Carrot Soup

In honor of harvesting all the carrots in my garden plot and the chill of fall finding its’ way into our area I decided to post my recipe for Carrot Soup.  This is a fairly simple recipe to make and the soup is loaded with flavor and is great for warming you up as the weather gets cold.

Title: Carrot Soup

Description:
All the ingredients are approximate and should be adjusted to reflect personal preference.   As good as it is freshly made, this is one soup that definitely gains from spending the night in the fridge for the flavors to blossom.   I usually leave off the whipping cream and mint garnish but use everything else. If possible serve this soup with   chunks of freshly baked Crusty French or Crusty Italian bread.   Please enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 - 3 lb. Carrots
4 medium Potatoes
2 medium Onions (Diced)
6 to 8 cups Boiling Water
4 tablespoons Butter or Margarine (butter is better)
4 Bouillon Cubes (I prefer Beef but you can use your favorite)
2 tablespoons chopped Parsley
Salt to taste (About 1 to 2 tsp)
Pepper to taste
chopped Chives to taste (Optional but I like it, about 1/8th tsp)
chopped Basel to taste (Optional but I like it, about 1/4th tsp)
chopped Rosemary to taste (Optional but I like it, about 1/8th tsp)
Sugar to taste (Optional but 1 to 2 tsp if used)
12 Tablespoons Whipping Cream (Optional to add extra creaminess)
Mint Sprigs (Optional to be used as a garnish)

Directions:
Peel the carrots and potatoes and cut into about 1 inch chunks.   Melt butter in a large pot, add onions, carrots and potatoes and saute for 5 to 10 minutes.   Add 6   cups of the water, bouillon cubes, half the salt and half the pepper, the herbs and bring to a boil.   Cover and then simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour until the carrots and potatoes are soft.   Remove from heat and blend with a hand blender until smooth.   (A regular glass blender can also be used, blending half the vegetables and water at a time and then return it to the pot for further cooking.)   Finish seasoning the soup with salt, pepper and sugar as desired and add up to 2 cups of the remaining boiling water to achieve the desired consistency.   Bring the smooth liquid back to a boil, then remove from heat.   Carefully add the whipping cream, and garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.   The whipping cream and mint can be added to each bowl in a decorative swirl to give the finished soup more visual appeal.  Just a bit of extra pepper freshly cracked into the bowl adds a delightful extra zing to the soup.

Number Of Servings:4 to 8 depending on appetite.

Preparation Time:30 minutes plus about 60 minutes cooking time.   90 minutes total.