My dear sister friend, Sharon, sent me back in the 90's Leo Buscaglia's cookbook called "Cookbook for Lovers". If you remember Leo, he was known as the "Hug" professor out at UC Los Angeles. I have all of his books on my shelf, and my prize possession is a personal letter from Leo, his response to an invitation I made on behalf of the non-profit I worked with back in the '80's in Tulsa. His delicious soup was filled with oil and cream. Making it heart healthy, I created what I believe is a gourmet tasting soup. Folks really rave about its flavor. This is one of my favorite soups and so easy to prepare.

1 large bunch of organic spinach, washed
2 leeks, well washed and sliced
2 Yukon gold potatoes, grated
6-8 cps vegetable broth
pepper to taste
2 tsps dried tarragon or 1 tsp fresh chopped tarragon
1/2 cp either soy or plain almond milk (I prefer almond.)


In a large soup pot, saute the chopped leeks in a little of the veggie broth for about 7 minutes. Then add the spinach to the pot, cover with vegetable broth, add the raw grated potato, and bring to a boil. After it boils, lower heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 30 minutes. During the last 10 minutes add the pepper and tarragon. You might add a wee pinch of salt.

When done either blend all with an immersion blender right in the pot, or ladle in batches into food processor and puree well. If using processor, return soup to the pot and add the 1/2 cp of non-dairy milk to the soup.

That's it. Easy and tasty.

This soup is a meal in itself, served with whole grain bread and a salad. Sometimes, I serve soup over brown rice or another favorite grain that I have on hand - like bulgur or quinoa.