"Have it Your Way" Potato-Leek Soup

I couldn't stop myself. I found myself sighing longingly as I daydreamed about a big, warm, hearty bowl of potato-leek soup while throwing groceries into my shopping cart earlier this week.
I LOVE this stuff and Nathan doesn't care for it.
I think he calls it, "baby food" ??? Oh brother.

This is an occasion where being the executive chef of our home kitchen has its perks!
I NEED a bowl of this stuff at least once a year. Don't go hating on my potatoes and leeks!

This is "have it your way" potato-leek soup...

Let me tell you why.

You can just use the base recipe and have a delicious, gluten-free, vegan cup of happiness...

... or you can add 2 slices of (chopped) bacon to the mix for a meaty flavor and still be dairy-free...

... and then you could always make some grilled cheese croutons, skip the meat, and have it vegetarian style?

However you want to serve it up, my friend. It is a beautiful thing.

POTATO-LEEK SOUP
(base recipe - g-free & vegan)

6-8 medium red potatoes + 2 more for chunks if desired
2 large leeks
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
sea salt & pepper

Alton Brown taught me how to clean my leeks! Chop and place in a bowl of cool water for 5 minutes.
Swish around a couple of times to allow all the grit and sand to fall to the bottom of the bowl. WAH-LA.
This isn't potato-leek-sand soup!

Peel, chop, dice, mince - however you want to do it!
Get all of that goodness into a stock pot and cover it with vegetable broth.
I used a lid and let this simmer on medium heat for about 2 hours (give or take).

Did I mention that the leek, onion, and garlic combination is an excellent immune system booster?
Consider this dish a VITAMIN, would you?!

In a separate pot I boiled two chopped potatoes until they were JUST soft. Not mushy.
I threw these in at the end to help deter my husband from thinking it was "baby food." Haha.
I also threw some steamed sweet peas on the top as a garnish to add some color and extra nutrient flavor!

Ok - so for the non-dairy cream part to all of this...

I melted 2 tbls. of non-dairy butter (low heat) and added 3-4 tbls. of g-free all purpose flour...

thus creating a roux. Now I feel fancy!

I slowly added rice milk (about 1 1/2 C.), stirring constantly (over low heat) until it was thick and gravy-like.
Add sea salt and pepper to taste. A dash of garlic powder won't hurt you either!

After the pot of mixed veggies was mushy,
I put the whole deal WITH THE GRAVY into my Ninja and "hi-ya-ed" the living daylights out of it!
The smooth potato-leek mixture was then poured into my crock-pot with the chunky potatoes where it waited on "warm" until dinner was ready!

I allowed some good, nitrate-free, bacon for Nathan's sake.
The kids and I picked it out, but I liked the flavor it added. So did Nathan! BEST batch I've made so far!
We also had some homemade, g-free cheese croutons to top it with!
Not needed. Just a weakness.

This was SOOOOO enjoyed. For many days.
We had it for dinner... lunch... then as a side dish at the following dinner.
Wish I had made more to freeze! *kicking myself.*

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful month of October!
What warm, hearty things are you cooking up for your friends & family?