would make a fantastic veggie dip.  So for holiday parties, if you're tasked with bringing the veggie tray, whip up a quick batch of this dip and tell the french onion dip to take the night off and keep off your hips!  It has an almost hummus like consistency so it's a great, healthy alternative for a chip dip, too.

We used the juice of 1 lemon and a full 8 oz of cream cheese (we use Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese to keep it dairy, free but you can use any reduced fat variety to keep the calories down).  Plus at one point I went to add a dash of pepper and opened the pour and not the sprinkle side, so I spent a good 5 minutes scooping what was about 1/4 cup of ground black pepper out of my blender.  *sigh*

Radish Dip via Missie Welch

Acorn & Butternut Squash Soup by Crop Share Member Brandi Collins

Several weeks ago, Crop Share member Brandi Collins posted on our Facebook page about this Acorn & Butternut Squash soup she had made.  I knew right away, we had to have that recipe and I had to share it with you all.  So here it is, from Brandi's kitchen to yours, a Fall squashtacular soup that is just what the Daylight Savings Time sleepies need.  Plus, if you've been perplexed by the Buttercup squash from this past week, you can easily substitute that in for either the acorn or butternut in this recipe, and use up some of your Amish candy onions in place of a regular sweet onion!

Acorn & Butternut Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 chopped sweet onion 1 quart chicken broth 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper Salt to taste fresh parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Bake 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Scoop the pulp from the skins. Discard skins.
2.	Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion and garlic until tender.
3.	In a blender or food processor, blend the squash pulp, onion, broth, cream cheese, pepper, and salt until smooth. This may be done in several batches.  This may also be done in the pan with an immersion blender.
4.	Transfer the soup to a pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Garnish with parsley, and serve warm.

Spaghetti Squash with Carrot Top Pesto via Crop Share Member Deanna Freedlander

When Deanna sent me this recipe I was equal parts excited because I love it when folks use something that most people just discard as kitchen scraps and turn it into a dish, but also because this is further proof that CARROT TOPS ARE GREEN!  You don't have a red or ginger pesto, nope pesto is always green and so is this one because so are carrot tops.  Why the angst you ask?  Just ask little Tara...

Okay, yes, that is a wig, but what lies beneath it pretty much made it look like my head was on fire...especially since this is the era where my Mama thought it was a great idea to perm my already kinky, Celtic hair.  Think Merida from Brave, and you get the idea.  And for those of you have seen the unbridled Celtic afro running around at Nalls, then you know what I mean.  So yes, this oft teased, proud ginger is stating for the record that not only is this pesto dish from Deanna amazing, but it's further proof that the monkier "carrot top" is utter silliness...unless I'm queasy, and then I actually am green.

Spaghetti Squash with Carrot Top Pesto

Prepare the spaghetti squash by cutting, seeding, baking and shredding  **SAVE THE SEEDS

Bake the seeds to use in the Pesto instead of Pine Nuts.

Pesto-
2-3 Tbsp of baked squash seeds
2-3 garlic cloves
   *whir in food processor for about 10 seconds
1 Cup of cleaned and rough chopped carrot tops ( no stems)
   *whir in food processor for about 10 seconds with seeds and garlic
1 tsp Sea Salt
Olive OIl (about 5-6 Tbsp)

Continue pulsing ingredients as you drizzle olive oil into the food proceessor.  Add enough Olive Oil to get a good pesto consistency.


Mix Pesto with warm spaghetti squash.  EAT!

For those in the crop share program, this was a fantastic box of veggies and this was considered delicious by all in my household.  The carrot tops give the pesto a different, but very satisfying taste from basil.

Deanna Freedlander  (A crop-share lover)

Cropshare Member Guestpost: Louise B's Squash-Cauliflower Soup

I ate cauliflower, but it was delicious because it wasn’t cauliflower

So, I’m taking a crack at this – once upon a time in a land far, far away (Richmond) my husband (CRB) and I had a blog of places we went to eat there were amazing, but that stopped when we moved to Herndon exactly four years ago (now we’re in Alexandria) and our lives haven’t been right-side-up since!  But, through four years of insanity, we have maintained one thing – our undeniable adulation for eating delicious things. My boss loves to say, “I eat to live, but you clearly live to eat.” And that we do!

So when I joined the crop share I was excited, but I was dismayed to find out that cauliflower was in our first crate. I looked at CRB and said “Really? I think I made a mistake.” He laughed and told me it would be fine. Then he went to play with the dog (our 1-year old Yorkie, Pickles), so I figured I had to make a plan for this cruciferous crime against yum. We’ve been experimenting (gently, because I have nut allergies) with paleo-type meals, and I found this recipe below, which hides the fact that cauliflower is even there. It masks it and uses it as a thickener, which I must say, is what it’s AMAZING for! My husband did nearly remove one of his digits chopping the squash (while I languished in bed until about 11 am on a Saturday…aaah, the joys of marrying an early bird), so I recommend checking out Tara’s blog on dissecting the butternut squash to remove the “honey, do you think this is bad enough for a doctor or can we just staple it back together?” discussion from your life. And no, I’m not kidding about the staple comment. He’s done that. Sigh.

Louise B's Squash-Cauliflower Soup

1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 butternut squash, cubed

2 acorn squashes, cubed

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 apple, cored and chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

½ can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 tablespoon raw honey

1-2 teaspoons salt

⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

dash of black pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients into a slow-cooker and roast on low for at least 8 hours (we did it for 24 because we kept forgetting to eat it. Or maybe I kept forgetting to remind him to eat it…maybe). Stir every so often to rotate the ingredients. When done, use an immersion blender or food processor to puree everything. Enjoy!

This had me looking at him saying “did we forget to put cauliflower in here? I don’t taste sadness, I taste only happiness!” He rolled his eyes and batted our pup from his lap saying “NO Pickles, this is daddy’s dinner!” So even the dog liked it…still not sure if that’s a compliment, given that he eats leaves and pine needles when we’re not looking. But the hubs loves it, and has loved having it as a leftover in his lunch, so that was good enough for me! I hope you’ll try this and find it to be delicious too.

Sausage & Apple Acorn Squash via Crop Share Member Kat

Last week Crop Share member Kat commented on one of our posts on Facebook saying that she was going to take the acorn squash and stuff it with apples and sausage.  Um...YUM!  So we asked her to send her delicious-sounding recipe our way, and here it is for all of us to enjoy, Sausage & Apple Acorn Squash.  I love that she recommends using pastured pork, meaning free range, happy, roaming about pork.  Happy pork makes yummy pork!

Sausage & Apple Acorn Squash via Kat

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash (sliced in half and seeds removed)
1/2 lb Pastured pork (I recommend Mt. Vernon Grassfed Farm, Smith Meadows Farm or Fields of Athenry)
2 apples (chopped into small pieces)
1/2 red onion (chopped into small pieces)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover squash halves with foil and bake at 400 for about 1 hour.  Each half will be a bowl.

Brown sausage in skillet, remove meat to drain off fat.

Add the sausage back into the skillet and mix with the apples and onions.

Spoon mixture into the baked acorn squash bowls.

Top with Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.

Guest Post: Peachy Kale & Barley from Nicole Wood & 6 Kale Fun Facts via HuffPo

I'm an avowed kale fanatic.  There was a good month-long period last fall where I'm fairly certain I ate my weight in kale chips.  But I understand that kale is not for everyone, and that last week many of you may have been thinking, "Ugh, kale, what am I going to do with ALL of this?!"  Well should you still have kale left over and it's still in good shape, I dare you not to drool over this recipe from Crop Share member, Nicole Wood.  So drool away and then check out 6 fun facts on kale from the HuffPo (I'm clearly too cool to use the publication's full name)...

Peachy Kale & Barley via Nicole Wood

1 bag Trader Joe’s 10 minute barley or other quick barley

2 cans of premade stock/broth or bouillon to make 2 ½ cups of stock

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 small or ½ medium onion chopped

1 lb kale bunch roughly chopped

1 T olive oil

1 T toasted sesame seed oil

½ cup diced peaches (room temperature)

Cook barley according to sauté instructions on bag with stock not water. I used half a bag.

While that is cooking (approx. 10 minutes) sauté your onions in the olive and sesame oil until they start to look clear on medium/high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 cup of stock and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes but don’t let garlic brown. Add rinsed kale, toss to coat kale with mixture and cover. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until kale is soft.

Mix kale and barley in large mixing bowl and add fruit to garnish. Salt and pepper to taste.

**If you have kids, pull some of the barley out before mixing with the kale and give to them as a pasta/grain.

While you let that kale saute for 10 minutes, get your education on with this article...

Click here to view a HuffPo article on 6 Things You Don't Know About Kale...

McCauley's Roasted Pepper Relish Now Available at Nalls Produce!

We're relishing the opportunity (pun totally intended) to carry locally produced McCauley's Peppers in our store!  So when their founder, William, asked about our recipe blog, I said bring on the guest post!  So enjoy a little window into this small, local business we're pleased as peppers to partner with...

McCauley's Peppers, a small local start-up business out of Burke, VA, has partnered with Nalls Procduce to sell their spicy, savory roasted pepper relish. Tara, one of Nalls' employees, first discovered McCauley’s pepper relish when she was shopping at the H St Farmer’s Market in DC. She tried a sample and fell in love! She knew her co-workers and customers at Nalls would find a million ways to pair the pepper relish with their favorite foods. 

So she invited McCauley’s Peppers founder William Arnold to host a tasting on Friday June 21^st, to introduce Nalls' shoppers to the exciting new partnership. He served the peppers on stone ground crackers with FarmFriend Raw Goat Cheddar and received a very warm welcome. These peppers are perfect as part of an antipasto platter with crackers, cheese, hummus, and charcuterie, on eggs and sandwiches, or really anything that needs a little extra heat or flavor.  So stop by Nalls Produce to pick up a jar of roasted pepper relish!

If you missed them last week at Nalls, be sure to head out to the H St Farmer’s Market in DC on June 29^th from 9am-12pm for their next tasting. Or check them out on Facebook (McCauley’s Roasted Pepper Relish) or on their website (http://mccauleyspeppers.com) for more information on tastings and suggested servings! 

Guest Post from Across the Pond: Pattesons Glass' Pork Rillettes

Apparently my foodie vibes must have been reaching across the miles, because as I spent my weekend musing over this blog becoming a collection of voices, I returned to work on Monday to find an e-mail from Pattesons Glass Ltd, a glass bottle and jar company in Grimsby, England.  They've enjoyed reading our blog, and wanted to offer up one of their recipes to share with our members.  While their Pork Rillettes recipe isn't exactly Spring produce heavy, it's the perfect way to put your garden herbs to good use in a bouquet garni as the base for this dish.  Still have lots of parsley leftover from last week or have you been drying your Crop Share herbs?  Then now is their time to shine.  Just whatever you do, don't tell Penny Pig we've got a pork recipe up on the blog, she might start to wonder why I feed her so many strawberries!

So from some fellow foodies across the pond, I give you their recipe for traditional French rillettes (if you need help with the metric conversions, hop on over to http://www.metric-conversions.org/ to compute it quickly and easily)...

Pork Rillettes

Like all charcuterie, rillettes (pronounced ree-yettes) were originally a way of preserving the cornucopia of fatty goodness yielded by the slaughter of a pig. Stored in earthenware crocks or in glass jars and sealed with a lid of pork fat, they would keep for months. This recipe is much lower in fat and consequently has a little less staying power, but the rillettes will keep well in the fridge for at least a week, and will benefit from a few days’ maturation before you break open the jar.

1.25kg pork belly or shoulder, skin removed but bones left in, cut into chunks

4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

1 bouquet garni

3 bay leaves

6 cloves

50ml vermouth

500ml water

1tsp ground mace

Salt and pepper

Place the pork, garlic, bouquet garni, bay leaves, vermouth and water in an ovenproof, lidded dish. Cook at about 100°C for four hours, turning the meat a few times so it doesn’t become too brown, until it falls away from the bones. Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly. Discard the bay leaves, cloves, bouquet garni, bones and any obvious pieces of cartilage. Drain the pork and place the liquid in a small bowl over ice or in the fridge to chill.

Using two forks, gently shred the meat, allowing it to retain its natural grain. Remove the reserved liquid from the fridge and carefully lift off the solidified fat. Mix the jellied stock that remains with the pork, season to taste with mace, salt and pepper and place in a sterilised 580ml clip-top jar.

Melt the reserved pork fat and pour over the rillettes before sealing the jar and refrigerating until needed.

Rillettes are delicious served cold or at room temperature as a starter, the centrepiece of a light lunch or for a picnic. All that’s needed to accompany the rillettes are some slices of warm baguette, a few cherry tomatoes and some cornichons or pickled onions.

View the original recipe on Pattesons Glass' recipe blog at http://www.jarsandbottles-store.co.uk/blog/recipes/pork-rillettes/ and be sure to check out some of their other great recipes, like their divine looking Salsa Verde!

Thanks very much to Pattesons Glass to reaching out to us with their recipe, it's great to have you at our communal table!

Guest Posts from Crop Share Members: Janet Dwire & Natasha Scott

We LOVE knowing what's cookin' in your kitchens, so I'm super excited to bring you two guest posts today from Crop Share members Janet Dwire and Natasha Scott.  I know several of you have started your own food blogs, and many more of you are coming up with delicious recipes of your own each week, so send those guest posts our way as we'd love for this blog to be a shared collective from our Crop Share family.  E-mail me any recipes or helpful tips you'd love to share at tara@nallsproduce.com.

Corn in Husk in Microwave

1. Check silks end of ear for worms.


2. Use a heavy knife to cut off stalk end, about 3/4 of an inch up the cob.


3. Leave husks on and lay 2 ears in microwave.  Two ears take 5 minutes -- on a rotating tray -- with no turning.


4. Grasp husks at silk end using and oven mitt.  Gently sake the corn from side to side, or in a circle until the cob starts to slip out of the husks.


5.  Grasp the corn cob carefully (it's hot!) and pull hands apart to separate the cob from the silks and husks.

6.  Compost the husks and enjoy this summer's corn!


Cheers,
Janet Dwire

Strawberry Rhubarb Overnight Oatmeal

Pop on over to Tash's Noshes to view Natasha Scott's healthy take on strawberry-rhubarb deliciousness!

Stuffed Poblano Peppers via Tash's Noshes

Wow, our Crop Share is just inspiring a whole new crop of food bloggers (pardon the pun)!  It seems like every time I turn around another of our members is starting up their own food blog.  You're all going to force me to actually do something about my idea for a local blogger after-hours at Nalls that I've been musing over for about a month now.  In the meantime, any of you who are getting bloggy with your crop share cooking, we would LOVE you to guest post whenever your little foodie hearts desire.  The more ideas and unique voices, the merrier!

So to add a new voice to the mix, I give you the maiden post from Tash's Noshes, the just christened food blog from Crop Share member, Natasha Scott...

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Hop on over to see how she turned last week's poblanos into the deliciousness we see before us at: Tash's Noshes

Guest Post From Crop Share Member Tara Johnston

I’m one of those weird people who just bloody loves cabbage.  As a slaw, braised, sautéed, thrown in mashed potatoes, or pickled to sauerkraut perfection, you name a preparation and I love it (okay maybe not stuffed cabbage, but that’s due to a rather unfortunate encounter).  So it was a bit surprising that my joy over a lovely head of cabbage in this week’s crop share was rather short lived.  It’s been rather exhausting around our household lately, so I was not overly thrilled with the prospect of the time-intensive methods of cabbage prep that I tend to turn to.  And then, once again, Martha Stewart, like a mildly judgmental and creepy angel, swept into my life with a beautiful gift -- a recipe for roasted cabbage!  One hacked up cabbage and 30 minutes later, we beheld its majesty.  I may or may not have proposed marriage to my roasted cabbage, it was really all a blur, but my husband understands.  So if you’re still staring at your crop share cabbage and hoping it will speak to you about how to cook it, trust me when I say that cabbage wants to get a tan in your oven!

 Roasted Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 medium head of green cabbage, washed & cut into 1/2 inch slices

4-5 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle of coarse-ground salt & pepper

Juice of half a lemon

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and lay cabbage slices onto a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, and flip slices over to make sure both sides get coated.  Sprinkle some coarse-ground salt and pepper over top, and then squeeze lemon juice evenly over slices.

Pop into the oven and roast for about 25-35 minutes or until the edges are a nice golden brown.  Be careful when checking the oven as these bad boys give off lots of steam, so prepare for a steam facial when opening your oven door!

We served ours topped with some shrimp scampi, and the spare roasted slices even reheated amazingly in the microwave the next day.  I topped those with a bit more lemon juice and a sprinkle of dairy-free parm.

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Roasted Cabbage Wedges (http://www.marthastewart.com/315062/roasted-cabbage-wedges)

Guest Post From Crop Share Member Tara Johnston

Big shocker, the Irish gal who already brought you one potato recipe is back with yet another.  But when I saw those lovely leeks in last week’s crop share I couldn’t resist the call of one of my favourite soups -- potato leek.  Plus, I’m a total sucker for pureed soups, and with as chilly as the weather had been, I was craving something warm and comforting.  For those of you needing to avoid dairy, this is the perfect creamy soup as all the creaminess comes from the pureed potato.  So this is one recipe you don’t even need to tweak!  This time I finished each bowl with a drizzle of garlic truffle oil, but you could also top it with some crispy bacon, garlic croutons or even flash fry some thin slices of leeks.  When the temps start to dip again and you’re feeling the chill, tuck into a hearty bowl of this soup and chase the cold away!

 Potato Leek Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

4 leeks, washed & sliced (green & white parts)

Dash of Kosher salt

¼ tsp chile powder

6 cups water

1 ¼ lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & cubed

2 bay leaves

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

If you prep all your ingredients first, this soup goes incredibly quick, so it’s perfect for a weeknight meal.  And remember -- wash your leeks thoroughly, and when I say thoroughly, think akin to showering after a day at the beach.  You’re going to find grit where you never thought grit could get! 

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add in your sliced leeks, throw in a dash of salt, and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until leeks are soft and wilted.  If you can avail yourself of some Black Truffle Salt from Spice & Tea Exchange in Old Town, you should absolutely use this in place of any other salt!  A little goes a long way and you’ll get that lovely earthy aroma from the black truffle.

Once leeks are soft, add in chile powder and stir for about 30 more seconds.  For those weary of heat, fear not, I didn’t notice that this imparted any extra heat to the soup, and while it seems like an odd ingredient, just go with it, somehow it completely works.

Pour in your water and stir to deglaze anything that might be sticking to the bottom.  Add in potatoes and bay leaves, cover pot and bring to a rolling simmer for about 15-30 minutes, or until your potatoes can be easily speared with a knife.

Remove your bay leaves and turn off the heat.  Now it’s time to puree!  If you’re lucky enough to own an immersion blender, now is the time to bust that bad boy out and go all Top Chef on your soup.  If you don’t have one, first write a letter to Santa asking for one this Christmas, then you’ll want to puree the soup in batches in a blender.  Don’t use a food processor, as I hear that will make the soup gummy.  If you’re using a blender, don’t fill it more than half-full, and be sure to cover over a lid with a kitchen towel to prevent steaming or burning yourself from renegade soup bits.  With either method, puree until smooth and if you feel the soup is too thick, you can always add more water.

Stir in black pepper, and taste to see if additional salt may be needed.  Now if you want to get fancy, and you’ve availed yourself of the aforementioned Black Truffle Salt, you can whip up some garlic truffle oil in advance to drizzle on top of your soup for an added luscious kick.  Just heat 1 Tbsp of minced garlic in oh about 1 cup of olive oil, throw in some Black Truffle Salt and let that simmer away on low heat for about 30 minutes.  Strain out your garlic, and bottle up the oil for future use.  I added a sprig of dried rosemary to my bottle, because the essence of garlic and black truffle was just not decadent enough.

(Adapted from David Lebovitz’s recipe, http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/01/potato-leek-soup/)