Sunshine Soup

I made this recipe for Carrot Ginger soup last weekend and it was good. But not perfect. It tasted fine, but it didn't have the creamy-like consistency that I had wanted.

I figured out what I did wrong, and made it again last night.

But this time, I did it right and it came out great!

As previously mentioned, my motivation for this is to have something quick, easy & healthy to eat at work. But I made it again this week so I could bring some to my stepfather. He, unlike my mother is NOT pathologically picky eater & likes really spicy foods. However, since my mom cooks for him, he hardly ever gets to eat anything he truly enjoys. So when I make something good and spicy, I like to bring it to him to enjoy. And to irritate my mom. Because she won't eat it.

However, right now my mom is on a missions trip with her church to a remote village in Malawi and won't be back home until next week. So my stepfather & bro have been left to their own devices & to fend for themselves.

So later today or tomorrow I'm going over to visit them & bring them some soup they'd never have otherwise.

And I must say, I'm pretty pleased with myself on how this came out.

I found the original at Andrea's Recipes and most of it sounded good.

Except for the whole curry part. I hate curry. It smells like dirty gymsocks to me. So I switched up the recipe a little & it came out really well. Plus, this is totally vegan & fat free so it's about as healthy as you can get.

One bowl of this stuff clears my sinuses, boosts my energy and warms me up all over. It's good stuff!

So without further ado, here's the recipe the way I made it:

Ingredients:

1 whole stick of butter (or, like me, I used 2 half sized Earth Balance sticks)

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup fresh minced ginger (no, the powered stuff will NOT work. fresh only)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small red bell pepper

6 cups vegetable stock

6 big carrots

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp chili poweder

salt & ground black pepper to taste.

Directions:

Turn the crock pot on high & put in the butter. While it's melting, chop the onion & add it to the butter & stir. Then chop the garlic & add that. While they are simmering, peel the ginger & mince. Add it to the crockpot. Then chop the pepper into small pieces and add to the pot. Let this simmer for about 30 mins stirring often.

While the veggies in the pot are simmering, wash & peel the carrots. Chop them into very small pieces and add them to the mix & stir. Let simmer for another 15 mins. Then add the vegetable stock, lemon juice, chili poweder, salt & pepper. Still well.

Turn the crockpot setting on to low & leave overnight.

In the morning, pour into a food processor or blender & blend until smooth.

Interjection: Be very careful for this part! Hot liquids will expand in the blender/processor! So I've found it's best to add a little bit at a time & hold the lid down while blending. Otherwise, the lid will fly off, you'll get soup all over your kitchen & probably sustain burns. So please! Be cautious!

If serving fresh, garnish with a scoop of vegan sour cream & fresh chopped green onions. If freezing, pour into containers & allow it to cool for several minutes before lidding & putting in the freezer.

As I said, this stuff is fantastic. It's wonderfully healthy & I felt so much better after having a bowl, that it was like having a bowl full of warm sunshine.

After posting this, I realized that I eat a LOT of orange food! I usually have a clementine every day and orange juice too. And yes, I love pumpkin food too.