Adventures in Cooking: Potato and Leek Soup

I discovered the recipe blog Brown Eyed Baker about three weeks ago and have already tried two recipes. I didn't much like the first one, a mac n' cheese - though I think the dislike came more from my personal tastes since Cagatay was pretty into it - but the second one, the Creamy Potato and Leek Soup, was AMAZING. Even though it takes about an hour to make, I've already made it twice, it's just that divine.

I'm pretty into creamy soups; the hotel that we always stay at in Lake Como, the Grand Hotel Victoria in Menaggio makes the most amazing versions and I dream about them long after we leave. But most recipes require heavy cream and I have yet to find it in Turkey. So I was thrilled with this recipe which substitutes bread instead; Martha Stewart's Pappa al Pomodoro recipe does the same thing, which makes me think that you could use bread instead of heavy cream in any soup recipe. Does anyone know if this is, in fact, true?

I followed this recipe to the letter except for the thyme/tarragon, which I didn't have - I just left that out and let the bay leaf do all the work. But one funny thing I am starting to notice about Turkey is that while they may have the same fruits and vegetables as the U.S., they don't always have the same parts. For example, the leeks: They're sold at the farmers' market without the dark-green leafy part at the top; it's just the white and light-green part. Celery is the reverse; they sell the white bulb (which you never see at home) and completely chop off the green part that we usually eat. I don't know why but I find this highly amusing.