Winter Vegetable Chowder

This came out pretty well, though not as well as my friend's version of it - hers was thicker (more flour? more pureeing? is "pureeing" even a word?). But, it was still quite tasty, so I will share.

Winter Vegetable Chowder

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1 clove garlic, halved

2 pinches dried thyme

1/2 onion, sliced

2 bay leaves

parsley, chopped (divided)

ground black pepper

3 Tbsp butter

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 bunch carrots, washed and chopped

1 bundle celery, chopped

2 leeks (white and light green parts only)

4 scallions (white and light green parts only)

6 fingerling potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 Tbsp flour

5 cups water

2 bay leaves

liberal sprinkle of salt (1 1/2 tsp suggested)

It is marvelously helpful to peel and chop all or most of the vegetables that need to be peeled and chopped before you start to melt butter or heat milk. Just a tip.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and "aromatics" (the six ingredients following the milk in the list above). The recipe also calls for juniper berries, which I did not have and thus did not include. When the milk begins to foam, remove from heat and cover.

In a soup pot, melt the butter, then throw in the potatoes and other veggies. Let them cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Then add the flour and parsley, stir, and add the water, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Strain the milk (I poured it from the saucepan through the strainer back into the 2-cup measuring cup I'd used to measure the milk to begin with). Add 1 cup (or more, if you like a thicker soup) to the milk and blend/puree. Again, I did this in the saucepan with my immersion blender, but it can also be done in a regular blender, in batches if necessary.

Add the milk/vegetable puree mixture back into the soup pot. Stir. Soup!