Leave those skins on...

Yesterday when I came home from the grocery store The Southerner and The Fix-it Guy were working on the bathroom drains (because you couldn't really call them drains anymore since they didn't). Actually, The Fix-it Guy was working on the drains and The Southerner was "standing by" just in case. Hehe. Anyway, The Southerner went into the kitchen for a something (probably more tea - standing by is a very thirsty job) and saw the ten pounds of potatoes I'd bought.

The Southerner: Potatoes on sale?
Me: Nope. They're for the soup and guess what? The recipe calls for them to be peeled.
The Southerner: ALL OF THEM!!! You've got to be kidding me!!!!

You see, the reason he reacted so strongly is because if you'll recall, I cannot peel potatoes. I had a major allergic reaction last summer when I peeled potatoes for soup. The Southerner is now the designated potato peeler. From down the hall (and under the sink), The Fix-it Guy yelled out, "Don't peel them! The peelings are the best part!"

The truth is that while I had already decided to adapt the recipe somehow so that they did not all have to be peeled, I had to make The Southerner sweat just a little bit.

Me: They have to be peeled. That's how the recipe works!

He didn't really fall for it though because he knows I've never followed a recipe to the letter in my life. In the end, he was right not to worry because I totally made up the soup. I did have him peel about ten large potatoes. I got sent to my room (office) while he was doing it because I had the audacity to try and explain to him why he was going to cut himself if he kept using the potato peeler the way he was using it the potatoes were making me sneeze, even though he was doing the peeling.

The rest of the scrubbed potatoes I rubbed with olive oil and salt and then baked on a sheet pan at 450 for about an hour. I boiled the potatoes that he peeled and then pureed them with the water and some carmelized onion to make a base for the soup. Then I chopped the baked potatoes, added them to it, added more water, seasonings and a whole lot of shredded cheddar cheese, some chives, and thinned it with a little vegetable stock. Just in case you're wondering why I used ten pounds of potatoes when I wasn't expecting very many people today, it's because I made nearly nine quarts of soup.

I made nine quarts because someone asked me to do Sunday Soup at their house for their family next week and I agreed. Although we spread the word to our regulars that we wouldn't be here, we didn't see everyone this week, so The Neighbour and The Brits are planning on defrosting half of this week's soup (which I intend to freeze tomorrow) and hosting their own SS here, just in case anyone shows up. So essentially there will be two Sunday Soups next week. You're welcome to join us at either of them, but of course you have to know where to go...I can't really post that info here!

Today we had a small, but fun group. There was me, The Southerner, The Brits, The Neighbour, The Fix-it Guy and The Fleece Lady, and The Real Estate Agent (Extraordinaire) here. The bread was the no-knead type, with a garlic and herb ribbon (how's that for fancy? It means I spread it out on the board as dough, brushed a mixture of olive oil, Italian herbs, and garlic paste over it and then rolled it up and baked it as usual), which was quite popular, and a variety of cookies and candies leftover from last week. The only unfortunate thing is that I did not make the time to prepare a casserole, so now SS is over for the week and I am sitting in front of the fire with my feet up, but there is nothing in the oven baking until bubbly. I can hear The Southerner's stomach growling from the other room. Time to forage...

Have a great week!