Kartofel Suppe.

So, we went to cabin and had a blast, and we even took the camera, but it never came out of its case the whole time we were there! There was no way I was going to come home with a picture of me looking like I did: way stinking frumpy. I was so exhausted the whole time, and I took a nap everyday we were there, so I had a constant case of bedhead. And it didn't help that my sister-in-law, who's five months pregnant, looked so stinking cute the whole time! Anyway, I did take some mental pictures, just to prove that I'm mental, so I'll share those ones with you.

The cabin is way up past Heber, in the mountains, and in the winter (starting after conference, usually) you actually have to snowmobile in. You park in a lot down at the bottom of the hill, and then snowmobile up a bit before you get to cabin. I'd never seen anything like it, the first time I went. You have to turn off the water and dump antifreeze down the sink and tub and toilet when you leave, so the pipes don't burst. It can be quite an ordeal to open it up, too, because sometimes you have to dig your way in to the cabin, like my brother-in-law had to do before we got there!

But once you're in, it's so cozy! Matt and Charles kept the fire going 24-7, and they took all the little girls for rides on the snowmobile and the 4-wheeler. They followed Charles around all weekend asking for rides. Nobody likes to ride with me, because I go really slowly so I don't get stuck, and so I can see all the scenery. Charles and Matt ride like snow-demons, and the girls bounce around in the back and come home missing gloves because they flew off and stuff like that. Charles was definitely the favorite uncle this weekend!

I mentioned that my sister-in-law Erika is five months pregnant. My neice Sarah, who just turned three last month, is apparently a little confused about the process of acquiring a little brother, and goes around telling people about the baby in her belly. She sticks it way out, and says she can feel him kicking. If you ask her what her baby's name is, she says very matter-of-factly, "Mart." So every morning when we woke up, we'd ask her how the baby was doing, and she'd say "dood" or "him hungry." It was so cute!

This may come as a shock to some of my old roommates, but I am totally in love with cooking these days. I love making up recipes and seeing them work. and I love feeding people and seeing them appreciate my creations. It's my new favorite thing to do. My hobby. Anyway, while we were there, I tried to make banana bread, but there were no bread pans, so I used a cake pan. I guess something about the elevation and the cake pan threw the bread off, because the bottom got burned before it was cooked all the way through. I was so sad! Usually I make really amazing banana bread! Matt joked that they were going to banish me, because "you know we judge your worth by how you cook, right?" The thing is, I sometimes do! So I needed a way to prove to myself that I was a good cook, after all. So I spent the weekend concocting recipes to try when I got home and I had my own kitchen. And guess what? I just made some kick-butt cream of potato soup! I made the recipe up in my head, and I made the soup, and it was so stinking good. This recipe is going on the list of soups for TheMollyCampbell, our future Irish pub/soup and pie place. I'm going to include the recipe here in case you want to try it. Happy cooking!

ingredients:
five red potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces.
about 1 1/2 cups peeled and sliced carrots
1/2 onion, grated
four strips of bacon, slice into tiny pieces.
1 can chicken broth (I know. but it totally works.)
1 quart whole milk
1 pint whipping cream (not whipped cream.)
1/2 cube of butter
1/4 cup flour

Boil the potatoes and carrots until they are tender, but not too tender. Not gluey. Meanwhile, sautee the bacon and onion in another pot. You don't need butter or oil, because the bacon melts and keeps the onion from sticking. When the potatoes and carrots are done boiling, pour out the water, and pour in the cooked bacon and onion along with the chicken broth. Allow to simmer, while you heat up the milk and cream together. You need to heat them more slowly than the potatoes, so you heat them in another pot until it's almost boiling, then pour it into the simmering potato mixture. Let it all simmer, while you create a rue sauce from the butter and flour and about two cups of the whole milk. Melt the butter and whisk the flour in, a few tablespoons at a time. When it's created a thin paste, pour the milk in and whisk it all quickly together so you don't get clumps of flour. Then pour it all into the rest of the soup, and let it simmer a few more minutes. Serve hot.