mmm....carrot ginger soup!

I had a fantastic Sunday!  My friend LaShaune came over around noonish and we went to Peli-Peli for some South African cuisine.  We both opted to start with the carrot ginger soup.  We thought it divine!  After dining on our respective sandwiches, mango coleslaw, and sweet potato fries, we headed out to the Texas Repertory Theatre to see Forever Plaid's spin-off production called Plaid Tidings.  I was super excited to see this musical for a few different reasons.  First of all, I love me the musicals.  Secondly, I adore Christmas music - yay!  Last, but not least, a high school friend of mine is one of the stars of the play and I had not seen him since high school! After the show, LaShaune suggested cupcakes and coffee.  I told her I thought there was a newish cupcake place near my house, so we went hunting for it and found Treat.  We picked out some cupcakes and headed to Starbucks for Eggnog Lattes to go.  We brought back our treats to my house.

LaShaune and I both discussed how much we loved the carrot ginger soup.  I decided to make my own version.  I did not look up any recipes...I just kind of winged it.  Here's what I did.

I sauteed 1 small white onion and some minced garlic in 1 TBSP of olive oil in a large pot on the stove top.  I zested two oranges, and then juiced them.  It made for about 1/3 cup of orange juice.  I then grated a large chunk of ginger into the juice.  By this time, my onion and garlic was ready, so I added the orange zest, juice, and ginger to the pot.  I then added in 2 lbs of baby carrots and 4 cups (32 oz) of chicken broth.  I seasoned up the pot with some salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg, as well.  Once the carrots came to a boil, I let them continue to cook until they were soft.  I then turned the stove off and put the contents of the pot in the blender in batches, blending until smooth with the contents of an 8-oz tub of reduced fat whipped cream cheese.  As I completed each batch, I added it back to the pot.  Once everything was blended, I scooped some into a bowl and garnished it with parsley.  Delish!

I think next time I would like more of an orange and ginger flavor and would add another orange and more ginger to the mix.

Carrots aren't on South Beach, FYI.  I haven't exactly been the best dieter (in case you couldn't tell by the cupcakes).  I figured, however, in the scheme of things, carrots aren't THAT bad and I really wanted to try this soup.  I think I can apply the same concept to butternut squash or maybe even sweet potatoes for a variation of this soup when I get completely back on the wagon.