FOOD: Creamy Potato Leek Soup

Hello again! Welcome to another installment of "Food Friday." (Sorry, I'm 18 minutes late...)
St. Patrick's Day is coming up on Sunday and my inner Irish is screaming for potatoes and cabbage! (Although I'm pretty much in love with anything potato, anytime during the year.)
Today we are making a super yummy, super creamy, Potato Leek Soup!

Not cinnamon on top, Rachael. It's Cayenne.

Here's what you need:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 4 leeks
• 4 celery stalks
• 4 medium potatoes
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste (I like to add the spices on at the end)
• 6 cups vegetable stock or water (we used home made veggie stock)
• 1 bay leaf

I will apologize in advance for the pretty poor picture quality. As well as a lack of photos (again...)

Let's begin!
Saute chopped garlic and olive oil in large saucepan.
Wash and cut leeks into 1/4 inch pieces. Add to pan and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until soft. About 5 minutes. I suggest peeling your celery to remove the strings. We didn't and ended up with stringy soup.
While leeks and celery are cooking, wash, peel and chop potatoes.
Add cayenne, salt and pepper to leeks until fragrant (about 1 minute).
Add broth, potatoes, and bay leaf.
Cover and bring to boil. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Remove bay leaf.
Puree soup in a blender or food processor until creamy. Do not fill blender more than 1/2 way full. It gets messy...

Season with salt and pepper. I like to add most of the seasoning at the end. My boyfriend likes things very salty, while I do not. So this way, we both can add our own seasoning and still be happy with the flavor.

Top with sour cream and serve with toast or crusty bread to dip in it!