Carrot Soup

This recipe uses pretty basic ingredients and is easy to make. I used some chicken stock that came from P's mom - P says it's the most amazing stuff. It's a paste in a jar. The soup came out quite well. I'll have to use it again to try some chicken noodle soup. R, S, M and MM were big fans.

• 2 extremely large carrots, or 5-8 medium ones, sliced/chopped
  
• 2 large potatoes or 6-8 small ones (washed skin or peeled), cubed
  
• 1 medium onion or half a large onion, chopped
  
• 2-4 T butter
• 3-6 cloves garlic
• 4-6 cups water
• chicken stock paste/cubes
• 1 c milk
• optional: black pepper, salt, ginger, grated cheese, fresh basil
  

1. Melt butter in stock pan. Saute onions for 5 minutes.
2. Add carrots, potatoes and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add water and stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are tender.
4. Reserve 1 cup solids.
5. Blend remainder in batches.
6. Return to pot and add milk and reserved solids. Heat if necessary but don't boil.
7. Sprinkle with freshly grated black pepper (and/or other toppings).

Variations

• If you like a chunkier soup, reserve more than one cup of vegetables.
• If you like a thicker soup, reserve less and/or use less water.
• If you like a thinner soup, use more water/milk.