Well the rain started coming down and it still hasn’t let up. According to Weather.com, the sun should be shining when I wake up tomorrow, so I’ll take that as a cue to go to bed now!
This afternoon I had a cup of tea around 3pm to cheer me up as I worked on Micro –
Followed by this around 5:00!! The husband asked if we were drinking wine tonight. I said I wouldn’t complain (as I worked at my desk) if there was a glass of wine set down beside me. And soon enough one appeared!!! I didn’t know which bottle he’d opened so I guess – a Petit Syrah! I’m gooood! But I didn’t know which winery and was surprised to find he’d opened one of the last bottles from our honeymoon. That means this bottle has been on our rack waiting for TODAY for almost a year and a half!
It was a good one 8)
I’m going to let the husband take over the dinner recap because he was the chef! The soup he made was FAB-U-LOUS!!!! One of the top 5 we’ve ever made. Perfect thickness, tons of flavor, filling and healthy.
The Husband
Well, we were just in the mood for a thick and creamy ‘tater soup – possibly because the weather wasn’t great all afternoon. Also, the soft potatoes from the CSA have been staring us down since we picked ’em up.
I really like it when we develop recipes like we did tonight. We had a pretty good idea what we wanted it to taste like. And we had a few ingredients that we knew we were going to use (potatoes, some leftover buttermilk, 2% milk, bacon). While I’m pretty sure we could just throw some things together and it would taste good, we usually like to have some direction to work from. So we hit our cookbooks looking for potato soups, and we looked on the internet as well. The general consensus led us to combine this:
- 2.5 bacon strips
- 1.5lb white potatoes
- 1C buttermilk
- 2.5C milk (we used 2% but I’m sure skim would be fine)
- 1/3C AP flour
- 1 oz dry sherry (optional)
- salt, pepper, dill to taste
- shredded cheese for garnish
The procedure was really simple. I cut up the potatoes in approximately 1cm cubes… no need to be super accurate here. Cut bacon strips into small squares and begin to sautee in a cast-iron skillet. Microwave potato cubes for 4 mins, stirring halfway through.
When bacon finishes cooking, remove from pan onto paper towels. Try to leave as much bacon fat as possible in the pan. Add potatoes and cook for about 8 minutes until they’re almost fully cooked.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour with 1C milk and whisk together. Pour this into a dutch oven along with the rest of the milk and buttermilk, and begin to heat on medium-high.
When potatoes are mostly cooked, dump them along with everything else into the dutch oven EXCEPT for cooked bacon and cheese. Use a potato-masher to mostly crush the ‘taters. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 mins.
Check on consistency, and mash potatoes more if desired. If you want a completely liquidy-thick soup, you could use a stick-blender to puree. Otherwise, portion into bowls, and garnish with bacon and cheese! Crusty rolls on the side would be a nice touch…
The soup made 17 half-cup portions. The whole recipe had about 1300 calories, so each half cup had about 75 calories. (*Not including cheese but including bacon!*) We each had about 2 cups of soup.
(Switched to water in the wine glass 🙂 )
</end husband<>
So there you have it!
After dinner we got ready for the movie – including packing a little mid-movie snack –
Guess which bottle had water and which had wine!! I always sneak things into movies and wine in a plastic cup sure made Nights in Rodanthe more fun.
Being from North Carolina, I’ve always been loyal to Nicholas Sparks and having gone to the Outer Banks almost every summer for the first 18 years of my life, I really enjoyed the setting. I read the book when I was in high school, but I didn’t remember much about the plot, so it was fun to re-live the story. I definitely think Richard Gere made the movie. But Diane Lane is a favorite actress of mine and did a great job as well.
Once home around 9 we both were hungry for a snack. I had a cup of Kashi Vive, homemade granola, soymilk and a tsp of PB in one of my grandmother’s cocktail glasses.
I’d love to keep eating more cereal, but I probably should chug some water and get to bed.
I’m counting on you, Sunshine!
Fancy says
Hi Kath!
Sorry it’s taken me a few days but I wanted to thank you for posting someone else’s lunch along with your own the other day! I just thought that was a fun idea when you first suggested it so I was happy you brought it back. Hopefully, other people will send pics for us to see. I totally would…except….I am a 1st grade teacher so my lunches are not that exciting and usually eaten very quickly before recess ends! 🙂
Molly says
Haha, I am infamous for sneaking food into theaters!
Yum, that soup sure sounds good for this kind of weather!
Jenny says
I love that you snuck wine into a movie, and a romantic one at that! I’m sure it made it soo much fun!
The weather here (MS) is supposed to get pretty tomorrow too, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for y’all as well!
Erin says
Sneaking wine into the theater? Oh la la!
Amber says
OMg I LOVE that you snuck wine in! So cute!
madison (follow my weigh) says
HA! i never thought of sneaking wine into a theatre! snacks yes, wine no…but good one =D
Emily says
I love your blog, you’re such an inspiration for healthy eating and exercise. I love the little blue spoon, can I ask where you got it?
Marianne says
You soup looks very comforting and appropriate for a rainy fall day. 🙂
Lisa says
Sheesh, and I thought sneaking junior mints into the movies was daring! The potato soup looks great – and tons healthier than most canned/restaurant varieties.
haya says
awesome soup! think i might be making it this week.
Beadie says
Great soup!
The OBX are one of my favorite places on earth. We did not go this summer but we havea trip planned for ’09, I am so looking forward to it.
Megan says
That soup looks amazing and full of texture! Great prep detail!
Sending some Texas sunshine your way!
VeggieGirl says
Cute cereal mug! 😀
zestycook says
Very Sneaky guys!!! I love it 🙂
That soup looks really great … nice pictures. I hope you get some sunshine!
Takecare
zesty
Kath says
Emily ,
Crate + Barrel 🙂
Kath
sarah says
ooh, i liked hearing about the process of recipe development. the soup looks awesome and i am going to use your technique of microwaving and then sauteeing for faster potato cooking!
also, you are both heroes to me for sneaking wine into a movie. 🙂 🙂
bobbi says
you two are so cute, love the idea of wine in the movies..lol..and love the red cocktail glass!
Caitlin says
I absolutely love your blog! Your pictures are awesome, your food looks delicious and healthy, and I read your “about” section and you have such a great outlook on food/health/fitness. I am looking forward to reading more:)
Caitlin says
And…I forgot to mention that we are in the same boat. I am pursuing my MS in Nutrition too., working towards the RD…and I went back to school after getting a degree in English! So I feel your pain about all the science pre-req’s:)
Kath says
Caitlin ,
Thanks!! Good luck chugging through the rest of your courses 🙂
Kath
Runjen says
LOVE that you snuck wine into the movies. That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day! 🙂
Cat says
Love the wine in the movies idea… and that soup looks fantastic!! I’ll definitely have to try out your recipe…
Simply Life says
Oh this soup recipe looks delicious!