Hearty Potato Soup with Crumbled Turkey Bacon

And so it begins: the cold, rainy, raw New England weather made it's first showing of the season today with temperatures in the forties (and a wind chill of 35), cloudy skies and cold rain. On days like these I need comfort. I need food. I need... comfort food.

Chicken pot pie. Meatloaf. Roasted vegetables. They're all great, but they all take time and I have yet to attempt to make chicken pot pie gluten free. So I made a quick and simple potato soup and it certainly did the trick. Well, actually I made it last night because I knew the weather forecast for today would be a gloomy one. And what do you know -- it's already all gone.

Hearty Potato Soup with Crumbled Turkey Bacon (gluten-free, dairy-free)

serves 2 as a meal

8 baby red bliss potatoes (or four small white potatoes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 slices of turkey bacon
1 cup of soured almond milk (one cup of almond milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of vinegar, let sit for five minutes -- or use buttermilk)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock

Add the tablespoon of cornstarch to the almond milk mixture and let sit. Cut the potatoes into small, bite-size pieces and microwave in a bowl for ten minutes, stirring halfway through (you could boil the potatoes if you don't have a microwave). Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, add the olive oil and the turkey bacon (the turkey bacon I buy has very little fat on it, so it requires the olive oil). Fry until crispy and remove from pan. Add the onion to the now bacon flavored olive oil and cook for at least five minutes. Then, add the mostly cooked potatoes to the pan and combine with the onions. Take a potato masher and mash the potatoes in the pan. Then, add the soured almond milk/cornstach mixture and stock. If it is too thick, add more stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Serve warm and crumble the turkey bacon on top.

Poor Henry didn't even have a chance of getting a bite (there are onions in it after all).