Wedding planning has reached the stage where every conversation ends with Mom saying 'It's handled' and me saying 'But —' and Mom saying 'HANDLED, Rachel.'
The woman has taken over. The courthouse ceremony is booked for Saturday, March 10th, 2018 — ten AM at the Onslow County Courthouse in Jacksonville, NC. The reception is at a VFW hall near Camp Lejeune that a friend of Ryan's Sergeant found for cheap. Not Mom's backyard — she conceded that Jacksonville made more sense than Norfolk since Ryan's Marine friends can attend without traveling.
The reception menu (dictated by Donna, negotiated by no one):
- Pulled pork, vinegar-based sauce (non-negotiable)
- Mom's potato salad (non-negotiable)
- Coleslaw (negotiable on style; Mom chose vinegar-based to match the pork)
- Baked beans (non-negotiable)
- Cornbread (non-negotiable)
- Red velvet wedding cake, two-tier, cream cheese frosting (THE ONE)
'This is a barbecue, not a wedding reception,' Megan said on the phone.
'This is OUR barbecue wedding reception,' I said. 'And it's going to be perfect.'
'At least have a salad.'
'We'll have coleslaw. That's a salad.'
'Rachel.'
'Megan.'
We agreed on a green salad as a compromise. Megan is providing it. This means Megan will bring an elaborate salad with goat cheese and candied pecans and balsamic reduction that no one will eat because we're already eating barbecue and cake.
I've been packing. Not the house — just my things. My bedroom. Twenty years of Rachel in boxes. It's strange to pack a room you've lived in for five years — the longest I've lived anywhere. The whiteboard is on the wall. The cheer trophy is on the dresser. The recipe cards are in a box labeled 'KITCHEN — FIRST TO UNPACK' because I learned that from Mom.
Kitchen first. Always kitchen first.
Mom made her potato soup tonight. 'Comfort food,' she said. She didn't say for whom. We both knew.
Eight weeks. The boxes are filling up. The menu is set. The courthouse is booked.
I'm packing my childhood into cardboard and I'm not ready and I'm completely ready and both of those things are true.
Mom didn’t ask if I wanted soup. She just made it — the way she always does when something big is shifting and neither of us wants to name it out loud. Her potato soup is the kind of recipe that doesn’t need a occasion, just a feeling. I sat at the kitchen counter with packing tape still stuck to my sleeve and ate two bowls while she pretended not to watch me. This is as close as I can get to her version — creamy, warm, and exactly what you need when you’re completely ready and not ready at all.
Creamy Spinach Potato Leek Soup
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Sour cream and chives, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the leeks. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add sliced leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Simmer the potatoes. Add diced potatoes and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 18 to 20 minutes.
- Blend partially. Using an immersion blender, blend about half the soup until creamy while leaving some potato chunks for texture. Alternatively, transfer 3 cups of soup to a blender, blend until smooth, and return to the pot.
- Add the cream and spinach. Stir in whole milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Add chopped spinach and stir until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Season and serve. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh chives.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 680mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 96 of Rachel’s 30-year story
· San Diego, California
Rachel is a twenty-eight-year-old Marine wife and mom of two who has moved five times in six years and learned to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with half her cookware still in boxes. She married young, survived postpartum depression, and feeds her family of four on a junior Marine's salary with a freezer full of pre-made meals and a crockpot that has never let her down. She writes for the military spouses who are cooking dinner alone in base housing and wondering if they're enough. You are.
