Day 9 of the 30 in 30 - Carrot Soup

 Had to kick off Monday, which is usually serious and somewhat daunting, with a light-hearted, whimsical concoction of seeming nonsense! :) As I mentioned in a recent post, I love to put together unrelated things to see what kind of story I can tell, and this was just exactly one of those kinds of paintings.  I absolutely love when paintings happen like this, and even more tickled when they somehow 'work'.  I'm not entirely sure how or why, but to me, this one works.  Why do roller skates on the bottom of a soup can with a tiny rabbit and carrot on top make sense?  I don't know but, they do, and now you have caught a glimpse inside of my brain. :)

I have taught art to children ages 6-18 and the biggest setback and difficulty I findis that most people tend to censor themselves when they are trying to come up with ideas for what they will next create.  People tell themselves "this is stupid", "its already been done", "I can't possibly do that", I don't know how, or that doesn't make sense.  And then they believe that B.S...  Here is the secret, most important piece of advice I can give you if you are an artist struggling with ideas.  Don't Censor Yourself.  If you are sitting in front of a blank canvas and have convinced yourself that you have no ideas, you most likely don't realize that you are actually censoring yourself unconsciously.  In reality, hundreds of ideas probably were bubbling up, but possibly before you barely caught sight of them, your mean old ego smacked them back down into the recesses of your imagination under the pretense of one of those lies I stated above.  

One of the most important gifts I have given myself as an artist was permission to let my ideas flow, no matter how strange, impossible or improbable they seem.  If my brain thought it, then it is a true expression of me, and who am I to censor it?  And even better, maybe the ideas that surface in my mind's eye are a true expression of a larger creative consciousness of which I am able to access, just because I listen and don't censor.  (wouldn't that be cool?)

Carrot Soup, 9"x12", oil, to purchase click here

So this post became a lot more personal than I thought it would.  I thought it was going to be silly and kind of funny. But I am very serious when I say that the best thing you can do for yourself as an artist is to believe in the ideas you have and allow them to come without censoring them.. follow them and explore where they take you. I promise you, you will never lack for ideas again!

Namaste and Carrot Soup.  

Please see below for a recipe for real Carrot Soup which  looks simply divine!

Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup

Source: https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-carrot-soup-recipe/

Author: Cookie and Kate Prep Time: 15 minutes   Cook Time: 50 minutes   Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Yield: 4 bowls

This homemade carrot soup recipe is ultra creamy (yet cream-less) and full of rich, roasted carrot flavor! It’s the best carrot soup you’ll ever have. Recipe yields 4 bowls or 6 cups of soup.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds carrots

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided, to taste

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

4 cups vegetable broth (or water)

2 cups water

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup, if desired.

To prepare your carrots, peel them and then cut them on the diagonal so each piece is about ½″ thick at the widest part (see photos).

Place the carrots on the baking sheet. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Toss until the carrots are lightly coated in oil and seasonings. Arrange them in a single layer.

Roast the carrots until they’re caramelized on the edges and easily pierced through by a fork, 25 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway. (Heirloom carrot varieties will roast in as little as 25 minutes, but regular carrots are more dense and typically require 35 to 40 minutes.)

Once the carrots are almost done roasting, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the garlic, coriander and cumin (if following a variation, see recipe notes for additions). Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour in the vegetable broth and water, while scraping up any browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula.

Add the roasted carrots to the pot when they are out of the oven. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.

Once the soup is done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!)

Add the butter, lemon juice (or lime, if following the Thai variation), and several twists of black pepper. Blend until completely smooth. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary, to taste. Add another tablespoon of butter if you’d like more richness, or a little more lemon juice if it needs more zing. Blend again, and serve.

This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.