Potato Leek soup on a dreary day

It's cloudy and cold and dreary here today, so I thought I would make a nice big pot of soup. I never use a recipe to cook  soup, but this is too good not to share.  So I'm writing it down for you as I go along.

Potato Leek Soup

1/2 stick butter
2 leeks
3 medium carrots
2 stalks celery
12 cups water
"better than bouillon" vegetable base
rosemary
sage
herbs de provence
12 cups diced potatoes

First prepare the leeks.  Cut off the very bottom, and a couple of inches from the tops.  Now remove the white part in one chunk, rinsing well, and dice into small cubes.  Start to peel the leek apart one layer at a time, discard the tough outer layer of greens.  Rinse thoroughly as you work, saving all of the lighter green parts.  Dice into small pieces.

Rinse and chop the carrots and celery.
Melt the butter in a large soup pot and add the chopped vegetables.
Cook over medium heat until the vegetables start to turn translucent and the flavors are well blended, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the water, salt and pepper to taste, 2 spoons of the better than bouillon, 1 tsp dried sage leaves, 1 tsp herbs de provence, and 1 tsp dried rosemary (or a few sprigs of fresh rosemary if you have it).
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Add the potatoes, bring back to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender.

At this point, you can leave the soup as is and serve chunky style; or you can make a cream soup by blending  it with a hand held mixer, or in your blender.   Then stir in  a small carton of cream or half and half.  Reheat if necessary, but do not boil once the cream is added.  Serve with grated cheese.
Bon appetit!

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