baked potato soup

Last Sunday, the Hubby and I had lunch with his side of the family; we went to this resto with fabulous baked potato soup. It was so freaking yummy that within the first spoonful I decided to try to replicate it at home. I Googled various baked potato soup recipes to get a general idea, and then for lunch today I made attempt number one.

I'm happy to say that attempt number one turned out to be really good soup, and I'm proud enough to share my improvised recipe here.


Baked Potato Soup

You will need:

• 2 large potatoes, diced (or around 2 1/2 cup or diced potato)
• 2 cups water
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (around 1/4 cup)
• 2 small cloves of garlic (or one large one), crushed
• 1 cup evaporated milk or cream
• cheddar cheese, grated (or any cheese you prefer, I suppose)
• a few tablespoons of spring onions, finely chopped
• fried garlic chips

Optional:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• a few sprigs of rosemary, minced
• bacon chips
• salt and pepper

Procedure:

I know this is called "baked potato soup", but some of the recipes I found didn't require baking the potato since the vegetables have to be boiled together anyway. So here goes --

• Boil the potato until soft. By soft I mean easily mashable.
  
  Suggestions:
  Boil the taters with rosemary (or any herb of your choice); I chose rosemary because it adds a bit of tang.
  If you don't have herbs, you can use chicken flavor cubes. You can also use chicken broth instead of water, if you prefer.
• Remove from heat. Draw out half of the potato cubes and mash them separately with a fork. Combine the mashed potatoes and potato cubes in the pot.
• Toss in the onion and garlic to the potatoes-and-herb mixture and bring to a boil.
• At this point you can add butter if you prefer, and/or a few tablespoons of grated cheese.
• Lower heat and let simmer.
• Remove from heat and stir in the milk or cream.
• Serve warm in individual bowls. Top with spring onion, garlic chips and more grated cheese. Bacon chips would be a good idea too. Makes 4-6 servings.

knowing there is a heaven

Of course I believe in Heaven. Knowing that there is a Heaven is not just a way of coping with the grief of loss, but an assent that God is sovereign and good.

Deaths and funerals aren't new to me, but losing a loved one isn't something you get used to. Sure, you grow familiar with the traditions and rites and various grieving processes associated, but it doesn't diminish the sadness because every loss is unique.

My father-in-law passed away recently and though all those who love him were grieved (and likely still grieving), still a sense of joy is very evident in each one. We rejoice because he is in a happier place, free from the limitations of an aging body, free from the illness he suffered in his last days with us. We rejoice because our separation is but temporary; we will all get together again sometime under better circumstances.

Knowing there is a Heaven changes death: Death is not merely an end but a beginning; not merely a cause for sorrow but of celebration. Death is no longer cold but kind.

girls talk: going green

Whew! It was a bit of a challenge for me to find something for this week's GT - I realize i don't own anything green. Anyway, I finally managed to find something to share. I might be cheating a bit, but it's still all the right color. ^_^

First off, I live in a home with a garden (garden = green, right?). Instead of flowers and ornamental plants, we have herbs:


I love adding herbs to my cooking - they add that richness to the flavor and fragrance. I am absolutely glad that I can pick them fresh from the garden - not only do I get to save money (herbs at the supermarket are usually pricey), but I also have an option not to put unnecessary additives found in instant flavorings.

Among my loves in the garden are basil, oregano, rosemary and mint.

And while we're on the topic of green, let me share about my fascination for vermarine. It's one of my favorite materials when making fashion accessories:


Vermarine is a semiprecious stone, a mint-green colored quartz. Natural vermarine is rare, but the cheaper, lab-enhanced kind is produced by heat-treating amethyst (purple quartz). This here is a photo of a choker I made using unnatural vermarine and amethyst.

Find more green-mindedness at ...

girls talk: purple

Being a non-fan of purple, I always thought I didn't have any purple things -but when I went around the house to look for one I realized I had quite a few. I picked the most interesting one for this week's Girls Talk.

This here is a stuffed animal with a bit of sentimental value. It was given to my by the Hubby ten years ago when he was courting (in his words "trying to get to know me better").

It's a Snoopy doll that was distributed at McDonalds to commemorate Peanuts' 50th anniversary. We and a bunch of friends used to have weekly after-church dinners at McDonald's, and the Hubby (formerly known as the Boyfriend) would get me the promo toy if I thought it was cute.

It was very slightly annoying that he kept giving me all these cute-but-useless things, but I thought it was really, awesomely sweet of him.

It's faded a bit and caught a lot of dust, but couldn't get myself to get rid of it yet. I've already thrown away or sold a lot of our unwanted stuff, but Snoopy stays. It's been with me for a decade now, so it might as well stay forever. ^_^

neil gaiman's yummy porridge recipe

Porridge is a Brit way of saying oatmeal (or any kind of boiled grain like champorado or lugaw). I found this recipe at Neil Gaiman's blog, in which the writer claims it to be a recipe for the yummiest porridge. I decided to give it a try and darn, it is delicious - it's got that caramelly, butterscotchy twist to it.

It comes with a warning though: Gaiman advises that it's not exactly healthy, and certainly not for eating everyday. It's just the kind to serve when you have guests over and you want to impress them, he says. I say, the flavored oatmeal we buy at the grocery stores has more junk than this, so I think this is still a better substitute.


You will need:

• Oatmeal. Unflavored, regular, old-fashioned oatmeal, not the instant kind. Use 2 different types for texture.
• Butter
• Water
• Milk or cream
• Optional: Sweetener such as brown sugar, maple syrup or honey

Procedure:

• In a pan, bathe the oatmeal in butter. Use low heat; be careful not to burn it.
• Pour in the water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• When cooked, top with the sweetener of your choice and a dollop of cream.

Suggestions:

• I experimented by adding a dash of vanilla for flavor. Still yummy.
• I'm thinking about maybe next time I'll try it with cinnamon and / or bits of fruit.