Go minimalist with this simple, delicious, healthy recipe for potato soup

Becoming minimalist means owning less and buying less and living more.

(You’ll find that there’s a certain freedom in owning less, as you’re given the opportunity to explore life with less attachment to things. Sometimes you’re unaware of how weighed down you are until you actually eliminate the anchor that you thought you needed so much.)

As this includes food, the transition to minimalism requires a change in eating habits, that can open new opportunities into the lifestyle of simple and delicious recipes. This change translates to using a small number of essential ingredients that can be used in a variety of ways.

Once you are applying minimalism in your life, your recipes will likely reflect this transition.

The following ingredients are essential for making mashed potatoes, hash browns (fried potatoes), baked potatoes, and potato soup.

Here’s a simple recipe for potato soup that I have made twice in the last two weeks. The first time, I mashed up half of the cooked potatoes, which gave it a creamy consistency. The second time I made it, which was earlier tonight, I skipped the mashing, which resulted in the soup having a golden colored broth, looking almost like the broth one would expect to see in a bowl of homemade chicken soup. Interestingly, tonight’s soup reminded me of chicken soup in the way that it tasted. Thankfully, both soups got good reviews.

So, here’s the recipe for potato soup.

Minimalist Recipe #1 – Simple potato soup

1. potatoes
2. celery
3. carrots
4. onions
5. corn (corn on the cob, 2-3 cobs)
6. sea salt
7. black pepper
8. cayenne pepper
9. olive oil

Using these 12 ingredients, you can assemble some delicious meals. I’m going to share with you a simple recipe for delicious potato soup. You can turn it into a potato stew, provided you follow the additional instructions at the end.

Potato Soup

1. Chop potatoes. You probably want to chop the potatoes into pieces that are about the size of a cheese cube. You know, the kind you see at office parties and made-to-order deli platters.
2. Dice celery. Dicing means to chop up into small pieces.
3. Dice onions.
4. Dice carrots.
5. Shave off the corn of 2 – 3 cobs of corn
6. Add Grapeseed oil (enough to coat the bottom layer) into sauce pot or soup pot. Grapeseed oil contains linoeic acid, an essential fatty acid (EFA) that is rich with omega 6. Because Grapeseed oil burns at a higher temperature than olive oil, it is becoming a popular oil used by chefs.
7. Add diced vegetables. Turn heat to medium-low. Leave uncovered. Stir vegetables and oil.
8. Adding the corn to the mire poix (celery, carrots, onions) gives it a sweet flavor
9. Stirring the vegetables in the Grapeseed oil gives it a roasted and smoky vegetable flavor. Saute the vegetables for 7 – 10 minutes. You might want to reduce heat to low, while stirring, so as not to burn the vegetables or overcook them.
10. Add hot water into a stainless steel pot until it is half way filled. If you use aluminum pots, please throw them out, and buy stainless.
11. Add chopped potatoes to water. Add liberal amounts of sea salt, black pepper. Add a dash of cayenne pepper.
12. Turn up heat on potatoes and water to 7 or 8, or one notch past the mid-level for the temperature control. Oh, you probably have a fancy oven. In that case, press the button.
13. Let potatoes come to boil. This will probably take 15-to-20 minutes. Once this happens, reduce heat to medium.
14. Continue to cook soup for 45 minutes to an hour. Keep covered. Taste, and add additional spices as necessary.
15. The end result will be a delicious potato soup, with a clear spicy broth and hearty flavor.
16. You can crush some of the contents of the soup, then stir, in order to make the soup creamy. If you prefer a clear broth, do not crush contents of soup.

optional: If you want the soup to have a more creamy flavor, after the soup has been cooking for 20-to-30 minutes, take a blender or a smasher, and crush up 1/2 of the ingredients. Then, stir the soup. The color will turn from a golden broth to a milky consistency, giving it a heartier flavor that tastes more filling.

This soup tastes delicious when it’s freshly made, and keeps well throughout the week. I just throw the entire pot into the fridge, and reheat when needed. I don’t recommend using the microwave, as this tends to dry out deflavorize foods.

I hope this soup recipe gives a starting point to think in a new way about what you’re eating–you can eat well without having to spend a lot of money on useless items, when use minimal, essential ingredients.

Eating well doesn’t mean you have to eat a lot, it simply means using good ingredients and assembling them in a way wherein they compliment each other.

Think of ingredients as people that you invite to a party. You’re likely to invite people who get along well together. That’s how recipes ought to be thought of–as the assembling of ingredients that get along when mixed in a group.

Here’s your assignment.

1. Assess the contents of your fridge. What’s in there? If you’re not eating it, and think you’re saving it “just in case”, well, it’s time to give it to the neighbor, or leave it in the bushes outside your house so the ants can have a party.

2. Google some simple recipes. Find meals that you like and learn how to make them. This is creative, fun, and will save you money from visiting the drive-thru of the nearest nutritional pornographer. Eating bad food is nutritional pornography, as it leaves you constantly wanting more, never fully satisfied, and with a nagging feeling of guilt and restlessness.

3. Repeat 1 and 2. Encourage others to participate.

Thanks for reading this, and if you’ve been entertained, amused, motivated, challenged, or inspired in any way, leave a comment, repost this to twitter, or to your Facebook account.

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