Feeling a little British: Potato Leek Soup and more

Last weekend I had friends for Brunch. We had originally planned on going out however, a combination of already having been out several times that week, and a real craving to make scones, were inspiration for this lovely meal! 

I made Potato Leek Soup, which my sister used to make for me and my five siblings (probably my parents too) when we were in high school.  I'm not sure where she got the recipe so I will just name it for her. The oats make this a very thick creamy recipe. I served the soup with homemade scones and Yorkshire Rabbit (cheese sauce on toast). So I recipes from my mixed heritage of Irish, Scottish and English all at one table!

My food photos aren't great as I forgot until the end of the meal to grab a couple of shots so I've added photos from my recent trip to the homeland!

Not the best shot but it is TASTY! 

Anna's Irish Potatoe* Leek Soup
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 chopped onions
2 sliced leaks
6 cubed potatoes
1/2 cup oats
2 grated garlic cloaves
2 cups stock
2 cups milk
ground pepper
nutmeg (I forgot but would add)
cilantro (I forgot and would not add, I think Anna may have been going through a weird cilantro phase when she wrote this recipe)
chives (I forgot and would not add only because I don't keep chives in my cupboard)

Directions

Melt butter and cook onions, leeks and garlic for 3 minutes, then add potatoes and oats. Cook until brown, add remaining ingredients and simmer 1 1/2 hour (I only cooked about 1/2 hour and it was still yummy).

I served my soup with a scone recipe I modified from the internet (but can't find, there are plenty so just search) using milk instead of cream and (like my mum used to) making two big patties, one with black currents and one without, slicing and sprinkling with sugar before I baked it.

I also served it with Yorkshire Rabbit, but will save that for an additional post.

*My family is notoriously bad at spelling and this is how she wrote potato in my recipe book, no spellcheck there.

Lentil Stew (like mum used to make and then some!)

Growing up I disliked lentils. They were always the bottom-of-the-barrel fall back meal, the Thursday before pay-day kind of supper. Cooked straight up with onions. Except when they weren't a very-last option and more of a quicky dinner and there was actually still cheese to grate on top. Even if there wasn't fromage on top we still usually had ketchup to spice things up.

When I started straying from meat I realized that mum perhaps had something going when she stocked the cupboard with lentils. This legume is a hearty protein source, and, I have learned, actually holds a lot of flavour and a great base for winter stews!

This meal was brewed up with an extra couple bowls for left-over alternatives to lunchtime sandwiches for work.

Ingredients:
Vegetables +Lentils
1 leak, well rinsed and chopped (dirt tends to show up between the leaves)
1 stalk celery or so, with leaves, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, grated/shredded/pressed- whatever you like to do with your garlic
Handful of mushrooms, I think I used Shitaki, chopped
1 litre hot water + 1-2 cubes veg stock (if it gets too thick, add more water)
1 cup green lentils

Spices
Ground nutmeg, thanks to my new kitchen gratey-device from my sister--- fresh ground!
Cumon
Rosemary
Cloves
Pepper

Directions
1. Chop up vegies and throw in big pot on medium in order of appearance with a couple tablespoons of oil
2. Add water + soup stock cubes
3.  Add lentils and spices (a pinch of each, extra if you feel the flavours' lagging)