Potato Soup

Deciding on how many potatoes is the hardest part to this soup... but the number of potatoes depends on how big they are and how much soup you want to make... 2 small potatoes per person ought to do fine...

Put a sauce pan on the stove three quarters full of water..  Turn on the heat...

Wash and cut up the potatoes... Peeling is optional..  Pieces should be at least 1/2 inch square.. Any smaller and they go to mush too quickly..

Throw the potatoes in the water (gently please)...
You need salt and can use regular salt or chicken bullion.. Potatoes soak up quite a bit, but you can always add more.. so don't over do it at this stage..
Pepper can be added now or later... white or black.. doesn't matter..
Seasonings... Mrs. Dash Onion or garlic flavor is ok.. or individual green flake stuff.. whatever you feel you want to add... Even Italian seasonings will do..

Here is where you get to make some decisions on what to add...

While the water is starting to simmer... You can finely dice celery, onion 
(if you are using green onion, save it for just before the end so it doesn't go all mushy.).
About a half teaspoon of finely chopped garlic (optional)
About a half Tablespoon of chopped parsley  (optional)
About a half Tablespoon of chopped chives (optional)
About a Tablespoon of  finely chopped carrot (optional)
       Or simply throw in some dried diced vegetables... (sorry.. the only source I have now is at Pike Place Market)

Add some real bacon bits.. How much you add is up to you..

While this gently simmers make a rue... 

Melt 1/4 to 1/2 stick of butter or margarine in a pan... 
Once it's melted, add some flour.. About the same quantity as the butter.. You want the flour to soak up all the butter..

TAKE THE PAN OFF THE HEAT and add a tiny bit of milk at a time till you have really thick  but pourable gravy consistency...

By now the potatoes should be just about done...  Remove them from the heat...
You can make a decision at this point to reduce the amount of water in the pan if you wish... You will be adding more milk, so pour out water till you get down to the top of the potatoes...

If you feel better about thickening the soup WITHOUT the potatoes in the water.. remove them before adding the rue..  Then add them back once the soup stock is thickened.. That way you can deal with any lumps you create without having to puree your potatoes...

Add the rue to the potato water in the pan A LITTLE DRIZZLE AT A TIME and keep the soup moving with a wire whisk to blend it.. If you let it sit or walk away, the rue will sink to the bottom and clump up... and you will have to deal with the resulting lumps... (No fear... If lumps happen, you can always run this part - minus the potatoes, bacon and veggie bits through a blender to get rid of the lumps.) 

Once the rue is in the soup, return the potatoes, bacon and veggie bits to the soup and simmer gently  (If you are using chopped green onion, now is the time to add it).. stir soup to ensure that it doesn't thicken all at once on the bottom... The soup will continue to thicken as it heats... add milk to desired consistency...  Adjust your seasonings at this point.. it may need a bit more.. 

Hint... If you end up with the soup too thin.. you can always pour  some of the liquid into a bowl and wisk in some instant mashed potatoes and then add this back to the soup...