Carrot Coconut Soup

I guess March is a soupy month, I noticed my last post was a soup recipe. I do love soup, I make is weekly, pretty much all year around. It's an easy lunch or dinner, for one person or a larger group.

This latest soup was a happy accident. I wanted to make my usual carrot ginger soup as part of a dinner for a friend. I was going for the very simple version, where the carrots, onions and ginger all go into the pot at once with some water or broth to simmer. On impulse I added a cinnamon stick.
Once everything had cooked and cooled enough to pureé, I removed the cinnamon stick and some of the ginger. I tasted it and realized the cinnamon was quite strong but I didn't want to add a lot more liquid. As I pondered a way to fix this, I saw a can of coconut milk sitting on a shelf. I added the whole can which included some rather thick solid chunks. The texture was perfect and the taste was amazing !! The only thing it needed was a bit of acid ( apple cider vinegar ) and a touch of salt. I am so pleased with how this turned out, so was my dinner guest !!

Laurie's Carrot Coconut Soup

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped into chunks
6-8 large carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces
fresh sliced ginger ( about an inch long piece)
one inch of cinnamon stick ( this is less than I used originally)
soup stock or water to cover ( I add 1 tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 can coconut milk
salt & pepper to taste

1) In a large pot place carrots, onions, ginger slices, cinnamon stick, add enough water or stock to cover easily.
2) Bring to a boil and allow to simmer 30-45 minutes until the carrots are tender.
3) When it has cooled enough to puree safely, remove the cinnamon and ginger.
4) Puree in a blender in batches with some cooking liquid, the coconut milk and some of the ginger ( I like to peel it). How much liquid you use depends on the consistency you want, go easy at first.  How much ginger you use depends on your tastes.
5) Add the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and blend one last time.
6) Serve with a salad and some crusty bread.

Red Lentil Cauliflower Soup

I have a wonderful trade worked out with a friend. She comes to help me do several hours of serious yard work, we have lunch and then I give her a massage. Recently I threw together some red lentil soup doing a riff on this recipe. My friend was so impressed she asked me for the recipe...of course I had made it on the fly and had to recreate it after the fact. It is an easy and very satisfying soup for lunch after some hard physical labor or perfect for dinner on a cold night.

Red lentil cauliflower soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup dried red lentils, rinsed
1 small cauliflower, 1 cup chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Better Bouillon*
1 tsp. salt

3-4 cups water *( or stock in which case you could leave out the Better Bouillon)

1) Heat olive oil in a large pot, add onion and sauté until soft and brown at the edges.
2) Add cumin seeds and curry powder, cook for 1-2 minutes stirring well.
3) Add cauliflower and peppers, stir and cook for a few more minutes.
4) Add lentils, water, salt and bouillon, start with 3 cups water, adjust later for how thick you want it.
5) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the lentils are very tender.

It tastes a whole lot better than it looks in this photo...