Cream of Vegetable soup and Fennel salad

After making 2 quarts of vegetable stock yesterday I knew I had to do something with the onion, the fennel stalks, the carrots , and the potato that were left. I am no longer in a position ( Are any of us?) to waste anything. I put the vegetables through my antique conical food mill, then added back some stock, some butter and cream. It was today's lunch. Frugality is new to me,and it was re-inforced yesterday by a headline I saw about English pensioners who were burning second hand books to keep warm since the books were cheaper than coal. I have never had to burn my books, though I was so broke last spring that I had to sell my "Mastering the Art Of French Cooking Vol. 1 and 2" along with my Nigella Lawson's at McKay"s so I could get gas to get to work. ( I have since replaced the Julia Child books). This also ties in with an article I saw this morning on Lewrockwell.com. The sky is always falling at Lewrockwell.com, but there may be truth to their prediction of massive food shortages in 2010. Picture egg rationing. Goldman-Sachs first and the rest of us getting what is left over.
The fennel salad I made was more of a fennel slaw. Fruit is so expensive in winter that I have to limit myself to an occasional clementine, and this salad is crunchy and fresh, just like fruit. I put a fennel bulb, a half a red onion, and three peeled carrots through the julienne blade insert of my food processor and there was was the salad-slaw. I dressed it with sea salt, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. I can see adding pine nuts or olives in the future. Perhaps even chopped dried apricots.
Going back to work looms over this afternoon. Even worse is a prediction of snow tonight.This is not Minneapolis, and the thought of Nashvillians driving in snow is terrifying. I would not want to be working at Kroger or Publix today for my fellow citizens will be in a milk and eggs panic. I will creep along in in second gear. Let everyone else drive 40 right into a ditch!