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Carrot Ginger Soup w/Tarragon & My B-Day!

This week has been a whirl wind. You don’t want to know. Really. S*** hit the fan, people got on my nerves and I had to get real aggressive with others.

I almost chucked my pumps at a creditor, but then I thought he wasn’t worth a $400 replacement.

I just don’t like people this week.

So while you’re reading this, pretend you’re a fuzzy animal that would make me smile.

And so far, only once this week has a friend made me smile. Not even so much smile as much as he was able to take my mind off real problems for 2 hours. I invited Sean over for lunch on Wed. and he accepted. I never invite friends or biz contacts into my home during work hours. Home is work and work is in my home and it just doesn’t feel right. But Sean is cool and loves to eat my food. Plus he’s always on time. I’m talking about 45 minutes early on time.

Who does that??

So when he showed up at 12:15, with another man answering my door, I played it cool. “Oh yeah, Reg meet Sean, Sean meet Reg.” Reg trains me, Sean *manages* me. This doesn’t seem so bad, right? However, the hiccup occurred when Sean’s purpose for having lunch with me was walking out the door with Reg!

I gave Reg the food I had reserved for Sean.

I like to share and show appreciation, so I shrugged my shoulders and asked Sean to get over it. This just meant a very unplanned and untimely trip to the grocery store.

The flip side is that we would be having fresh SOUP for lunch and not leftovers (though after a spoonful, I realized the flavor had set in very nicely).

Classical music playing on my mac, Giesha Dior laying on her back in her plush chair, Sean on the couch screaming at his lawyer over a song copyright infringement and me in my newly acquired Obama shirt, scurrying in my rinky dink kitchen, making some warm, feel good and ultra aromatic soup.

For a moment, I was feeling okay. I was happy to be sharing food with someone who extends himself when I need him to. And quite honestly, after a 2 hr. workout to get my bootie TV ready, I was hungry as all get out.

So I whipped up this carrot soup. Bon Appeéit sent me a few recipe cards, one of them being a carrot orange soup with tarragon. I hadn’t had a carrot soup in about 9 years so I decided to make it with my own twist. Loving, carrots as of late, lusting over liqueur and tarragon, I was excited to make my version of this perfect fall sopa. Theirs had much more orange juice and no ginger, a must I thought would take the soup to “new heights”!! Hee hee, I’m so clever. It just hit me: that’s the name of the resto in DC where I last carrot soup.

Sean was impressed as Vivaldi’s “Autumn” (from his 4 Seasons masterpiece) was approaching it’s crescendo simultaneous to the blender smoothing out the mixture. I was getting hungrier and couldn’t wait another 15 minutes without dipping into the pot.

The tarragon was just amazing, it made me happy to think I cook for a living. I mean, for me, feeding people is so joyous!

Over lunch, we looked at my cookbook mock (I know I’ve not mentioned it being done), sipped on a tasty Shiraz/Cab blend, talked about a music project I’m working on, how to reinvent my imaging and what my plans were for my b-day on Sunday! The greatness of the soup just made the conversational topics so much more interesting.

Yes, yes, I flew to DC last night to celebrate mi cumpleaño on Sunday! Won’t tell age, guess if you dare, but it’s great to celebrate my birthday with my fam! We take birthdays very seriously around this house. In fact, exactly two years ago today my parents and I were in Paris, eating fruit tartes and clutching baguettes; later drove to Monaco for 5 days (stopping at an incredible al fresco market along the country side of France)–all in celebration of my chilly weather b-day!

It was great, really, but that’s how we do!

Don’t know what the plans are if any, but I hope to see all my old school friends and jump to Manhattan for a quick trip to the Village. And more importantly this year, I came home to vote! What a perfect weekend to be in Va!! Parties in a tutu skirt my mom is making, with the baddest pumps I’ve bought this season, sporting my uber chic Obama shirt I bought from an indie designer in Soho, NY and standing in line for hopefully no more than an hour on Tuesday! Well, this is the funny part, my parents are voting Republican and the five of us are voting Democrat, so I must call the NBC to come out and witness! My father will not be happy, but this is history baby!  A loud Cuban-American family walking to the polls (yes, the poll precinct is on our block) and all 7 of us voting at the same time in support of two distinct candidates!

BEAUTIFUL!

Back to my soup. I love it. I think you will too and hope you make it. It’s quick to make for dinner, taking no more than 40 minutes, including prep time. It’s healthy, full of vitamins and rich in color and taste. Tastes even better the next day. If you warm it up on the stove top, add a bit more orange juice. I’m so glad I made it. And look forward to doing it again. This is the first in the Holiday food installment. I hope to attack non-Latin traditional foods, some of which I’ve made before, others which I’ll conjure up in good form!

HAPPY FALL, GOOD EATING AND GET OUT AND VOTE!!! NEXT TIME I WRITE, WE WILL HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT!!!

THANK GOD!

CARROT GINGER SOUP W/TARRAGON & GRAND MARNIER!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 2.5 cups unsalted chicken broth
  • 4 tsp. tarragon, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp. fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup. orange juice
  • 3-4 splashes of Grand Marnier
  • honey to drizzle
  • salt/pepper to taste

Method:

In large pot melt butter and add carrots and onion. I added salt here.  Cover and cook on medium until onions are transparent and carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to boil, leaving uncovered. Reduce heat, add ginger, pepper and stir in orange juice. Cover and cook on medium for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Separating in batches if necessary, pour mixture in high speed blender and blend until completely smooth. I didn’t have to but you may. Transfer soup back to large pot. Add tarragon, Grand Marnier and stir. Cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes until flavors have set it. Drizzle and top with high grade honey to add a touch of sweetness and garnish with tarragon sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately.

Yields enough for 4.


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90 thoughts on “Carrot Ginger Soup w/Tarragon & My B-Day!

  1. Happy 22nd birthday, girl!!  A 2 hour workout?  Damn, I need your dedication.  Perhaps I’ll pretend that I have a TV appearance coming up too 🙂
    Love the color of this soup and also that it has a splash of gran marnier! 

    Hope you have a better weekend!

  2. Happy B day fellow Scorpian! Count on waiting more that 1 hour when voting. If early voting lines are long,election day will be a madhouse.Oh and dont wera the Obam shirt when you vote. But you knew that!

  3. Muchas felicidades en tu dia…your soup looks yummy…and I’m glad you and your siblings are there to cancel your parents’ votes. 🙂

  4. Happy Birthday!  I’m glad you’re having a better week, especially with Election Day and Halloween, and even the holidays starting to show on up.  Imagine all the Christmas shoe shopping they have going on already 🙂

  5. Happy birthday Bren! Great looking soup. I never thought of making carrot soup, but I do love carrots.

    Oh, and enjoy your new cool shirt as long as you can until it gets taken to be shared with others who don’t have such a cool shirt. 🙂

  6. Bren, luv tarrgon & I never thought to use this herb with a carrot soup…good thinkin’.

    Happy B-day, all the best!

  7. Thanks everyone for the b-day wishes! I officially party for one week so today was pretty low key. Especially since the election is in just two days, I’m busy planning for a victory party on Tuesday! The soup is delectable for real and I encourage all of you to make it!!! Peter, the tarragon really is something special added to its already great flavor. Lory Lynn: the spoon is new actually. Canadian designer–I’ll email you the name and website… I have the whole set.. It’s great.
    VOTE PEOPLE!, VOTE!!!

  8. Grand Marnier, genius! I love any soup that’s orange in color, never though to add some Grand Marnier though. Definite keeper, Happy bday!

  9. Sorry for the delay, again, since I can’t comment on you on my usual platforms…

    HAPPY FREAKIN BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL!  Hope it was lovely, like you.  And your food.

    Nice soup.  😉

  10. girl you are so honest.  it’s refreshing and comical.  that’s why some of my fave buds are scorpios.  honest, funny, BLUNT, a lil dramatic (yes), serve, and like to cook for ppl (at least my scrop friends do!)!

    the soup sounds tasty.  i tried a carrot ginger one not too long ago but this one might be a run for its money. (i’m gonna go ask Target (pronouned Tarshae) for my money$$ back!) 

  11. B – my fave fellow scorpio – I’m not a carrot gal (think my mom might have fed me way too many carrots in my baby food or something) but for you, I’ve got to try this.  It looks fabulous, super simple and yet healthy.

    You are workin’ WAY too hard – however, that is how you roll.  Keep it up chica!

  12. thanks for the birthday wishes! it really was great despite being sick in bed most of the day. i voted two days later and then partied in my tutu skirt!

    OH and yes, the soup is out of this world good! It’s fantastic for the weather we’re having right now!

  13. Wahhh!!!! Happy (very) Belated !! Omg! It’s been forever since we’ve been back, we MISS YOU SO MUCH!! Work has us running like mad, trying to work hard to catch up on bills…..creditor stuff….ya know?

    But I am so happy that you didn’t throw your shoes! I *gasped!* out loud when I read that line! OMG, so sorry about your day!

    And you have a new video up! I gotta go watch it now…..gotta get my Flanboyant Eats TV fix!!
    HUGS to you! Miss ya and will be back!

  14. Hmmm! We love our soups and I’m reading the ingredients and this soups sounds soooooooo GOOD! We’re definitely going to have to try this one sooner than later!! Then again on our dinner night, maybe we can start off with this?? Hmmm! Ideas running in the head as usual.

  15. Taj: Did you try the soup? It’s amazingly delicious!

    Diane & Todd: Miss you girlie and guy! Hope to see you soon, atleast by way of our comments and each others’ writings.

    Reggie: I love love how you read my posts and actually comment. Keep ’em coming and I’m all over doing this soup for your dinner. K would be so please and honestly, something she could do on her own!

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