Ginger Carrot Soup

I always wait until we've had a frost to harvest the carrots.  The story is that this time of year they convert some of their starch into sugar.  They are definitely sweet! 
This year we went straight from 70 degree days and very cool nights to 4 inches of snow on the ground.  When I realized the snow was coming, I quickly dug my bed of carrots and got another record harvest.  53 pounds of bright orange carrots out of one raised bed.  
Last year I was able to keep them well in a crisper drawer for months, but I've got too many this year for that.  I gave a few bags away to friends and family and today I made a delicious Ginger Carrot Soup. 

I originally got this recipe from my friend Jen and then made a few changes.  We had it last Thanksgiving as a first course and it was delightful.  My biggest word of caution with this soup is don't add salt until you taste it at the end.  I made the mistake once of using a salted stock and it changed the flavor dramatically.  The flavors here are delicate and require just a small amount of salt added at the end to balance the flavors.

Ginger Carrot Soup

1 stick unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion - chopped
3 pounds of carrots peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon fresh peeled and shredded ginger root
5 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 cups half and half or heavy cream 
In a heavy bottomed pan, saute the onion in the butter until tender and translucent.  Add the carrots, ginger, and 2 1/2 cups of the stock and simmer until the carrots are tender. 

Allow the cooked carrots and onions to cool until they can be  handled.

Puree in batches in a food processor or use an immersion blender to make quick work of the hot ingredients without the need to cool.

Add the coriander and the orange juice concentrate.  The orange juice concentrate was my addition.  The original recipe called for grated orange peel and I found that had a bitter taste while not giving it the intensity of orange flavor.  So, I tried a couple of different things until I landed upon the orange juice concentrate, which adds just the right amount of flavor and sweetness without the bitterness of the peel.  Stir in the remaining cups of stock and add the half and half or heavy cream.

An immersion blender makes the job quick and less messy.

I actually prefer the heavy cream to the half and half, but being calorie conscious is always an issue.  I've found that I can also use half low fat milk and  the rest non-fat Greek yogurt and that works well too, with fewer calories. 

Warm the soup gently.  You do not want to bring it to a boil.

Balance the flavors with a little salt and if needed a tablespoon of brown sugar.

The flavors of this soup are at their peak when it is well warmed, but not hot, so be careful not to overheat it.

This soup makes an excellent first course, or with a chunk of bread and butter and/or a side salad is a full meal.

You can garnish it with a sprinkling of fresh chopped herbs or the way I love it garnished is with a scoop of Greek yogurt.

Like all soup, it is even better the next day so make plenty and refrigerate the leftovers for another day.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

My husband could eat butter cream icing from a bowl with a spoon any day of the week, but it is the main thing that I don’t like about cake.  I’ve found a delicious way around dealing with icing and that is the old fashioned upside down cake.  I’m going to give you two versions of this cake so that you will be free to experiment with any fruit you like.  It seems like such a great answer to never having to deal with icing again.  I make them frequently with whatever fruit I have on hand or that is in season.

I make a version of this cake with my frozen Flathead cherries that is beautiful and delicious too.  If you’re using frozen fruit or canned fruit, be sure to drain the fruit before using it in this recipe.  There are just 2 basics steps to this recipe.  The topping, which goes into the pan first, and the cake.

Upside Down Cake

Begin all cakes with a generous spray of Pam or similar vegetable spray on the 9 x 9 x 2 inch deep square pan or a pan that will accommodate the cake.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat the butter, sugar, and vanilla to make a sauce.

The topping:
4 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (for caramel apple) OR 3/4 cup white sugar (for other varieties)
1 teaspoon of vanilla (for caramel apple) OR 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice (for other varieties)

Melt the butter, sugar, and vanilla or lemon juice in a small sauce pan over low heat until the sugar melts and the mixture bubbles.
Pour into the prepared pan and coat the bottom of the pan.

Layer the fruit on top of the sauce.

2-3 Apples or fruit of your choice
Add a layer of apples or any fruit to cover the bottom of the pan.  (Apples, cherries, peaches, pears, apricots, and pineapple of course) Fresh apples like I used can have a double layer or overlap significantly as they do shrink.  Other more moist fruit won’t shrink.

 



The cake:
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of milk (or use apple cider for the apple cake)
1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar.  After this becomes light and pale, add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla.

Continue beating adding ½ the dry ingredients, then the milk, and follow with the other half of the dry ingredients.
Spoon the batter onto the top of the fruit and bake until the cake is well risen and golden brown.  At around 45-55 minutes, the cake will be firm to the touch, a tooth pick inserted into the center will come out clean, and the cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Apples shrink so add twice as many as you think.

Have a plate or platter ready to receive the cake.  Run a knife around the edges to make sure it is free.  Immediately upon removing it from the oven, invert it onto the plate.  Leave the pan inverted for a few seconds, up to a minute and then gently lift it off.  Should any of the fruit have stuck to the pan, you can quickly transfer it back to the cake.

Allow the cake to cool and serve with a little whipped cream.  You won’t miss the icing.