"Firey Furnace" Potato Soup

- cubed, washed, unpeeled potatoes 

- onion & lots of garlic, chopped 

- possibly a whole, chopped jalapeno 

- chicken or veggie bouillon or broth 

- spices: black pepper, thyme, nutmeg, cumin, cayenne 

- a bit of sea salt 

- 1 red bell pepper and 1 large tomato, chopped 

- 1 cup milk or cream (or some mix of both) 

Set potatoes in a saucepan of water (or chicken broth) to boil. 

Sauté the onions & garlic, and possible jalapeno; add to soup. Add spices. 

Bring to boil, then turn down to bubbling. 

Cook until everything is tender, then puree it all.* (I have a Pürierstab, i.e. one of those nifty, hand-held, blender-on-a-stick things apparently found in every German kitchen. It's great!) 

Replace on stove, let simmer on low heat while you sauté the peppers & tomatoes. Let them get nice and tender, then add to soup. 

Warm up the milk and add it, too. 

Taste; you may need more spices, including salt. (Sea salt is less bitter than the iodized, I like it muy mucho.) 

Let everything steep together for 15 minutes or so. Yam, yam! 

I bet some bacon crumbles on top would be wonderful, too! 

If you don't want to mess with the pureeing bit, you can simply leave the potato chunks whole and thicken everything with 1/3 cup flour dissolved in 1 cup cold milk. Slowly whisk flour-milk mixture into the soup instead of dumping it in all at once; then continue as directed.