Carrot Soup

This soup is one of my favorites to make for several days' lunches.  I unintentionally made it a bit spicier than normal at Tralyn's baby blessing, but that is easily adjusted by the amount of red pepper (cayenne... are they one in the same because the recipe calls for cayenne, but I use red..?)

Carrot Soup
1 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 sliced carrots
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (less for more mild, i think i used more for the blessing, I was kind of winging it)
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I often do half of each)
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro for garnish ( I have never added this...)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. add onion and carrots and cook slowly for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and cook for another minute, stirring.

Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Season to taste. Serve hot.


*We ate this soup a lot for lunch when we were doing the anti-inflammatory cleanse. To beef it up, after I got the soup cooking I would saute more carrots, onions and diced chicken until cooked and tender. After pureeing the soup I would add these for more substance to the soup. I almost always top this soup with bean sprouts for some yummy crunch.

PS- I borrow all of my images off of the internet, so thank you to all of the better cooks and photographers than I am.

- Ashley