Food Flashback

It has not escaped my attention that it has been quite a while since I blogged about food.  Running, yoga and teaching have been taking up the majority of my time and focus but rest assured, I have been eating well.  I am currently enjoying a week off from work, whoever invented spring break deserves a great big hug.  While I enjoyed sunshine and some time in the garden yesterday, storm clouds threatened this afternoon making soup sound like an excellent idea for dinner.  Having noticed that my front yard carrots were at an appropriate height for picking, carrot soup came to mind.  There are few things more satisfying than pulling up a bunch of hearty carrots.  As a home gardener, I would say harvesting a ripe tomato or melon rank right up there, only to be outweighed by cutting a long coveted artichoke from its thistly nest.

My husband Greg loves Karottensuppe and since his first trip to Germany nearly 15 years ago, he has had me working on recreating a particular bowl he enjoyed while in Niedersachsen while staying with a vegetarian friend.  Here is my most recent attempt. 

Karottensuppe  (Carrot Soup)

1 bunch of carrots peeled and chopped

1 onion chopped

1 russet potato peeled and chopped

2 ribs celery chopped

4 cups of veggie broth

1 tsp olive oil or butter

¼ cup half and half

handful of chopped fresh tarragon

a generous sprinkle of nutmeg (fresh grated if possible)

1 tsp white pepper

salt and pepper to taste

(Optional: fresh peas)

Heat oil in the soup pot.  Add onions and cook until translucent.  Add carrots, potatoes, and celery and cover in broth, season with salt and pepper.  Simmer until veggies are very tender.  Remove soup to blender or use immersion blender to puree until smooth.   Add nutmeg and white pepper.  Ladle into soup bowls and top with a drizzle of half and half and a sprinkle of tarragon.  If you like, sprinkle some fresh shelled peas over the top of the soup for freshness and color contrast.  What goes better together than peas and carrots? I didn’t have any fresh peas to put on our soup tonight, but I had found some at the farmer’s market on Sunday  and we ate every last one with our Sunday supper!   

We also had a lovely cheese lunch on Sunday, which I decorated with edible flowers from the garden for some springtime celebration.

Grilled trout topped with an avocado slice accompanied our spicy rice, sautéed mushrooms, and front yard Fava beans and carrots earlier this week. 

There you have it; notable meals from the week in review.  Hopefully you enjoyed my food flashback and even more hopefully, it may inspire me to enliven this week off with a few more meals worth mentioning!