Holy Vitamin A, Batman!

Here's an easy way to get carrots down the kiddos' gullets. And yours! It's tasty.

Carrot Soup

olive oil for sauteing
2 c. chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced

2 t ground coriander
1 t paprika
1/2 t ground turmeric
1/4 t ground black pepper

6 c. low sodium chicken broth
2 lb. peeled baby carrots

1/2 c. half-and-half
1/4 c. honey

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil in a Dutch oven (= large saucepan, probably the pot you'd make a pound of spaghetti in. Not an actual appliance, as I thought when I first heard the term) about 5 min.

Add coriander, paprika, cumin, turmeric and black pepper (those colors! gorgeous). Stir it all up.

Add carrots and broth. (Carrots first, otherwise you'll be dumping 'em into a big pot of broth, and the splashing will make you say bad words and feel like a dope. OK, maybe just me then. But carrots first.)

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer half an hour.

Scoop about a third of it into a blender and puree; pour pureed soup into a big bowl, puree the rest.

Mix in the half-and-half and honey. (Not to get all Martha Stewart on you, but if you spray the measuring cup with cooking spray, the honey slides out easier.)

Voila.

If you have fresh cilantro, chop some up and mix it in. If you don't, then yay, you don't have to wash and chop cilantro, which is kind of a pain anyhow.