Potato Apple Soup

So while I've been hoping for some sunshine and warmer temperatures to welcome in spring this week, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.  A few more days (or weeks) of winter weather are in the forecast, so I've decided to make the most of it...I guess.  This week in our Grindstone delivery we received Russet potatoes, yellow onions, apples, baby carrots, Bartlett pears, Valencia oranges, radishes, green peppers, mustard greens, green chard, dill, arugula and green leaf lettuce.  Another bonus of these weekly deliveries is that the farm includes recipes for the ingredients in each box.  So just in case you were wondering what to do with all of those greens or potatoes, they've got you covered.  I'm not sure if all CSA farmers do this, but I do know that many vendors I've encountered at the farmer's markets are very willing to share cooking tips and recipes for their crops.  Just another great reason to get to know where your food is coming from!

The recipes offered this week were Potato Apple Soup, Potato Pancakes, and Beans and Greens.  We decided today was a soup kind of day as it's pretty blustery out there and very, very cold.  I made a few minor adjustments to the Potato Apple Soup recipe and it came out pretty tasty.  One adjustment I feel I should comment on is adding in whole milk instead of half and half.  I'm sure the half and half would be great, but we only had whole milk on hand and as I'm sure every parent knows, part of that role is being resourceful.  And taking resourceful one step further, the only whole milk we did have was still left from St. Patrick's Day that the leprechauns had mysteriously turned green.  So if you're wondering why my soup looks like a shamrock shake, my quest to be an extremely festive parent is to blame.  Addison thought it was great anyway, so I guess it was worth it.

Here's the recipe:

Potato Apple Soup 

1 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup celery, sliced

1 lb Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 Apple, peeled and diced

1/4 cup fresh dill

1 cup whole milk or half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine onion, celery, potatoes and chicken broth in a large sauce pan over medium high heat for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Turn off heat and stir in diced apples.  Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor or you can use an immersion blender to blend until smooth (that's what I did).

4. Transfer mixture back to the sauce pan and stir in fresh dill and milk or half and half.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

I wasn't kidding about the green soup and since it's March Madness, go 'CUSE!  Maybe I should have tried to make it orange...

We served the soup with a salad using some of our fresh greens and pan seared salmon.  Very simple, but very tasty!