Carrot and Coriander Soup
Michelle and her granddaughter cheating with frozen yogurt before dinner
Today my friend Michelle Legler was here. She is theMosaic Queen, and her work is amazing! Check it out.
She came up to decompress after a busy art show season. It was, she said, the first drive to Northern Arizona she'd ever made on her own. She is directionally impaired and until the advent of GPS wasn't sure she wanted to venture out on her own when it was possible she might not make it home again. So, You Go Michelle! And thanks for coming. As always, having time to share with another gardener is really precious. We're even thinking of creating our own shared blog and forum–a self-help system for those of us addicted to growing things. 
I wanted to make lunch for her, but we're leaving tomorrow for San Diego to watch the grandkids while my stepdaughter Amberly walks 60 miles over three days. That meant I couldn't make a run to the supermarket, so whatever I was making was coming out of the Fridge. And there were carrots in the crisper drawer. That meant: Carrot and Coriander Soup.
This was a soup I first tasted while in England. I'm pretty sure I had it in a pub in Windsor. I fell in love with it and, once I was home again, I hit my recipe book (Google) and started researching. This is the recipe I came up with, of course tweaking it for the gluten-free and cow's milk sensitive crowd. By the way, Coriander is the seed of the Cilantro plant.
Carrot and Coriander Soup
(makes about 6 small servings or 4 generous ones)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, sliced
1 clove of Garlic, crushed
1 tbsp basic gluten-free flour
1 pound 2 ounces (or half a kilo) carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
4.5 cups either No-chicken broth or chicken broth
pinch of salt
1 tbsp ground Coriander seed
1/2 cup goat yogurt
1 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish if desired
Saute onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Stir in flour until the veggies are well coated. Add the broth, carrots, salt and coriander. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes until the carrots are soft. Cool slightly and puree, then return to the pot over low heat and stir in the yogurt. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with grilled tomato and cheese sandwiches. At least, that's how I serve it.
And if I were Michelle I'd have documented this whole process with my camera. But I'm not. I'm a writer. I'm supposed to draw pictures with my words. Hope these words are good enough to eat!
