Bill Bryson could write a history of dentistry in gloriously gory detail and I’d read it, squirming. He’s
that good. His latest book, At Home, A Short History of Private Life, came back with me from the library, solidly hardbacked and screamingly red.
Here’s what I love about reading Bryson. He shows how stories surround us, even in our everyday lives.
He grabs an idea, fleshes it out with telling details and hooks me right into whatever subject he’s exploring. A Walk in the Woods; Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail remains my favorite Bryson book, but At Home delivered a whomping good tale, well told.
He didn’t pile up miles as he did on the Appalachian Trail, rather, room by room, he investigates the very English Victorian parsonage he calls home in Norfolk County for this quirky book.
As Bryson wanders from attic to basement, parlor to scullery, history unfolds at his feet in the wood, the bricks, in concrete, paint and pipes. He unites disparate entities, like the evolution of upholstered furniture and the emergence of the dining room, with ease, competency and perfect prose.
He got me thinking about potatoes, and by extension, soups. I knew potatoes came to Europe from the Americas in the misguided hunt for rare spices in the 1500s, but I didn’t know the lowly spud was so highly prized by indigenous peoples.
Bryson recounts “. . . An Incan of five hundred years ago would have been able to identify varieties of potato in much the same way a modern wine snob identifies grapes.” Wow. He further explains the Incas cultivated over 150 varieties, few of which made it to the New World. The Quechuan language still contains over a thousand words to describe potatoes. The word Hantha, Bryson wrote, describes a potato past its prime but still edible. Now I know what to call the bearded ones that sometimes nest in my cupboard.

So when my local market sold potatoes for fifty cents a pound, a stalk of celery and three pounds of onions for one dollar each, I made soup. Sales and coupons always figure into my menu planning and food budget. My dollars stretch further, preparing food nurtures my soul and eating a home-cooked meal makes me appreciate my time at home.
Pair the soup with crusty artisan bread, a bit of butter, some cheese and a few olives. Toss in a ripe pear for dessert. White wine, two-buck chuck, of course. You’ll still spend under three dollars per person for a great lunch or dinner.

As always, the St. Louis Public Library enriches my life. Holding a new hardcover book makes me feel rich. The opportunities to keep up with favorite writers no matter the number in my bank account can’t be beat. When I read Bill Bryson, I laugh, I learn and I’m inspired to write. Always.

Bargain Potato Soup
Yield: 4 dinner servings
3 large stalks celery (approx. 1 ¾ cups chopped)
2 large carrots (approx. ¾ cup chopped)
1 large yellow or white onion, not sweet (3” in diameter; approx. 2 cups chopped)
2 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 to 5 red potatoes (approx. 3 cups chopped)
2 ½ to 3 cups water or stock or broth (chicken, vegetable or ham stock)*
½ teaspoon salt**
1 cup corn (optional)***
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup 2% milk
Flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
- Trim and chop celery, peeled carrots and onion in a 3/8” dice.
- Heat the olive oil in a three or four quart heavy saucepan until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook over medium high heat, stirring often, for 10 to 12 minutes. Nothing should brown. The onion will be translucent and soft.
- Peel and finely mince the garlic cloves. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add the minced garlic to the celery, carrots and onion. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
- Peel and chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Add to the pot, then add the water or stock until the vegetables are covered with about ½ inch over the vegetables. Add salt. Set heat to medium, cover, then cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Add the corn. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, uncovered as you make a simple white sauce.
- In a separate pan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour and stir into a smooth mixture. Slowly add the milk, whisking or stirring as you go. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Drizzle the white sauce into the potato soup, stirring constantly, until the sauce incorporates. Mix well. The soup will thicken and get creamy.
- Ladle out soup. Top with parsley. Serve immediately with good bread, sweet cream unsalted butter or cheeses.
* The aromatics in this soup are strong enough to use plain water, but for flavor variations try adding stock or broth. If I use stock or broth, I’ll use half water and half stock. Personal preference.
** If you use canned broth, reduce the salt to ¼ teaspoon.
*** It’s your soup. If you like spinach, broccoli or cauliflower, add some. One friend gently folds in leftover baked sweet potatoes, diced, after the cream sauce is added