Soup.

Mother Nature is one fickle lady... one minute it is cold here in Alberta (the leaves are falling, the geese are honking, and a chill is in the air...) and the next you'd think it was mid-summer again. Today, the sun is shining, and I had to roll the windows down while I was driving. This is a stark contrast to this past weekend, when it was cold and wet and rainy and perfect weather for making soup.

I have a deep love for potato soup... it's warm and filling and all kinds of wonderful. This summer, I also discovered the wonder that is cauliflower soup. And I love leeks. So this soup seemed like a very natural thing for me to invent. (and it's gluten-free! yay me!)

Potato-Leek-Cauliflower Soup

(it almost seems like I should go whole-hog and name it using all the ingredients, but

Potato-Leek-Cauliflower-Bacon-Cheddar Soup seems to be too much of a mouthful)

Since I pretty much made this up while cooking, the directions and ingredient amounts are sketchy at best. But with such fantasticly tasty things being mixed together, how could it go wrong?

3-4 Baking potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly equal pieces

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into pieces (stems are fine!)

3 leeks, chopped

1 medium white onion, diced

4 pieces of bacon

cheez whiz or cheddar cheese

half&half (or full cream)

chicken stock

salt & pepper

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and boil until soft.  In another saucepan, cook cauliflower in just enough water to cover and boil until soft.

Meanwhile, fry bacon until cooked, and remove to cool before crumbling. In the remaining bacon fat, fry the onions and leeks until cooked.

When potatoes are soft, drain and mash. Using a blender or food processor, puree potatoes in batches until smooth (here is where you add the chicken stock and half & half... just enough so that the blender blends!) Return potatoes to large saucepan over low heat. Blend the cauliflower and cauliflower water until smooth, and add to potatoes. Since my blender only handles so much at a time, I did this in batches, and included the leeks and onions in some batches so they would blend in as well.

I would suggest chopping the bacon up and adding it, rather than puree-ing it in the blender with everything else... it retains more flavor that way!

When the soup is blended, add the cheese! Cheez Whiz works well since it doesn't get stringy in the soup, but I find cheddar has a stronger flavor (I used some of both). If the consistency of the soup is too thick, add more chicken stock! Salt and pepper can also be added to taste. (Taste often... that way you can decide how much of everything it needs!)

Serve with a bit of grated cheddar on top!

Pureed leeks and bacon may not look super appetizing,
but it's SO YUMMY!

This makes lots of soup, which is great for lunches and to share! (I find it doesn't freeze the nicest... it kinda gets grainy)