a giveaway & a recipe: comfy potato soup

What a combo, right? I've been called many things, but never (cough, cough) boring.

The free part...

Giveaway(s): I'm offering a nice little giveaway if enough of you are interested. I have accumulated a massive amount of leather scraps - more than I could ever use and I hate to throw anything away.

Now I ask that you do your part by telling me if, as an artist or crafter, you have an interest in obtaining a little package of assorted leather scraps. Keep reading...

Think pendants, cuffs, flowers, etc.

If a few folks are interested, I'll send you a package. If more than a few are interested I will put together several packages to win. Remember, they're scraps - no bigger than 4-5" but useful for the right project. Each package will be just under 13oz (Continental US only).

Leave me a comment if you're interested with contact information and stay tuned to see how things develop. Keep reading...

The yummy part...

Easy Comfy, Wintery Go-To Potato Soup

(Bonus: It's Gluten Free!)

Actually, cooking gluten free is extremely easy now that it's becoming more common. This is a super simple, go-to wintery comfort potato soup. In fact, I'll bet you've already got the ingredients in your pantry.

What You'll Need:

4-5 large potatoes, cubed

1 small onion, diced

2 (or more) carrots, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

(optional) minced garlic

olive oil

4 cups gluten-free vegetable stock or chicken broth

sour cream

salt & pepper

Bring the potatoes to a boil in a large pot of water. Once it's boiling, allow to simmer until the potatoes are soft - generally about 15 minutes. While that's cooking, add olive oil to a large saute pan and saute the vegetables (with salt & pepper to taste) until translucent. If you decide to add garlic, add it near the end so that it won't burn.

Drain the potatoes, add the sautéed vegetables, then the broth or stock. Check to see if you need to add a little more salt or pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer. If you have an immersion blender, blend until about half of the potatoes are creamy. This will thicken the soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, take half of the mixture and blend in a blender until smooth then add back to the soup.

Garnish with a little sour cream (or crumbled bacon or cheese or all three) and enjoy.