I’m a good citizen. I recycle. I wear deodorant on the subway. And I subscribe to a CSA, which means I get a weekly box of produce that guarantees a local farmer income for the entire season. And this year, I decided to take that up a notch by buying a winter share too.

Now, I love me some root vegetables, so I figured a regular box full of ‘em for which I didn’t have to stand in line at the grocery store was a no-brainer. Only, unlike my summer share, there aren’t three sizes to choose from based on the size of your household. Even if your household is a household of one. What I’m getting at here is I’m overrun. Overrun with gorgeous, local vegetables of startling variety. Jerusalem artichokes, beets and yams, oh my!

So, I’ve been dealing with this crisis situation for a little over a month, preserving and soup-making like there’s no tomorrow! (Actually, I’m pretty sure if there was no tomorrow, I’d happily take a night off from making soup.) This little ditty came together in less than an hour on a school night (when I come home from work grumpy and ravenous), after I peeled and chopped the veggies the night before. It gets bonus points for using not one, but FOUR of the little burdens, I mean tubers (and such), screaming to be eaten in the bottom of my fridge.

Carrot Ginger Soup
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 piece (yeah, a whole one) fresh ginger, minced
2 lbs of carrots, peeled and chopped
3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
6 cups veggie or chicken stock
2 tsp fresh thyme or something

In your soup pot (you only have one, right?), melt the butter and make that onion sweat! After a coupla minutes, add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook. In a couple more, add the carrots and potatoes, then pour in the stock. Season with salt and pepper and let simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Poke the carrots and potatoes to make sure they’re mushy. Throw in the fresh thyme and turn the heat off.

Using an immersion blender (how did people live before immersion blenders?), puree the soup and re-season if necessary.

Spoon it into bowls and season with a dollop of yogurt (Monday), a sprinkle of hot sauce and some goat’s cheese (Tuesday), or a squirt of lime juice (Wednesday). If you’re a household of one, you’ll even have leftovers for days!

Oh, and sign up for your own box! Despite all my whinging, it’s such a nice treat to see all that our local farms have to offer. And, the variety has forced me to eat lots of delightful things that I’d never think to get on my own. And, I can’t get enough of the pickles.