Potato Soup Days

Here in Topeka, the snow keeps a fallin,' to paraphrase Loretta Lynn. . . .

The temperature last night was 1 degree. Yes, Friends, O-N-E degree. I mean, why bother? It makes us want to crawl into an overstuffed chair with Dixie Lee's potato soup.

I am blessed with an overstuffed chair, given to me by my friend, Marvelous Mona. Marvelous Mona modernized, something that really doesn't happen in my house, so she sent me her overstuffed chair. I curl into it with the cat, my laptop, a pile of cookbooks and correspondence, a cup of potato soup, and the snow piling into the white pines outside my window. It is, altogether, very pleasant.

For potato soup, we start with bacon. Fry you up some bacon, maybe 4 or 5 slices. Depending on how much grease is in the pan, drain off until you just have a skim coat of bacon grease. Add half a stick of butter and brown a whole onion and maybe some chopped celery if you like that. Now, put all this into a soup pot and cube 4 - 6 good-sized potatoes. Cover with water and boil til tender. Then add 1 can evaporated milk, liberal salt and pepper and mix in half a cup to a cup of instant potatoes. This is the ONLY valid use for instant potatoes. They are never to be served as if they were really potatoes, but as a thickening agent for potato soup, they are excellent.

Some folks like to add cheese. If you want, that is fine. This is not a low-calorie food so be sure you shovel some snow after you have curled into your chair and warmed your insides. There are enough calories in this for you to clear the entire neighborhood of snow.

Cowboy Wisdom of the Day from Cowboy Culbertson:
There are two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works.

Photo: My neighbor's yard