French la Vie

Carrots and ginger spoke to me the other day, whetting my tastebuds with the desire to create something warm and tangy. Miraculously, when I chopped the yellow onion, I did not cry. Without tears, it went into the iron soup pan that my mother has had since I was a wee one.

The chopped onions warmed up in the soup pan with olive oil, releasing that favorite kitchen aroma. I added a bunch of chopped carrots and coated them with pumpkin seed oil (which I discovered years ago in Austria with blog reader friends Merisi and Liselotte) to give a nutty twist to my spontaneous soup. Meanwhile, my mother, who follows every recipes to the dot, was skeptical, “It smells good, but are you sure it will turn out?” Ever sense I made a carob birthday cake for my then five year old brother Zane, (that nobody liked, not even our dog) my mother has doubted my recipe inventions. Some memories stay with us like an annoying fly buzzing around, never deterred by our swatting, its sound lingering in our ears.

Then I added (guess-estimate by eyeballing it) a heaping tablespoon of curry, a teaspoon coriander-seed, half of a thumb’s worth of diced ginger, some salt, peppercorns, and for added adventure my taste buds were on overdrive going back to India then Moroccco and back to Willows I grabbed a sweet orange shaved some of its peel, tossed it into the soup pan; the scent made me do a happy dance!

(Photo via google)l
After adding four or more cups of water, I brought it to a boil and let it simmer. When the carrots gave way to tenderness and perfume, I used a potato masher to mash them. Then, I added a cup or so of trio quinoa and a cup of coconut cream, gave that a swirl, put the lid back on, and let that simmer until the quinoa was tender. Before serving, I put a couple of handfuls of spinach on top and served it when the spinach was wilted.

Let me know if you make it and it you found it as delicious as we did.