Roasted carrot and red lentil soup

With this winter's unpredictable temperature, I haven't entered full-on soup mode like I did by this time last year. But after today's flurries (!), maybe this means that I can forget that there are cherry blossoms down the street and cook as if it's actually winter?

This soup is so comforting and good. I love that the red lentils fall apart after absorbing all the flavors of the stock. I love how the three peppers add multiple dimensions of spice. And I love the roasted onions and carrots' subtle sweetness, which perfectly balance the kick from the peppers. Sop up the soup with a piece of crusty country bread or sourdough, and make it again and again.

Happy 2012!

Carrot, parsnip, and tahini soup

For Christmas, my parents gave me an immersion blender, which completes my regression to infancy by virtually guaranteeing that I will not be eating any more solid foods. The first thing I made since coming back to DC was a West African groundnut stew, which I'll blog about as soon as I remember to take a picture of it before inhaling the entire thing.

The carrot soup was actually part of our Christmas dinner. But I decided to make it again so I can have all 6 servings to myself instead of share it. Yeah, it's that good. I think I'm head over heels for blended soups with nut butters. Similar to what it does for hummus, the tahini adds body and a certain smoothness to the vegetables in a way that even cream can't compete with.