Chirp

The work from home life.  The hiding behind my knitting life.  It gives me time to cook, if I'm so inclined.  I purchased some asparagus from the farmer's market last week, and have been thinking about cream of asparagus soup.  For me to eat, as the Man doesn't like asparagus much, and doesn't understand what leeks are, claims he doesn't like them, but I include them in some dishes that he ends up eating anyways.  Anyhow, here's the recipe, which makes 4-6 servings. 

2 bunches asparagus (about 2 cups), trimmed and chopped
2 leeks, sliced
1 potato, cut into chunks
4 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 box chicken stock (I use low sodium, adjust seasonings if you use regular)
1/2 c. water
1.5 cups half and half

Melt butter in olive oil.  Saute leeks and asparagus until soft, add salt and pepper to taste.  Add cooked leeks and asparagus to stock pot along with potato, chicken stock, and water.  Bring to boil, then simmer until potato is soft.  Remove vegetable chunks to food processor, taking off potato skin if desired.  Process vegetables until smooth, then add back to liquid.  Add half and half, then heat until warm. 
Enjoy!
Here's another story that will explain why I hate my landlady.  The tenants across the hall moved out at the beginning of the month, in a hurry.  I started to hear that the smoke alarm battery in the vacant apartment needed changing.  Do you know the sound?  It's a fairly loud chirp every few seconds.  Which the Man later commented, echoed in the empty apartment.  I went down to the landlady's apartment to tell her.  She said, that's odd, no one is cooking.  I had to explain that it's the battery.  Fast foward to about four hours later.  Still chirping.  I happened to see the landlady again in the yard, and asked if I still would be hearing the chirping that night when I would be trying to get some sleep.  She smirked.  She said she was waiting for some man to come over with a ladder, because she couldn't reach the smoke detector in the hall.  No, it's in the apartment, I said, if it had been in the hallway, I would have taken care of it.  A half hour later, the landlady had left for the night.  Taking care of matters in the building is a joke to her, apparently.  My impression was that she had no intention of addressing the battery issue until the apartment was occupied.  As the door to the apartment was unlocked, and left open, the Man and I went inside.  Where I found the smoke alarm on the floor.  I took the battery and discarded it.  We saw the condition of the apartment, which the landlady had shown a few hours ago.  It was not cleaned at all after the tenants left.  Including the dog turd left on the floor.  I can't even imagine anyone wanting to rent it after that.  Let me just say, that my apartment was not as bad when I saw it, but I was so eager to move at the time that I overlooked a lot.  It won't happen again.  I continue to try to work on the Man to get us out of here.