Day 19- Carrot and Lemongrass soup

What a day! I woke up this morning to a nice little pile of vomit on my couch, courtesy of my dog. That is quite an ominous beginning to a day. My poor puppy continued emptying the contents of her stomach all morning, while I was running around trying to put paper towels under her, to minimize clean-up.

I was going to bring her to the vet in the afternoon, but it started really pouring. Our vet is a good 30 minute walk, and taxi's won't pick you up unless you put your animal in a carrying case. So, I decided to wait a bit to see how she was doing.

Two hours later she was tossing her little raw-hide around the apartment and going all kooky, so I felt a little relieved knowing she had plenty of energy.

In order to get into soup mode, I put on a mixed C.D. back from my college days, containing classics like Ice, Ice, Baby by Vanilla Ice and Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys. Yes, a questionable combination, but I have very eclectic music tastes.

Carrot soup is not only delicious, it also has a really pretty orange color when it's blended. I was originally going to make a carrot and ginger soup, but decided to put a different spin on it by using lemongrass and coconut milk. I also turned the heat up a bit, by adding whole dried chili peppers.

I used an immersion blender to get it smooth, but I think that using a regular blender would have been a lot faster. I kept finding stray whole carrot rounds that the immersion blender had missed.

Carrot and Lemongrass soup
source: Krystal Ford

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch whole lemon grass stalk, cut into two-three inches
1/2 tablespoon green onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds of carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1-2 whole dried chili peppers
Salt and pepper
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup coconut cream
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

Pour the oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, green onions, lemongrass, and dried red peppers. Stir occasionally and cook for a minute, or until very fragrant. Dump in the carrots, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.

Pour in the stock and coconut cream and add ginger and coriander. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes or until the carrots are very tender. Remove the lemongrass pieces, and chili peppers (if you want it to be spicy, leave part of one in).

Blend the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Adjust seasoning and serve with chopped cilantro and drizzle with some coconut cream.