Get-Well-Soon Carrot Ginger Soup

Evidently I make a habit of getting a cold/ear infection/sinus infection every time a romantic day rolls around (see for example: my wedding), so it came as no surprise to me that I was down with a cold on Valentine's Day. Poo on that. To top things off, our only bathroom is currently out of commission because we're remodeling it, meaning that neither of us can shower and we're brushing our teeth in the drywall-dusted kitchen.

Eating this soup makes my congestion symptions feel temporarily better because the ginger helps to open up with airways. Plus it's filled with beta carotene and Vitamin A to boost the immune system.


Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced
• 6 c. chicken stock
• 1 sweet apple (I used Gala), chopped (no need to remove the skin)
• 1/2 c. "cream" - i.e. real cream, milk, soy milk, rice milk, yogurt.... your choice!
• salt, pepper, dried parsley
• roughly 2" of fresh ginger root, thinly sliced (adjust this to your taste)

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven, put 1 T. butter or oil over medium heat and add the onions. Let the onions cook until softened. 
2. Add the carrots, apple, ginger, and chicken stock to the pot. Bring this to a boil before lowering the heat to a simmer. Allow the contents to simmer until a fork can easily pierce the carrots.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before blending. I used an immersion hand blender to puree the entire soup in one batch.
4. Return to medium heat, stirring in the cream and adding seasonings to taste. 

I served this with freshly baked coconut flour bread. I wasn't crazy about the bread (too much coconut for me) but this would also be good with cornbread, biscuits, crackers, or a nice green salad.