Poop and Potatoes

This morning I realized that too much of my life revolves around bowels. Not mine, mind you, I don't find my own very interesting at all. However, Evan's bowels are another story. At least twice a day, Andrew and I have conversations about poop. They usually go like this:

Andrew: Did he poop yet today?
Me: Oh, God-- yes.
Andrew: Was it that bad?
Me: Oh, God-- yes.

The conversation also usually includes a description of color, texture, and smell-- if a stranger didn't hear the first part of the conversation, he or she would think we were talking about wines of the world.

Part of what made me realize that too much of my life revolved around poop was that I actually had a dream about it. I pooped on the white marble floor in a very rich person's bathroom, though I was careful to lay out some overlapping layers of paper towel first. And then my mother-in-law came in while I was surverying the mess, and made me scrub the floor on my hands and kness until it (the floor, not the feces) turned a different color. Weird. After this I quickly resolved to spend less time thinking about poop and talking about poop. So, onto other things...

I made mashed potato soup tonight. I have to say, it was really pretty good for coming from my brain. Andrew and I steamed some broccoli florets and tossed those, a spoonful of sour cream, and a sprinkling of sharp cheddar on top.

Irish Mashed Potato Soup (the only thing that's really Irish about it is that the potatoes themselves were bought in Ireland, and that I live in Ireland)

Ingredients:
-4-5 medium-large potatoes-- wash, peel, chop
-6 cloves of garlic-- peel
-1/2 a large yellow onion-- slice chunkily
-Chicken broth cubes (I used three, mine make two cups of broth per cube. Make sure to read your own package at home)
-salt
-pepper
-butter (maybe about 4-5 heaping tablespoons)
-Worsty (if you want)

Method:
1. Place the potatoes, garlic, and onion in six cups of water. Salt the water a little if you want. Boil as for mashed potatoes.
2. When the potato mixture is soft enough to be mashed, drain them; reserve the cooking liquid.
3. Tip the reserved liquid back into the pan, and put it back on the fire. Dissolve your chicken broth cubes in the potato-ey water.
4. While the broth cubes are dissolving, get on with mashing your potato mixture. Add butter as needed to make a very smooth mash.
5. Once the broth cubes have been dissolved, and you have the mash, put the mash back in with the broth. Give everything a few good stirs. This is also when you would add the worsty, if you wanted to. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with toppings of choice, as you would for a baked potato.

Festive suggestions:
1. steamed broccoli
2. sour cream and chives
3. sharp cheddar and worsty sauce
4. parmesan and rosemary
5. any fresh herbs-- dill? parsley?
6. ranch dressing
7. Tabasco sauce and chunks of velveeta
8. a wee garden of other vegetables: small slivers of carrot and zucchini, maybe diced tomato
9. ham, bacon, small chunks of sausage
10. dried cranberries? Probably not....
11. seasoned croutons

Other notes:
I think this would be a fun but cheap way to feed a lot of people, and get the whole party interacting together. I would probably add a green salad with a vinegarette dressing, and some chunks of bread to soak up the traces of potato. As far as the ideal drink, my guess would be a light wine that would cut some of the heaviness of the soup. For dessert, try something with fruit in it-- Andrew says an apple or cherry turnover. I'll extend that to include apple or pear crisp. Or, maybe some plain old cold red grapes.

If anyone else tries this, let me know. You could win a very exciting prize.