Carrot Soup!

Q. How many times had I eaten carrot soup before this?

A.   None!



But we had a fridge full of carrots left over from St. Patrick's Day.

I searched my cookbooks and crawled the web for about an hour (one of my favorite parts of cooking), trying to find the most appealing recipe. I wanted something that was mostly carrot but that didn't end up tasting like carrot juice.

I found Carrot Soup with Labeneh at Taste of Beirut.

It's really easy to make, and it has a nice bright flavor from the cilantro pesto. 

I used Greek yogurt because our store did not have labneh.  I also skipped the bullion cube because we are trying to avoid too much sodium (one cube had 1100 milligrams!).

This is one of those soups you feel good eating. And look at that color!

Find the recipe here.

Creamy Rutabaga Soup

I realized today that I have never cooked a rutabaga. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever eaten one, but because we ended up with some by accident (Joe mistook them for parsnips), they became tonight's dinner.

There isn't a lot going on in this soup, but the cabbage-like flavor of the rutabaga mixes well with the nuttiness of the Swiss cheese and the piney aroma of rosemary. 

 Creamy Rutabaga Soup

--Serves Two

Ingredients 

2 cups rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used Kerrygold Swiss from the specialty cheese section)

1 tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 cup finely diced yellow onion

2/3 cup half and half

2 cups vegetable broth 

1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Place the rutabaga in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rutabaga are fork tender. Drain.

2. Bring a medium/large pot to medium heat, add olive oil and onions, and saute 3-5 minutes or until soft and translucent. 

3. Add the flour and rosemary to the onions and stir for 30 to 45 seconds.

4. Whisk in the half and half and vegetable broth. 

5. Continue whisking on medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the broth is very hot. Do not boil. 

6. Add cheese and whisk until melted completely. 

7. Add potatoes and cook until heated through. 

8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 Enjoy!