I know, it sounds funny, but it’s really quite good. It’s Lent now, and as a vegetarian I don’t find meatless Fridays very hard to do :D, so I try to keep dinner simple on Friday so that we’re still giving something up. This was a new recipe, but it turned out really well. It’s very flavorful, but also very simple and easy to make. You will need either a hand blender, stand blender or maybe a food processor (not quite sure how well that’d work)–something to puree with, anyhow. You can’t get this smooth enough by hand.

You could probably use whole coconut milk, too, and get a richer result that would be quite good. I had the lite stuff on hand, though, so that’s what I used and it turned out quite well this way too. As an added bonus, this is a “works for everyone” recipe: gluten-free, sugar-free, vegetarian, and vegan. Well, it wouldn’t work for Jennifer, who hates carrots, but she’s weird. Ignore her and serve it to everyone else :D. Without further ado–soup!

Curried Carrot-Coconut Soup

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder*
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14oz can lite coconut milk
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Put the vegetable broth, carrots, onion, ginger, and curry powder into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Cook about 20 minutes, until the carrots are tender.

2. Let soup cool slightly, then blend. I use an immersion blender, but you could do it in batches in a stand blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

3. Return blend to the stove and add the coconut milk, stirring until well combined. Heat over medium heat until hot, but try not to let it boil as it will make things separate a little.

4. Season with salt to taste and serve! This could probably be served cold, too, but I haven’t tried that.

*My Mild Curry Powder Blend

• 2 TBS ground cumin
• 2 TBS ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Combine all spices in a jar and store in a cool, dry, dark place. Use as needed and store the rest for other recipes.