Carrots

Several months ago, after one my first shopping trips to the farmer’s market, a test bite of a carrot filled me with such elation I actually pranced (really, I pranced) it over to my husband, finding it fully worthy of interrupting his book.

Today the carrots are much more modest, sold in bags of knobby broken pieces, leftovers from earlier in the season. They aren’t as sweet as they were this fall, but they are still better than anything I’ve tasted from a store. Don’t be put off by the great many carrots sold in a single bag. They keep well and are welcome additions to a number of dishes. However, if you are as terrified of waste as I am, here’s a yummy way to use lots of carrots in one go. Freeze the leftovers (if there are any.)

Silky Carrot Soup

1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
½ large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion
2 Tbs peanut oil
4-6 cups unsalted chicken broth
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

In large pot, sauté onions in peanut oil until soft. Add 4 cups of broth, spices and carrots. Boil for twenty minutes with cover on. Add squash. Boil another 20 minutes with cover on. Add additional broth as needed. When everything is mushy, puree. Serve right away or simmer until you are ready to eat.

(I wanted to highlight the carrots’ flavor in this, but you can easily double the spice amounts if you are looking for a nice spicy Indian soup.)