Sometimes I feel about 10 years older than most of the people I hang out with. I tend to think of myself as that “weird old-lady friend”, you know, that one friend who’s kind of lame but also kind of awesome, who doesn’t go out much but has fun where and when it really counts.
I’m not the friend you go to a party with on Saturday night; I’m the friend you get together with for Sunday brunch, or who you go see to have a big pot of tea and eat one too many homemade cookies.
This weekend, I spend a good part of my Saturday night organizing my pantry. And you know what? It was fun. I don’t know what I enjoyed more, purging all the stuff I didn’t need, transferring everything to large, stackable mason jars, or finally finishing the job and revelling in my newfound sexy pantry.
I almost took a photo of it. (Okay, I totally took a photo of it. There’s nothing like the sight of a freshly organized pantry!)
Growing up, I was always incredibly organized, almost to the point of crazy (my second best friend was a label maker), but these last couple years have been a bit of a downward spiral of me collecting more things, living in a small apartment, not having enough storage space, trying to get rid of stuff I don’t need, all while collecting more things. More adult, grown-up things. I’m not a hoarder, but if I don’t put my foot down I could really turn into one.
I just need someone to come to my house and organize everything for me. Once the structure is there I could definitely keep up with it, it’s just the getting of the structure that’s so hard.
It doesn’t help that I’m still storing my socks and underwear in cardboard boxes in my closet. One day I’ll buy an actual container. But for now those old shoe boxes really do the trick.
(Also, I’m kind of cheap and don’t like spending money on things like that.)
To sum up, I think I’m just really lazy. But hey! I organized my pantry! On a Saturday night! That’s a step towards real adulthood, right?
Sometimes, though, it’s okay to be lazy. Like when you’re making dinner on a Tuesday night and want something really, really delicious but don’t want to go to the grocery store or spend hours in the kitchen.
This soup uses mostly pantry staples and takes about half an hour to prepare, start to finish. It’s impressive that such a simple, quick dish can pack such wonderful, bold flavours. Creamy carrot soup mixed with a hint of sweet maple syrup and a kick of freshly grated ginger. Side this soup with a hearty loaf of bread, and it won’t disappoint!
| Maple Carrot Ginger Soup | Print |
- 2 small onions, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups peeled carrots, chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2½ Tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- Sour cream, to serve (optional)
- Parsley, to serve (optional)
- In a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat, saute onions, garlic, and carrots in oil until onions have softened, about 10 minutes. Add maple syrup and ginger and cook for another 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock and salt and pepper; stir well.
- Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until carrots have softened through. Puree soup using an immersion blender, or transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Serve with a dollop or sour cream and fresh parsley, if desired.
I LOVE carrot soup and make it all the time. It’s not a complicated recipe, it’s delicious, and it’s so good for you! Rich and creamy…a meal in itself. I never thought to use maple syrup though, so I can’t wait to try this recipe. I feel like I could just grab that spoon (or one of my own!) and help myself to this post (like all your others!) and dig in right into the computer! You always manage to make your dishes, not only amazing looking and scrumptious…but this blog is also ‘the’ blog for entertainment! I love both things. The food…and the entertainment! II can never wait to see what you post next! Great job! 🙂
Thanks, Sher! 🙂