Keep an eye on the colors of fall with carrot soup

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It’s been three years since I’ve had to shop for eyeglasses. This past week I have trekked to four different optical shops and was reminded of how agonizing it is to find a pair of spectacles that looks respectable on me.

Oh yes, it’s entertaining to try on frames in outlandish colors and styles that I’ll never buy. Everything is fun and games until I actually have to choose one that I will be wearing every day for the next couple of years.

While I was out shopping, I couldn’t help but notice all the pumpkin-themed everything. Orange, orange, and more orange. A dear friend of mine loves the color orange, and I have come to love it too.

On the color wheel, orange lies between the colors red and yellow. As most color theory considers red to be stimulating and yellow to be cheery, it makes sense that orange is linked to warmth and amusement.

With the fall foliage, bonfires and, of course, pumpkins, it’s no wonder that orange is traditionally associated with the autumn season. Even in the kitchen, orange takes the stage with pumpkin pie, baked yams and butternut squash.

Poking around on Pinterest, I came across an “autumn cooking bucket list” that piqued my interest. Dishes included warm and cozy items like Pasta with Kale Pesto and Roasted Butternut Squash, Pork Chops with Apples and Cider, and Maple Walnut Cheesecake.

As our evenings are getting cooler, it’s about time to re-introduce soup back into my dinner repertoire. How I’ve missed you, soup! And it seems only fitting to make an orange-hued soup.

So, I was thrilled to find this week’s recipe in an old issue of Parade magazine that I had saved. This soup boasts bright flavors of carrot and curry, with a hint of lime. It is also orange, orange, orange, so it will match all the fall decorations you just put up in your home.

I like that this homemade soup is ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. To stretch the soup a little further, I added 4 cups of broth instead of just the 2 1/2 cups called for in the recipe, which makes the finished dish not as thick, but just as good.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you might want to put one on your holiday wish list. I picked one up at a local garage sale for $5 thinking I would occasionally use it. I have found it is such a handy tool for pureeing soups like this one right in the stock pot. No more pouring batch after batch of hot liquid into a food processor or blender!

Gluten-free and dairy free people will appreciate this soup has neither gluten nor dairy, and it can even be vegetarian or vegan if you use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. This soup also qualifies as a Healthy Fats recipe since it has the heart healthy oils and nut butter.

As for my eyeglasses, I think I’ve finally settled on a pair of low-key, rimless specs much like the ones I currently own. At my age, less is more. But I’m still shopping for reading glasses, and I think I will get some that are orange.

Creamy No-Cream Curried Carrot Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. canola or avocado oil
• 1 lb. peeled and chopped carrots
• 1 large chopped yellow onion
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. almond butter
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime

Heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, curry powder, salt and black pepper. Stir to combine and cook 10 minutes or until onion is translucent.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Add almond butter and lime juice. Puree in the pan with an immersion blender. Alternatively, puree in a blender or food processor in batches. Serve garnished with lime zest.