First, you take a leek...

Wait - aren't we making potato soup?  Hee hee!  Sorry, Julia - I mean Potage Parmentier.  I channeled the immortal Julia Child tonight, much to Aggie's chagrin, and made potato leek soup for dinner.  It was divine - but then, I am a connoisseur of potatoes.  I have been known, much as it pains me to admit it, to order the vegetable plate at the Cracker Barrel with a baked potato, french fries, mashed potatoes and hash-brown casserole.  Ugly and starch-filled, but true.  Aggie, on the other hand, is a card-carrying carnivore and doesn't often let me forget it.  This evening, she was forced to eat from her own bowl.  Oh well...

Ingredients
3-4 cups of diced peeled potatoes (about a pound)
3 cups thinly sliced leeks, including the tender greens

4 cups water

4 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons softened butter
3 tablespoons minced chives or parsley

What to do next...
Simmer vegetables, water and chicken broth together, partially covered for 40-50 minutes in a 3-4 quart saucepan. Mash the vegetables into the broth with a fork or you can use a food mill - but what a screaming pain in the mess. Julia disdains the texture of soup pureed in a blender but have at it if you are determined to have smooth soup. Add salt and pepper to your own taste. Just before serving, bring soup back to simmering and then remove from the heat to stir in the butter.  Top with chopped chives or parsley. Easy and amazingly good! Makes 2 quarts of soup for six to eight servings.  You can serve it cold the next day and call it vichyssoise.  And probably charge double for the fancy-sounding name.