Or, I’m so much better at making soup than writing this book.
I am working on finishing the first draft of a novel, and let’s just say the ketchup is not flowing smoothly from the bottle this week. (Of course I use food metaphors to describe life. I wonder what the food equivalent of finishing a manuscript with effortless mastery would be? Hmm.)
Also happening: the seasons are turning and the new school year has started, and life is moving right along. I sometimes think it would be nice if everything would just stop for a minute so that I could finish the draft and take a breath and be ready to look up at the world, but I have tried the creative version of isolating yourself from everything in order to “focus” on work, and this generally isn’t healthy/productive, let alone socially responsible. And it is sometimes helpful to experience the passage of time, even if this comes with massive deadline anxiety and a sense of everything that is getting away from you.
For me, time’s passage is marked by meals. This is daily – breakfasts, lunches, etc., as well as seasonally – what can I cook now that the apartment is too hot to turn the oven on? what will make enough leftovers for school lunches? what do we eat when eggplants are in the supermarket? what do we eat for Thanksgiving/Easter/the 4th of July?
I sometimes feel a bit out of step with my kitchen instincts, here in sunny California. It never really gets cold enough for my carefully nurtured cold-weather repertoire. I’m not sure we need hot drinks or pumpkin-spiced anything when the hot and dry Santa Ana winds start up in the Fall. But some evenings are cooling down a bit (right? aren’t they? maybe?). And I’ll take any excuse to make soup, apparently. And maybe all the healthy vitamins from oranges and carrots will light up my brain, and I will work, trance-like, losing all track of space and time until the blasted draft is finished. And in the meantime, I can have a bowl of soup.
My mother makes a carrot, orange, and ginger version of this, which is very satisfying and my main inspiration here. But I’m on a coriander bender at the moment – seriously, I randomly open my spice drawer and sniff the ground coriander at odd moments – and the carrot/coriander combo is a good one.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 bag of baby carrots or about 6 large carrots or about 16 oz of carrot, cut into pieces
- zest & juice of 1 orange
- 4 cups of water + 1 tablespoon bouillon past (or 4 cups of stock, veggie or chicken)
- salt & pepper
- a squeeze of lemon juice or drop of apple cider vinegar
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and slightly browned. Add the coriander and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the carrots and stir to coat, then add the water & bouillon paste or stock. Stir to scrape the oniony spices from the bottom, then bring to a boil.
- Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.
- Remove from the heat and blend using an immersion blender. Add the orange juice and plenty of salt & pepper. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. You almost certainly need to add a squeeze of acid (lemon or vinegar) at this stage to sharpen the flavor and bring out the spice.
Lisa W.
August 29, 2017 at 7:16 amHello! I just cooked this soup and it tastes great. It wss so easy and fast, I bet I’m gonna make this recipe again! <3
Laura
August 29, 2017 at 10:45 amHi Lisa! It’s yummy, right? I’m so glad you liked the recipe.
Cammie Hiedeman
September 4, 2017 at 4:27 amTo jest tresc wartosci! 🙂
Laura
September 4, 2017 at 11:07 amThanks Cammie!
Luca Spinelli
September 8, 2017 at 12:08 pmEste é o que é un contido de valor. 🙂
Laura
September 10, 2017 at 8:22 pmThanks Luca! 🙂
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