Potato Soup Today !!!!!

My mother, Thelma, will be 98 years old next month. I wrote my cookbook, Texas Chef, in the mid 80s to save her heirloom recipes for my kids - and me.

Now my recollections of her cooking have become dedications to her years of cooking for us. Today I made a quick Potato Soup, but first here is hers.

Thelma’s Potato Soup
When groceries ran short, we could always rely on potatoes from the
storm cellar fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes. But
since we nearly always had cows giving milk, we had Thelma’s Potato
Soup a lot. - I love it!!! Here's her way.
Potatoes: 1 or 2 persons 1 medium potato
3 or 4 persons 3 medium potatoes
Note: Use red or yellow potatoes rather than bakers. Bakers
break up and get mushy.
Onion: 1 or 2 persons - ¼ to ½ medium onion
3 or 4 persons - ½ to ¾ medium onion
Salt, pepper, white pepper and margarine to taste

Dice potatoes (3/4-inch dice). Chop onion coarsely. Cover potatoes and
onions in saucepan with barely enough water to cook. Cook on medium
heat until potatoes are just tender not soft. Drain off water and add
milk. Add enough milk to make soup with the consistency you like.
Bring heat up, but do not boil. Season with salt, pepper and white
pepper to taste. Some people like a dash of cayenne pepper. Add
margarine, stir until melted, and serve. Fry two strips of bacon,
crumble, and add to soup during the last minutes of cooking.
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My version 20 years later:

Dice 3-4 waxy potatoes like reds and boil them until they are al dente or maybe just a bit more done. Drain the potatoes and add about a pint of whole milk, a teaspoon (or more) salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or white pepper if you choose, 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed. While the potatoes were cooking you would be saute'ing 1/2 medium onion until the onion is caramalized and limp. Add 1/2 of these onions to the potato soup and save the remainer to garnish each bowl of soup when serving. For best results and full flavor, allow soup to sit in refrigerator overnight which will allow the potatoes to soak up all the flavors of the seasonings. Serve with oyster crackers or saltines.