I used to avoid potatoes.  My college nutrition class told me they were complex carbohydrates.  I avoided them for a number of years on principles I vaguely remembered now that I am not being tested on it.  But potatoes and I reconciled about a year ago because they are a farmer’s friend. They are cheap; they pair with everything; they keep.  I wish I could say they are easy to grow, but we’ve tried three times with no luck.  Maybe this fall….

There is another veggie that I have mastered growing – the leek.  This beautiful large giantess green onion knows its value.  Potatoes are staples and therefore inexpensive, but leeks know they are gorgeous with their wavy green tentacles purely for show as if stretching lazily on a spring morning. Their (at times) steep price tag is worth the seed packet price.

They take a long time to grow, but are so worth it.  Because you can roast them with potatoes, arugula, and white wine and puree them in a beautiful medley worth savoring on a brisk spring evening (click sentence for recipe).  There are other things you can do to them as well, but this was the first meal I wanted when we came home from Italy.

We had the last of our arugula to use and a few leeks were ready to welcome us home.  Our garden tells us what to eat now.  It beckons our creativity in new ways.  So I didn’t hesitate to pick up a small bag of potatoes and creme fraiche from Trader Joes. After weeks of pasta and traditional Tuscan food, I wanted something that tasted like home and this recipe is home to me.

After roasting and pureeing, you add in this delicious cream-based wonder and it is as beautiful to cook as to eat.

I didn’t take a picture of the final product because it was consumed promptly after this photo was taken.  With the smell of the garden still on my hands and the soothing taste of creamy goodness with a hint of peppery arugula on my tongue — I was lost in being home and in the creation of good food once again.