Orange monster of a week

Over the weekend while picking up groceries, I bought a huge bag of organic carrots, only to realize when I returned home that our lovely cat/house sitter had purchased and left a big bag while we were away. What to do with loads of carrots?

Well, we didn’t have much spinach, so it has been a week of orange monsters! Vanilla soy milk, 2-3 carrots, a huge peach, a scoop of natural peanut butter, and some ice. It has been nice to change up my morning smoothie a bit, and the carrots are sweet and delicious in addition to offering vitamin goodness.

The weather and bounty of carrots had me thinking about some soup, so I decided to make one of my favorites, carrot coconut curry soup.

This soup takes about 15 minutes to make and requires few ingredients. Everything (as it usually is in my recipes!) is to taste, and anything in the recipe can be swapped for something else if one desires.

Ingredients:

Carrots, I used about 12, chopped then tossed in the Cuisinart until pureed
Broth, I used the leftover organic no-chicken broth, but I have used chicken broth in the past
One full can of coconut milk
2 cloves garlic, pureed with the carrots
Thai curry paste and red pepper flakes to taste

So easy. . . dump the pureed carrots into a pot with some olive oil and as much curry paste as you like. I love the spicy and lemongrass flavor that the red curry offers, so I added about 3 TBSP. I waited until the carrots were sizzling, then poured in about 4 cups of the broth. Stir frequently to blend the liquid and carrots, then slowly stir in the coconut milk. Let simmer as long as you like, at least 5 minutes, but longer is better!

We ate this with another delicious dish, salmon with rosemary from our deck and red potatoes that I roasted in olive oil for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then tossed in the salmon pan with rosemary and butter. Roasted potatoes finished in sizzling butter. . . mmmm. Served with a Belgian Abbey Abt  beer12 it was the perfect meal for a chilly fall evening with the sun going down earlier and earlier. . .

I have never been so glad to see the weekend in my life. This week was horrificly awful for me at work. . . and hubs lost his job today. Believe it or not, he has not been this happy in a very long time. . . and I am a teensy bit jealous of the freedom. He is trying to get me to take some time off to do some wine tasting in Australia. It’s tempting to say the least. 🙂

I am going to NJ this weekend to visit my 2 year old goddaughter and to have a big fall turkey dinner with my family. I need some hugs from mom! Hope you all have a great Saturday 🙂