Winter Food Market

I don't know about you but a trip to a fresh foods market (of any size) inspires me to create new dishes probably more than any new recipe I could possibly stumble upon does. Here, in the greater Kalamazoo area we are blessed to have a fresh foods market this winter and spring that is open through April 28, 2012. A friend of ours owns the building at 1156 S. Burdick Street in Kalamazoo which plays host to the the Kalamazoo Foods Market. Our WHOLE family (yes even the Twinkies who in a crowded environment like that are harder to chase than water bugs in August) made the maiden voyage to the wonderful market.  Yes, my two men braved it along with us 4 girls (the fourth girl being my 17 year old daughter who I have not introduced in the blog yet - we shall call her Annika, as in Sorenstam - which she hates but it fits!) and it was so much fun!  Well, for me maybe more than anyone else as I also ended up being deluged with goodies from the Victorian Bakery and chocolatier across the street in addition to 5 bags of fresh veggie "gold" for the kitchen!  I felt indulged to be able to look at the wonderful array of items at the market and not have little hands to protect the vendor's wares from as my strong men dutifully occupied Thing 1 and Thing 2! At this market you can find specialty chocolates, coffees, meats, fish (ok, well it's not the singing fish market in Seattle or anything but the fish looked nice and it is caught in Michigan waters) as well as an assortment of several other wonderful vendors. Can't wait to get all my little cloth bags and head back for a second time to peruse the wonderful variety at the market - minus busy little hands!

I think the highlight for me, though, was the fresh produce that occupied - no, it ILLUMINATED - the entire center ring of the room with GORGEOUS, colorful, FRESH local green house grown veggies! The sweetest people helped us as we purchased a nice variety of things and two new items I have never cooked with.  We bought pale beets (the color of sweet potatoes) and LEEKS. I have always wanted to cook with leeks and the plant family that they come from (the allium family - relatives are garlic, onion, chives, scallions) are so good for the body and are powerful detoxifiers.   They stimulate the body to produce glutathione - and at the risk of getting too technical - I will summarize to say that it helps fight free radicals in the body and is key in helping the liver do it's job well. So for that reason alone (and some awesome new potatoes to cook with) I decided to have a try at a recipe I have had my eye on but I knew would need some tweeking for flavor and fullness of body without adding too much fat.  So I worked hard last weekend and figured a little sumpin out to share with y'all.  You can eat this COLD or HOT! So I share my result: my take on yummy potato leek soup which I served with some tasty garnish, crusty bread and a side salad. Hope you can get your hands on some good fresh ingredients at a market near YOU to try this recipe with! Enjoy!


Also a note on washing leeks (KEY!!!): leeks can be very dirty and are best cleaned after they've been trimmed and cut. Soak in cool water (I used a white bowl to best see dirt), lift leeks out and replace water and repeat until no grit remains in the bowl. You may need to still trim some layers superficially as some areas may have embedded grit. Drain on paper towel.

Tasty Potato Leek Soup

Serves: 4         Prep time: 15 minutes     Total time: 45 minutes
Equipment: Large saucepan,  stove or burner, blender

6 medium leeks (about 2.5 lbs), whites only, halved and thinly sliced scrosswise
2 cans of reduced sodium chicken broth (or 3.5 cups homemade chicken broth)
2 baking potatoes (8 ounces each), peeled and diced
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
3/4 cup lowfat milk
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tbsp flour
Garnish: 1 finely diced roma tomato, 1/4 finely chopped chives or green onion, 2 tbsp crumbled bacon (turkey is fine), extra salt and pepper to taste.

In large saucepan, combine leeks, potato, 2 cups water, and 1 tsp salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer until the vegies are very tender 20-25 minutes.

Working in batches, puree the soup in blender transferring it to a clean bowl with a spout as you work. (To avoid splattering as you blend, fill the blender only halfway and allow heat to escape by blending with the opening on the blender lid open and covering with a double layer dish towel to avoid burning your hand).
If eating chilled, simply whisk in the milk and parmesan cheese until well blended.  Place soup in refrigerator at least two hours and then serve with garnish. Can be stored in fridge up to 2 days.

For WARM, thicker soup: When complete blending place pan back on burner over medium high heat. Melt 2 tbsp butter or margarine in pan. Add 2 tbsp flour and mix into paste. Slowly pour entire batch of pureed soup back into pan and whisk to ensure there are no lumps from the butter/flour mixture (or roux) as you go. Then, add milk and  parmesan cheese. Constantly stir until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly (be careful to avoid  burning or scalding!) and then let it cook one minute longer. This is intended to be a lightly thickened soup so we can appreciate the leeks.  Serve immediately with garnish and bread! ENJOY!!!