Soup Carrot Coins -- The November Pot That Never Needs Improving

The first real winter storm of 2020. Fourteen inches overnight, which isn't unusual for November here but is the first reminder that the lighter season is fully over. I got up at five and cleared the driveway and the path to the barn. The horses were fine — they prefer to be out in the snow, as Montana horses do, standing in the pasture with the snow on their backs looking entirely indifferent. I find their indifference to bad weather impressive every single time.

The COVID numbers in Montana have been climbing since October and the hospitals in Billings and Great Falls are starting to report strain. I've been doing the farrier accounts with more caution — outdoor work where possible, limiting time inside barns with clients, wearing a mask even when they don't. Most of my clients are older and I'd rather be careful than not. Dad is my primary concern. Sixty-eight with Parkinson's is not nothing.

Linda Owens sent a package this week — a jar of honey from a local beekeeper she knows, and a small print of a watercolor of sunflowers, the kind of thing sold at church craft fairs. On the card she wrote: Thank you for keeping in touch. It matters more than you know. I put the print on the shelf above the workbench next to her Christmas card. The shelf is a kind of record now: the things that arrived from a distance and stayed.

Made butternut squash soup from the squash Mom grew, long and slow with an apple and some onion and a little cream at the end. Orange and warm and slightly sweet. I make it every November and I've never improved the recipe and I don't try to. Some things are already what they are.

The butternut squash Mom grew ran out last week — I used the last of it for that November pot — but the cold doesn’t wait, and neither does the need for something warm and orange on the stove. Soup Carrot Coins has become my bridge recipe when the squash is gone: same color, same slow warmth, same way of making the kitchen feel like it’s working against the weather outside. If you’ve got a bag of carrots and an hour, you’ve got exactly what a day like this one calls for.

Soup Carrot Coins

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch coins
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional, for finishing)
• Fresh parsley or chives, for garnish

Instructions

1. Sauté aromatics. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 6–8 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Add carrots and apple. Stir in the carrot coins and chopped apple. Cook for 3 minutes, letting them pick up a little color from the butter.
3. Season and simmer. Add ginger, nutmeg, a generous pinch of salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Pour in the broth and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until carrots are completely tender, about 25 minutes.
4. Blend. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot until smooth, or transfer in batches to a blender (be careful with hot liquid). Blend until the texture is silky and uniform.
5. Finish and taste. Return soup to low heat if needed. Stir in cream if using. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or a pinch more nutmeg. The soup should be slightly sweet and deeply savory.
6. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with a small swirl of cream and fresh parsley or chives.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 145 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 310mg