Carrot Ginger Bisque

Tonight I was having bad cravings - for a beer and some chocolate chip cookies.  Cooking dinner was a challenge when I kept thinking about snacking.  Luckily, I got most of it prepared yesterday.  I made a creamy carrot ginger bisque with a cashew cream.  It was delicious and completely satisfied my craving for beer and cookies.  Let me share the recipe with you.

Creamy Carrot Ginger Bisque

1 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 c. onion diced
1/2 c. celery diced
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger chopped fine
4 cups veggie stock*
1 small red potato cut into pieces
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup cauliflower chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
a dollop of cashew cream**

Sauté onions, celery and ginger in oil over low heat until onions are translucent.  Add stock, carrots, potato, curry powder and cauliflower to pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.  Puree' in a blender and return to the pot and heat through.

This was great with a salad and a piece of bread stork bread.

* I made my own veggie stock by saving all the peels, skins etc. of the organic veggie I buy in the freezer in a bag.  Then pop them in a slow cooker with 6 cups of water and spices of your choice.  I like thyme, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.  Let it cook for 12 hours.

**Cashew Cream
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
1/4 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
Soak the cashew in cold water overnight.  Drain.  Grind them in a food processer or with an immersion blender.  Slowly drizzle in your cold water while grinding.  Process to the consistency you like by adding more water. You can add lemon juice and maple syrup to sweeten it up.