Roasted Garlic Potato Chow-dair

I had a bunch of roasted garlic left over from the mayo the other day, so I figured I would put it to good use in a yummy soup, mostly because it has been ALMOST -40 the last couple of days. Gross! Anyway, I used red-skinned potatoes, because that's what I had, but really, you should use russet. That's what all the cool kids say. I also threw in cauliflower because I get all excited when I see something in which I can potentially hide vegetables.

You will need:

2 slices bacon (I like reduced-sodium because I like to suck the fun out of everything)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 heads roasted garlic
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp thyme
Salt, pepper
1/4 c white wine
4 c chicken stock
1 lb red-skinned potatoes, diced
2 c cauliflower, chopped
2 c milk

Lots of prep! Dice your potatoes, carrot and celery, chop everything else finely. Cut the bacon into small chunks. Don't make your potatoes too small, say about half a centimetre across. Gotcha! Slipped in the metric system when you weren't looking. Don't worry about your cauliflower being any particular size, you just want it relatively easy to break down. Now, start! If you haven't any roasted garlic already (whaaat? doesn't everyone have 9 roasted bulbs just kicking around??), see here for instructions

Brown the bacon in a large Dutch oven, remove the bits and set aside.

Add in the onions, celery and carrot, cook until softened, 3-5 minutes.

Add in a head and a half's worth of roasted garlic, about 10 cloves. Cook for one more minute. Add in the 2 Tbsp flour and 1 tsp of thyme, stirring to combine. Add in salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, until it starts to stick to the bottom.

Deglaze with the wine, stirring to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom. Cook until the wine is all gone, then add in the chicken stock, potatoes, cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes and cauliflower have softened.

Taste! Re-season as necessary. I like to break up the potatoes a bit, using a potato masher, but you could also use a hand-held blender. I prefer the masher because I like to leave chunks, but it you are into smooth soup, use one by all means.

Turn the heat up a smidge and add in the milk. Using a garlic press, crush the rest of the roasted garlic cloves into the soup - about 4 or 5. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or so, uncovered, until it has thickened somewhat. Taste again! More pepper, probably. More thyme for sure. Make it so!

I garnished each bowl with the cooked bacon from the beginning and portioned this into 6 1 1/2 c servings at 209 calories per. Add on a slice of whole wheat, whole grain bread and some butter, good to go for supper or lunch on a really FREAKING cold day.

Enjoy!