Carrot Ginger Soup for Sickies

This past month has seen its fair share of sniffles, coughs and underweatherness in our home.  I'm going to blame the germ fest that is every daycare (I'm assuming) in January, February, March  winter.  Every kid's got some kind of level of sneezles lately.  And then they pass it on to mama and daddy dearest.  I was fortunate to escape most of the maladies so far, but Colin was not as lucky.  One of my go-to sniff-buster recipes is carrot ginger soup from the original Moosewood cookbook.  I add a bunch of cayenne to make our noses run and heat up our bodies, but this is totally optional.   Tastes amazing either way.





Carrot Ginger Soup

2lbs of carrots (they come in 2lb bags!) scrubbed and chopped into 2" pieces
4c of stock (I make my own, and I will tell you how: dump a bunch of shit in a pot and let it go all night)
1 potato peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 inch of fresh ginger peeled and grated and/or (I do and) 1 T ground ginger
3/4 c sour cream
as much cayenne as you want and can handle, or none at all!

Put the carrots, potato and stock into a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.  Turn off and let it cool.

Sautee the onion, garlic and ginger in a little butter until onions are translucent.  Turn off and let cool.

When everything is room temperature, put it into a blender and puree.  Add the puree back to the sauce pot.  Over low heat add sour cream, ground ginger and cayenne and stir until warmed through.  (You can make the first part ahead and add the sour cream when you are ready to eat if you are so inclined).  Top with a dollop of sour cream and a little fresh parsley and serve with warm bread.

Pair this meal with a cuddle under a soft blanket and you have yourself one comforting evening!