My walking path this morning. The beautiful fall foliage surrounds us in the mountains of Kentucky!

It’s been a while since I last posted. Life on campus get’s really hectic during the fall semester, but it’s a hectic time that I enjoy. I also truly enjoy walking in the crisp fall air. As I walked this morning I was reminded just how beautiful the mountains of Kentucky are this time of year. There’s no need to travel far to look at the fall foliage as the foliage is all around us. The trees are alive with brilliant colors that remind me of my youth and my grandmother’s patchwork quilts.

With a chill stinging my cheeks, and leaves swirling through the air, memories flooded my being as did the craving for rich hot coffee, spicy pumpkin bread, and warm savory potato soup. My thoughts drifted to the chilly fall days of my youth in the mountains. A faint smell of the smoke rising from the neighbor’s chimney enticed me and saddened me as I recalled the smell of coal and wood burning in fireplaces and heating stoves that filled the evening air when I was a child. How I loved that smell. It reminded me I was home, safe, warm, and with a family that loved me. I loved the simple days of my youth. The days seemed much longer than they do today, neighbors were more than just acquaintances, they were friends that could depend on each other, that visited each other, and that knew each other. It was a time when supper was enjoyed by the entire family, together at the dinner table. Where cornbread, soup beans, fried potatoes, and sour kraut were enjoyed by all. It was a time when days seemed to last forever and days when my mom would make delicious soups that helped take the evening chill off. Tears stung the corners of my eyes as I walked and reminisced about the memories of my youth, memories that I will forever cherish in my heart.

Now, for that soup to warm my bones! I hope you enjoy Nanny’s Best Potato Soup as much as my family does.

Rich and savory potato soup. This one’s a family favorite! 

Ingredients:

8-10 large potatoes
1/2 large yellow sweet onion
Cup of baby organic carrots
1 tbs of cornstarch
salt
black pepper
1 tbs plant butter of choice
3/4 box of organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup of Unsweetened almond milk
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Process:

Wash, peel, and cube potatoes and put in stock pot of warm water. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and cook potatoes, but do not overcook. Wash and grate baby carrots into the pot of potatoes. Take potatoes off heat when you can pierce with a fork with ease.

Heat remaining olive oil and plant butter in a skillet. Dice onions and add to oil and butter mixture. Saute until onions are translucent, salt and pepper to preference. Slowly add cornstarch to onions stirring the entire time. Add half of the vegetable broth and stir to create a thickener for the soup.

Drain potatoes leaving only a little of the starchy water and add the onion mixture to the potatoes, stir and add additional vegetable broth. Return the soup to a very low heat. Once the soup has warmed through slowly add the milk/cream while stirring. Add additional salt and pepper if needed and simmer for about ten minutes on low, then reduce heat to keep the soup warm. You may add additional broth if your soup is thicker than you would like for it to be.

Optional: You may add shredded vegan cheese. I like to add dried parsley to my soup to add a little color and another layer of flavor. My family enjoys hot cornbread with this soup. It’s delicious on its own!

Each time I serve up heaping bowls of this rich and savory potato soup, I am reminded of days gone by. The older I get, the more I realize how quickly time seems to pass. I also realize how important family, culture, and tradition is to the present time. If we don’t pass our favorite recipes to the next generation, they will lay and become dormant, and eventually are forgotten.

Good food, family, laughter, reflection, and fellowship has always been a tradition in the mountains and with our family. I want to carry on that tradition as well as pass on our favorite recipes to allow you to create your own family favorites, and your own family memories.

Making this potato soup helps me to hold on a little tighter to those wonderful days of growing up in the beautiful mountains of Kentucky. I hope this soup will be among your families favorites. Feel free to leave comments or questions. I enjoy hearing from each of you. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky!