Get Your Irish On With Cheddar Potato Chowder. Erin Go Bragh!

Cheddar Potato Soup | Photo: Kelly Hunt Last weekend I visited the Farm Store at Adelaide Farms. Mark has lots of vegetables and he has meats available all year. He even pulled some brussel sprouts out of cold storage that still looked good! He is open every day except Christmas. On my trip, I ended up buying some red potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, yams and some garlic. I also noticed he had some preserves and some local honey available from another farm around here. Of course, squash and cabbage are still readily available as well. I was thrilled to find so many things that still look good. Hey, St. Patrick”s Day is this Tuesday. This morning I woke up and thought I would start waving my shillelagh around in the spirit of my ancestors and make some potato soup. I wrestled this cookbook out from beneath a stack in the spirit of ole” saint Paddy. It”s called “Irish Cooking”. My friends and old neighbours Ray and Lindsay gave this one to me for a chuckle a few years back. I miss them! We just had 2 big bowls of this for lunch, Sean weighs in as an official big time fan! If you have this book, I altered the recipe. Here is what I did: Cheddar Potato Chowder 3 tbsp of butter 4 medium carrots 1 large onion, chopped 3 tbsp flour (Arva flour mill) 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard powder 1/4 teaspoon of hot smoked paprika A few turns of white pepper out of mill 2 cups milk (I used skim and it was still INCREDIBLY creamy and rich) 2 cups water 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed to about 1/2 inch pieces (I used red skinned) 2 chicken bouillon cubes 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (you can get local cheddar at Smiths cheese at Covent Market) 4 slices of local bacon,cooked and crumbled (optional) course salt to taste In big pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the carrots and the onions, cooking until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, paprika, pepper and dry mustard, cook one minute. Gradually add the milk, taking care not to burn it. Also add water, potatoes and bouillon. Give a really good stir. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender – try one! Remove your pot from the heat; add cheese and stir just until melted. Add salt as desired. Top each serving with the crumbled bacon. Sit in front of fire or TV and eat. Yum-O! Check out this link for some other potato soup recipes at Foodista!  Read More