Potato, Patato Zoup

I have a mission, a goal, a challenge- I'm going to use my crockpot (one of my three) at least once a week until Spring. This week I accomplished my goal by making the incredibly delicious Potato Soup. The secret ingredient that pulled it all together - TOFUTTI SOUR CREAM!



This is what I did-
The ingredients:

• 5 russet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 5 cloves of minced garlic (adjust to your taste of course)
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1/4 c. red pepper chopped (next time I'm upping the quantity)
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley (or dry)
• approx 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning (or oregano)
• 3 cups veggie broth (I used 3 cups of water & 3 Tbs. of Bryanna's homemade stuff)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Then I cooked the hell out of it, on low, for 8 ish hours.

Side Note: If you have never made BRYANNA'S HOMEMADE VEGAN "CHICKEN-STYLE" BROTH POWDER do yourself a favor and do it. I'm totally in love with the stuff, I will never use store bought again.

I then scooped out about 2 cups of the soup and put in a medium size mixing bowl. Using my emulsion blender, I blended it pretty smooth, and then put it back into the crock.

Then I measured out 1 1/2 cups of rice milk and whisked 2 Tbs. of arrowroot with it. Poured that mixture into the crock. Cooked for another 1/2 hour.

Next I put a blop of sour cream in a bowl (estimating at 1/2-3/4 cup) and mixed in 1 Tbs. of arrowroot, and mixed that into the crock. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve and eat.....

The red stuff sprinkled in my bowl is dried hot peppers. I totally forgot to cook and serve the Vegan Bacon that I made a special trip to the store for.

I also made bread in my bread machine (I kitchen gadgets) - seriously, this is recipe for Light Oat Bread is the best. Since I found this recipe, I haven't made any other bread - it's light, the crust is crispy- perfection in a loaf.
I'll copy it here, from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Add ingredients to bread machine pan in order recommended by your manufacturer.
Use regular light setting.

I know that one might say - OY, another potato soup recipe- but really, the sour cream in it turned an okay tasting soup into a WOW soup.