Once yoga classes were on break for the holidays, I took advantage of a little extra time in my schedule and that of my two favourite yoga teachers/dear friends and invited them over for a visit. I kind of crashed their party because they had been planning on going to lunch together, and when I heard this, I declared that they must come here for lunch instead. And then the pressure was on prepare a lunch that made them not regret skipping the restaurant lunch to come here, which is what led to this Carrot Ginger Soup.
As I would suggest anyone do when they invite guests for a meal, I checked in for dietary restrictions to be sure to not serve anything that made for that awkward moment when your guest has to either pretend to eat what you made while they just play with it distractedly, or find a way to tell you that their epipen is in their jacket pocket…just in case you should need to inject them, and remember “orange to the thigh, blue to the sky”.
Lunch menu
Classic lunch fare is soup, salad and sandwiches, but a yeast allergy means no sandwiches, unless I wanted to make wraps. So, my menu was: this creamy Carrot Ginger Soup, Kale and Cranberry Salad, and Raspberry Chia Linzer Cookies (some were filled with date paste instead of raspberries because of a raspberry allergy) with Calming Tea Infusion and peppermint tea with dried mint from the garden.
This Carrot Ginger Soup is a great soup to make when you don’t have lots of time. If you have a food processor you can use it to chop all of the vegetables and make the prep time even quicker. Carrot soup is a great addition to any meal. It is wonderful served as a side or with a sandwich or salad for lunch. Carrot soup is inexpensive to make because carrots are one of the least expensive vegetables we can buy. I love that the main ingredient in this soup is local and I can support local farmers by buying their carrots.
If you don’t have access to fresh turmeric and ginger you could use dried, but the healing, anti-inflammatory properties of fresh are so much more potent.
Health benefits of ginger
Ginger has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibiotic and antibacterial properties. It is also an excellent carminative, to help eliminate gas and soothe the intestinal tract.
Why not make this delicious creamy Carrot Ginger Soup this weekend and invite a couple of friends over for lunch to enjoy it with you.Be sure to tag me on Facebook or Instagram so I can see your gorgeous Carrot Ginger Soup.
Carrot Ginger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds carrots
- 2 onions diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons ginger minced (or 2 tsp dried ginger)
- 1" piece fresh turmeric or 1 tsp dried turmeric
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons each of pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds optional for garnish
Cashew Cream
- ½ cup cashews soaked to soften
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Soak cashews in hot water while preparing other ingredients.
- Peel carrots and cut into coins. Dice onions and celery and mince garlic and ginger.
- In a large saucepan heat olive oil.
- Add onions and sauté for three minutes. Add carrots, celery, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper and sauté another 3 minutes.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until carrots are tender.
- While vegetables are cooking, drain cashews. Blend cashews and water in high speed blender to make cashew cream.
- Once carrots are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Alternately use a blender and blend into batches, taking care to not splash hot liquid. Stir in cashew cream and heat.
- Serve topped with ½ tablespoon pumpkin seeds and ½ tablespoon hemp seeds (optional).
