• 3 cloves Garlic, minced

• ? cup fresh or dried Parsley Flakes

• 2 large organic Carrots, grated

• ? cup of Pesto (I make my own, but it is available in stores now)

• ? to ? pound Bacon cut into ? inch strips and fried crisp (discard fat)

• 3 cups Leeks chopped into ? inch rounds (I use about ? of the green top as well. It gives the soup a nice color.)

• Celtic Sea Salt to taste

• 1/3 teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper flakes

• enough Water to just cover the tops of the vegetables (not too much, or you will have to pour too much off after they cook)

Put all ingredients into a 12-quart saucepan. Simmer on Medium heat about 30-40 minutes until leeks are soft and potatoes fall apart. Discard half the water, or save it for a high-potassium breakfast drink. Mash the potatoes if you like smooth soup or leave it kind of chunky. Whichever you prefer.

• Add 2 cups 1% Milk

• ? to 1 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

• Celtic Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

If you like creamier soup, add a dollop of Sour Cream to the bottom of the soup bowl before you fill the bowl. Stir and serve.

Makes about 6-8 servings. A great alkalyzing soup.

Optional: You can add some canned clams to this soup to make New England clam chowder. It doesn’t freeze that well (with or without the clams) but then again, it doesn’ t last that long either.

By Denice Moffat