Encore – Comfort and Love, Joy and Abundant Living

We couldn’t think of anything better to go with the wonderful bread we shared with you yesterday, than this great comfort food we first wrote about in a post that marked our 1 year anniversary of Two Chums.  We have been visiting with you everyday for almost 3 years now and still are so grateful to each and every one of you, our chums 🙂

You surely know by now that Two Chums is all about love, joy and abundant living. We’ll get to that in a minute. First let’s talk about comfort. The comfort here relates to a comfort food …potato soup.

Part 1 – Comfort

When I was young, anytime anyone in our family was sick or under the weather for any reason, my grandmother would treat the problem, not with the proverbial chicken soup, but with potato soup. She would peel and cut up a potato into 1/2-3/4″ cubes and then chop an onion. These would be placed into a pot with some salt and pepper and enough whole milk to cover them. The milk would then be heated and simmered until the potatoes were cooked and the onions were tender. A couple of pats of butter were added and once they had melted the soup was served. To me this was, and is, a definition of comfort. I couldn’t imagine ever having any potato soup as satisfying as this version was. That is until a couple of years ago when I happened to have a very delicious and very, very satisfying bowl of potato soup in a little bistro in Charleston, South Carolina.

The server seems to have been related somehow to the chef and when I expressed how much I was enjoying the soup she beamed and happily explained exactly how it was made. It turns out it is a version of the technique my grandmother used. The potatoes and onions are simmered in chicken stock instead of milk. Then when they are tender, everything is poured into a food processor or blender with some heavy cream in place of the butter my grandmother used. It is all then pureed until it is smooth.

It is then served up in a bowl and drizzled with white truffle oil. It is like eating creamy liquid mashed potatoes that are perfectly seasoned and just plain scrumptious! Try it….you’ll no doubt agree and hopefully feel some comfort too.

Potato Bisque

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, diced
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 -3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
white truffle oil

Cook potatoes and onion in chicken stock until soft. Puree in a food processor or blender with cream. Adjust seasoning. Serve with a drizzle of white truffle oil.

Part 2 -Love, Joy and Abundant Living

This week it has been one year since we embarked on this adventure called Two Chums. We couldn’t let this week end without “marking the moment” and acknowledging what a year it has been. We have enjoyed sharing with you each day some of the things that we have learned about love, joy and abundant living. We are still learning. We love to hear from you and to share with all our other chums the things you share with us. Most of our Savvy Secrets come from you. And your comments and questions have provided inspiration for many of the posts we’ve done. You are the reason we’re here and that we show up each day. Having this website takes more time and demands more work than we could have imagined starting out on this adventure, but we love doing it. You, our chums, are the joy in all of it. You make all the time and work so very worth it. And together we have had a wonderful first year, full to the brim with abundant living…who could ask for more? Thank you, thank you, thank you for being our chums, for allowing us into your lives and for enriching ours each and every day 🙂