It is one of the great comforts of life to enjoy a bowl of steaming hot soup on a cold November day.  The Dutch have an entire class of foods that they call their "winter foods" -- stampot, erwtensoep, and the like... which are considered heavenly delights during this time of the year, especially if made just like Ma's and consumed while watching speed-skating on television.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to make stampot or erwtensoep.  But I do know how to make potato soup.  I learned the recipe from Marci's mom -- whom I remember first serving the delicious dish to me on a cold and snowy Saturday in the dining room of their old farmhouse in Crawford County.  Most of Louise's recipes have been passed directly mother-to-daughter -- but since Marci has never been the greatest potato afficionado, I took it upon myself to learn how to make this perfect potato soup (it's really not that hard, actually) so the enjoyment could be preserved for future generations.

And I just made a big pot of it this afternoon and had two delicious bowlfuls for lunch.  It was a wonderful, warming, satisfying, nostalgic experience.