Potato Soup

On a cold winter day like today in MN this soup was perfect, it was creamy and delicious. We gobbled this down with Happy Herbivore's Beer Bread and used Guinness Extra Stout. This soup would probably be good with all regular potatoes but the red potatoes make it a little bit creamier and buttery like, hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Makes about 8 cups:
4 large red potatoes, (or 6 small), peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces
2 tsp garlic powder, or 2 garlic cloves minced
1 medium onion diced
1 Tbs parsley
1 Tbs chives
4 cups water
4 med/large russet/white potatoes, peeled and cut in bite sized pieces
2 carrots, peeled and sliced in bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups soy milk (I haven't tried anything else so I'm not sure how it would change the taste)
S&P to taste
*Optional additional ingredients: corn, peas, green beans, celery or celery salt.

-In a large soup pot saute onion with minced garlic until onions are translucent, add the red potatoes, spices, and water. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 15-20 mins).

-When the potatoes are tender mash them with a potato masher to a creamy consistancy. If you use a blender add the potato mixture and some of the liquid and puree until smooth (still keeping the rest of the liquid for the soup), or use a hand held immersion blender. It really doesn't have to be perfect, if you have small chunks they will mostly break up while you continue to cook the soup.

-Add blended mixture back to the pot if you took it out and add the white potatoes, carrots, and soy milk, bring back to a simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until potatoes and carrots are tender. S&P to taste and eat it up, yum!

*Depending on the size of your potatoes if your soup seems too thick add a little more water or soy milk, if it seems too runny mix 2 Tbs flour with 1/4 cup water and stir into the soup for a few mins. It will also thicken as it cools.