Re/Pa* Carrot Soup for the Common Cold

It is nearing the end of May and we are still having more cool days than not.  Yesterday, our sun drenched city turned very dark just after noon.  The wind howled, trees and bushes swayed and rain poured.  The temperature dropped ten degrees in half an hour.  My lingering little night-time cough continued to put me in the mood for soup.  Specifically chicken soup.  Alas, I had no chicken.  The last of the "frozen parts" had been used in a soup for Andrew's spring cold.  Yes, we went all fall and winter with no colds or flu (or pneumonia), saving our illnesses for spring!


I've been spring cleaning the refrigerator and pantry and a quick mental search told me I had the right ingredients to do a *Refrigerator/Pantry soup  I had chicken stock, onions, garlic, carrots and oranges.  While it may not be the healing panacea of granny's chicken soup, it came close.

Here is how I did the soup.

Carrot Soup

1 pound carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, sliced 

2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1quart chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

dash of cayenne, optional

juice (about 1/2 cup) and zest of one large orange

1.  In a large saucepan, saute the onion in the olive oil until transparent.  Add the garlic and saute another minute.  Add the carrots and the stock.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pan.  Simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.

2.  Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender or food processor), blend the soup until smooth or, if you like, leave it a bit chunky.  Check for seasonings.  If your stock was well seasoned, you probably won't need more.  Stir in the orange juice and zest.

ENJOY!