Oct 25-26 Curried Parsnip Soup

Oct 25    No supper because The Kid and I are both sick
Oct 26    Curried Parsnip Soup

The kid was sick all day on Tuesday with a fever and aches and a sore throat and by dinner time, I thought I was coming down with the same thing so there wasn't much in the way of dinner other than lots of green tea, juice and some toast. By Wednesday morning, he was still sick but it was clear that I had been feeling the beginnings of a migraine and not the same virus that was plaguing poor Little Shack so we both spent most of the day in bed reading and sleeping but I was still in better shape than he was. By about 3pm I was feeling good enough to drag my butt out of bed and think about making something to eat for the two of us (luckily for Shack, he had to go out of town to take care of some business stuff so it was just the two invalids) and I was also going to have to cook something that would appeal to sick people but using only what we already have in the house.
I had parsnips, carrots and celery and couldn't get a nice, curried parsnip soup out of my head when I realized I had no chicken stock of any kind. Thank god we have the best neighbours in the world because they rescued us with a carton of chicken stock AND a lovely apple for our soup.
Simple, comforting, just a hint of curry to clear up a stuffed up nose and best of all, I didn't have to get out of my pjs and brave the rain while feeling like I had been hit by a truck. THAT alone makes it the most delicious soup I have ever eaten.

Curried Parsnip Soup
makes about 4 cups of soup


small glug of olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1.5 cups diced parsnips
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tsp mild curry powder
900ml chicken stock
1 small, tart apple, peeled and diced
1 tbls coconut powder
* greek yogurt and cilantro to serve with it you like

Heat the oil in a med sized pot over med heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes before adding the garlic and ginger. Saute for another couple of minutes and then add all of the diced vegetables. Continue to cook that for about five minutes until the veggies soften and might start to take on a bit of colour. Add the curry powder and stir well for a minute until you can really smell it and then pour in the stock. Add the apple and the coconut powder, bring to a light simmer and let it cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Don't worry if you let it cook a bit longer because you are going to puree it anyway. When the vegetables are all well cooked, either use an immersion blender or pour into a blender to puree it until it's nice and smooth.
Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a bit of chopped cilantro if you like but it's tasty enough on it's own to skip any garnish too