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.

Carrot Coconut Soup and yes I'm still here...

I do still cook and enjoy it, blogging has just fallen to the bottom of my priority list lately.
The other day I saw some beautiful large carrots at the farmer's market and was inspired to make that wonderful carrot ginger soup... I was moved to modify it a bit and the results were fabulous. I used some of my garlic cilantro butter to saute the onions, then added spices and coconut milk. As I haven't been in the blogging mode lately I didn't document of my changes with photos. It wasn't until I was about to eat the last cup that I even remembered to take a photo.

Here is the recipe from memory.

Carrot Coconut Soup.

Ingredients

1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil or 1 tbsp. garlic cilantro butter
2 cloves fresh garlic chopped ( if you don't use the garlic butter)
1 tsp. cumin power
2 tsp. Garam Masala or curry powder
6-8 large carrots, stemmed and chopped into large coins.
fresh ginger, sliced
1 can coconut milk
1-2 cups water, you just want enough to cover the carrots
salt & pepper to taste

1) Saute the chopped onion in olive oil or garlic butter until just beginning to soften.
2) Add the spices except the fresh ginger & garlic, saute another few minutes.
3) Deglaze the pan with 1 cup water, stirring to loosen any dark bits of onion.
4) Add the carrots, coconut milk, ginger, (garlic) and  enough water to just cover.
5) Simmer for 30 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
6) Allow to cool before blending. You can remove some of the ginger if desired and add water depending of the consistency you want.
7) Salt and pepper to taste. Yum !!

Today I made a huge pot of vegetable/ minestrone soup, since all the carrot coconut soup is now gone.  Of course, I didn't follow either of the recipes exactly...that's how soup goes.
I made an apple pie from my galas, I  blended and prepared to freeze my last batch of roasted tomatoes.

So that's been my day in the kitchen.