Leek and Potato Soup, Dear

Last Tuesday, while husband was at work, kid was in school and the baby was down for a nap, I made Leek and Potato soup on page 130. It was actually quiet in my kitchen and I was able to think, which never happens. As I made the good hearty soup, I couldn't help but think of my adorable host mother from my semester in London. My two best friends and I shared a room in her house on Colney Hatch Lane (my favorite address ever) in north London. Mrs. K was a spunky Irish woman who always wore a housecoat and a white bun perched on top of her head. She called us "dear" and buzzed around the house, all four feet ten inches of her, like a little bee. She cooked the most amazing comfort food ever including remarkable mashed potatoes and this to-die-for apple crumble thing. We lived in London during the cold, rainy and dark winter months. After a day of battling with the unfamiliar culture, getting lost on the Tube and dealing with cranky professors who gave us too much work, there was nothing like coming home to her cooking. As soon as our cold wet selves turned the skeleton key and opened the big red door, we could smell that dinner. The first course was always our favorite, a good Irish soup, similar to Jamie's Leek and Potato. It always warmed our souls as we sipped the hot soup, discussing the details of our day. We all love our own mothers' cooking but nothing was as comforting and nourishing to mind, body and spirit as that amazing and magical soup. If you were able to catch a glimpse into her kitchen before she shooed you away, you may have caught Mrs. K throwing toast out of the second floor window to the birds in the garden below or heaving a bag of trash out of that same window! She never accepted our offer to dine with us but you could taste every morsel of love that she put into her cooking.

Recipes cooked: 86
Recipes left: 87
Days left: 88

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegeterian-recipes/leek-and-potato-soup-usa-version-imperia