Soulful Soup v.2 Elise from Dear Family

I am so excited to share my sweet friend Elise with you, readers. She is a constant source of fellowship, inspiration and comfort in times of need. Elise is one of those friends that I pass potential recipes through before I start them, asking weather the gruyere is worth the splurge in this or that, and she always gives great advice (its usually yes, in regards to the gruyere hah) So of course, I asked her to do a guest post with one of her favorite soup recipes. Please enjoy, and get to know my dear, dear friend. 

-K 

 

How could I ever follow up Kirstin's lovely post regarding our (and I'm sure yours as well) extreme love for a pot of vegetables, beans and warmth? Soup ends up on our table at least twice a week, but in the winter, we have soup or stew almost every day.

I like routine, and Monday's are my very favorite day. I generally shop for groceries for the week and bring everything home and prep for the upcoming busy days. A whole chicken heads right for a crock pot filled with onions, garlic, lemon and thyme. The chicken will be used for many meals to come, but most importantly, those bones are made into stock, so we can enjoy soup all week long.

If you haven't made chicken stock before, I just take the drippings from the pan I cooked the chicken in, the lemon, thyme, onions and garlic go right into a large stock pot along with the bones. Fill with water and simmer for 8-10 hours. It's so easy and so perfect for the cold nights ahead.

Since we have been a little sick the last few weeks,  I knew we needed a big bowl of vegetables and ginger. So I made carrot ginger soup. It was so simple but we couldn't stop slurping it. It is sweet and earthy from the carrots but spicy and warm from lots of ginger. We served ours with crusty bread, spread with a 1-1 parts dijon and maple syrup, topped with crisp apples and greens.

Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

2lbs Carrots, peeled and chopped

2 apples, chopped

1 onion, diced

5tbs ginger, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 cups stock

3tbs apple cider vinegar

Orange, zest and juice

Cinnamon

Thyme

s&p

Recipe:

In a large pot, sweat onions over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Add carrots, apples, stock, apple cider vinegar, zest and juice of an orange, cinnamon, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender. Start pureeing in batches, using a blender or food processor until smooth.