Potato Leek Soup with Bacon and Basil

Fall always puts me in the mood for soup, nothing better on a chilly day!

serves 4

2 large leeks or 3 small thinly sliced white and light green sections
1 small red onion chopped
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
2 medium red potatoes with the skin on sliced in bite size pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pint vegetable broth or a mix of veggie broth and water
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp fennel thyme salt (to make your own use 1 part salt to 1 part herbs)
6 pieces crispy cooked bacon
4 tbsp chopped basil

In a heavy pan on the stove heat the olive oil till warm but not smoking, add the garlic and saute a few minutes till fragrant.  Add the red onion and saute until the onion is soft; add the leeks and saute.  Once the leaks are beginning to soften add the red potatoes, season with salt mixture and pepper.   Saute till potatoes just begin to soften and add the vegetable broth.  Broth should just cover the vegetable mixture, cook at a simmer till the potatoes are soft.  Remove from heat and add the milk.  Serve immediately in bowls, top with 1 1/2 pieces bacon and 1 tbsp basil on each.  I use kitchen sheers to cut the bacon and basil.  Enjoy!

Comfort Food: this term has many meanings to each individual. To me, comfort food involves something tasty that is simple to make with natural ingredients, the closer to the house the better! Anyone who knows me even remotely well knows that I am a food snob, yes I am picky and want to know where and how my food was raised be it a piece of meat or a vegetable. I am addicted to living close to good food, in Maine I thrive on all the local farmers on the Blue Hill Peninsula. The majority of the year I am lucky to have Codman Farm and Blue Heron Farm. Tonight I made dinner from some of my favorite local farmers.  Find a local farmer around you for pork, I always enjoy the delicious pork from Bagaduce Pork, tonight I used their "Dad's Sausage".  Check out your farmer's market for a good olive oil source, I buy amazing extra virgin olive oil imported from a small farmer in Italy at the Winter Farmer's Market in Wayland.  

French Inspired Farmer's Market Dinner

serves 1, can easily be adapted for 2

2 small red potatoes, small chunks
5 baby turnips, thinly sliced
5 baby carrots, thinly sliced
12 pea pods, trimmed
2 farm fresh eggs
1/4 cup cooked ground sausage
freshly ground pepper
ancho chili sea salt
olive oil



Add 1 tsp of olive oil to a nonstick frying pan and heat until warm but not smoking. Add potatoes, and cook for a few minutes. Add baby carrot and turnip. Cook until veggie mix is starting to become tender. Add ground pepper and sea salt over the mixture, crack two eggs over the top of the mixture. Add pea pods. Place a lid over the top and cook until the eggs are desired consistency and veggies tender on medium heat. I like to cook until the eggs are just shy of cooked through and the veggies are tender.  Cooking times vary greatly whether one cooks on a gas or electric stove.  I am slowly learning to cook on my Grandmother's electric beast, while greatly missing my gas stove in the old farmhouse and eagerly awaiting a kitchen renovation!  Enjoy with a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Maine Scallops with Grapefruit and Avocado

Winter time in Maine brings the special treat of fresh sea scallops. These sea scallops were caught by a friends husband in Casco Bay and were particularily flavorful. To season the dish perfectly I used the Aleppo Chile salt from Didi Davis Artisan Food I bought at the Winter Farmer's Market.


serves 2 perfectly
1/2 lb Maine sea scallops
1 ripe avocado cut into strips
1/2 ruby red grapefruit in peeled sections
2 servings (1 cup dry) Israeli Couscous cooked
chopped fresh cilantro
Aleppo Chile salt to taste
2 cloves garlic chopped
olive oil

Cook the Israeli couscous as per the instructions on the package. Peel the grapefuit, remove each section and peel the fruit out of the skin covering each individual section, set the grapefruit aside. Remove the avocado from the skin and cut into thin slices. Meanwhile heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on the stove in a frying pan, be careful not to burn the oil. Saute garlic in the oil. When the oil is hot add the scallops and lightly sprinkle with Aleppo chile salt. Cook the scallops to your taste, I cook them a few minutes on each side turning a few times till they just push back when pressed with a spatula or the tongs I use to flip them with. Season the couscous to taste with Aleppo chile salt and add chopped cilantro to couscous. Divide couscous equally between two plates, arrange avocado, grapefruit and scallops atop. Enjoy!