Potato Soup and Old Habits

And potatoes. Like many Germans of my era, I grew up believing a proper meal started with meat. That was the “foundation,” and then came the faithful companions: potatoes (always!) and whatever vegetable Mutti had on hand. Cabbage. Carrots. Green beans when they were in season. Those early habits shaped my cooking for a long time… until life did what life does and nudged my kitchen in a new direction. When my son Mike and his wife Sylvie adopted a vegan diet, I'll be honest: it felt totally alien. Not because I didn't want to support them (I did) but because it was outside of everything I'd ever known. I remember standing in my kitchen thinking, “So… what do I make now?” (Would you blame me?) The turning point was sitting at their table. The meals were so flavorful and creative that I stopped thinking about what was “missing” and just enjoyed what was there.The kind of food that makes one lean in for another bite, even if one didn't expect to. And it reminded me of something Mutti showed me without ever telling me: Food is how we take care of each other. Not meat. Not vegan. Not any label.Just the act of saying, “Come sit and eat as a family.” Would I change my whole diet to vegan? Perhaps not … but I do believe we often overlook the quiet power of variety. It's so easy to get fixated on a handful of recipes and repeat them on autopilot. Changing things up can be good for the body… and the soul… and everything in between. And you never know… one might learn something new. The “old way” isn't the only way. The “new way” isn't automatically the best way. But when one blends what one knows with what one's learning, one usually ends up with something delicious that brings the family together. (And if in doubt… a potato goes with everything.) If you'd like a meatless place to start, this potato soup is one to come back to again and again. Most of all, don't worry about doing it “perfectly.” Soup is forgiving. Family is forgiving. And a warm bowl (like this potato soup) on a cold day is its own kind of Gemütlichkeit.Tschüss!Oma Gerhild PS: Today's recipe: Easy Vegetarian Potato Soup

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Potato Soup and Old Habits

And potatoes.

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