Here is Turmeric-mania Recipe #6! This comes from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast and uses fresh carrots and chicken broth to make a sweet, spicy, and rich soup (no cream or milk required). Because the recipe makes such a large batch of soup, I froze half of it to save for the first snowfall, which here in Michigan could be next week, next month, or next new year. Appropriately enough, this soup is featured in the Winter section of the book, but is great for a chilly Autumn evening as well. Like Curried Zucchini Soup, this can also be chilled and served cold.

2 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth (about 3 1/3 cups)
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 to 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Melt butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth, carrots, and 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Hot liquids will expand when blended, so be careful not to fill the jar of the blender more than halfway. To prevent the liquid from spattering, allow the heat to escape by removing the cap from the hold in the lid and cover the lid with a dish towel when blending.

Transfer the pureed soup to a clean saucepan. Add more water or chicken broth to thin to desired consistency. Reheat over low, if necessary. Stir in lemon juice. Serve garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Saute onions in butter:

Add carrots and simmer:

Puree and serve, here topped with fresh ground pepper:

Here is my first recipe for Turmeric-mania, using fresh zucchini with a pre-made curry mix from McCormick. This particular brand of curry powder combines coriander, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, celery seed, nutmeg, cloves, onion, red pepper, and ginger (whew!). The recipe below is from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, and “a cup of this soup is delicious, served hot or cold.” Enjoy Turmeric-mania Recipe #1.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 lbs zucchini, about 3 medium/2 large, sliced 1 inch thick
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and curry powder. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add sliced zucchini and potato, plus 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

In batches, puree soup in a blender (do not fill more than halfway, liquids will expand), until smooth. Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate in an airtight container until chilled. Garnish with toasted almonds.

Sauteing onion:

Adding garlic and curry powder:

Simmering zucchini:

Serving soup garnished with toasted almond slivers:

The original recipe for this soup came from Cooking Light magazine. Over the past few months, I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly and with each attempt it has gotten better. Here is the most recent incarnation, I hope you enjoy it.

cooking spray
1 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tsp)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 package frozen broccoli florets
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
1 package (14 oz) Velveeta cheese
shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
chopped green onions (optional)

Coat a large, heavy-duty saucepan with cooking spray. Saute onion and garlic over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth and broccoli. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Whisk together milk and flour. Slowly pour into pan, stirring constantly, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and pepper. Cut Velveeta into small cubes. Remove from heat and add Velveeta, stirring until completely melted. Let soup stand 10-15 minutes over serving. If Velveeta does not melt easily, place pan over low heat.

For serving, top individual bowls with shredded cheese and green onions as desired.

Shredded Carrot and Orange Soup (see posting below) is a recipe I created by using a combination of other recipes and using my own preferences. It is still a work-in-progress, and here are some of the suggestions I received:

“Carrots are a little dense, maybe use less.”
I’ll probably adjust the recipe to read 5-6 carrots instead of 7-8. I also kept my soup thick, so maybe add more broth. I used just under 6 cups the first time I made it.

“More garlic, less thyme.”
I agree more garlic, probably 1 or 2 more cloves (totaling 1 1/2 to 2 tsp), but I felt the thyme was just right. Maybe more garlic will help.

“More pepper.”
I used a little under 1/8 tsp of pepper, I would increase that to a round 1/8 tsp or a 1/4 tsp. I may also add some crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat to balance out the sweet of the orange.

In the cookbook Million Menus, there is a recipe for Carrot and Orange soup. It calls for grated carrots, potatoes, onion and orange juice to be fed to a food processor or blender. I tried this and didn’t really care for the consistency of the soup (think baby food). In my version, I’ve added a few more ingredients and made it a broth-based soup.

6 to 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 to 3 small sweet onions, grated
16 oz (2 pkg) sliced or quartered mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tsp)
1 large baking potato, peeled and grated
7 to 8 (1 1/2 lbs) carrots, grated
4 to 5 ribs celery, chopped or diced
1 large orange, zested and halved
several springs fresh thyme, leaves removed
salt and pepper

Pour broth into a medium saucepan over low heat. Melt butter in a large, heavy duty saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and saute until mushrooms are tender, about 7-10 minutes. Salt to taste, about 1/4 tsp.

Add potato, carrot and celery. Stir well to incorporate mushroom mixture. Stirring constantly, cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are heated through.

Add enough broth to cover vegetables. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return pan with broth to low heat.

Add the zest of 1 large orange and leaves from thyme, about 1 tbsp each. Squeeze in juice from orange. Add more broth until soup reaches desired thickness. Let soup simmer for about 3 minutes. Add pepper to taste, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.

Remove from heat and let soup sit covered for 5 minutes. Skim off any film that floats to the top. Serve warm with crusty bread and sliced cheese.

Preparation Suggestions:

Dice, chop, grate or slice your veggies anyway you want, the above are just my suggestions. You can also add any other veggies you might like in your soup.

Go vegetarian by using vegetable broth and olive oil instead of butter. Cut calories by using a butter substitute such as I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter Light.

Use fresh ingredients, not pre-cut varieties.