Apple & Carrot Soup

Emboldened by my successful baking adventure, I selected an autumnal recipe to prepare for my husband tonight. We decided to cook together, and I am lucky for that because Dan knew that our bag of carrots bought last weekend had gone bad...

Hubby: (Wearing a black sweatshirt, green khaki cargo shorts, one black sock and one green sock) "Do you think anyone will care if I have two different socks on at the grocery store?"

Wifey: "Yes. The question is, Do you care if anyone cares?"

Hubby: "No."

So Dan went to the store to get new carrots. The soup, which we had with biscuits, was a success!

Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes (Unless your carrots have gone bad and your hubby has to go to the store wearing two different socks.) Cook: 35 minutes
Makes about 10 cups or 6 main-dish servings

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium Golden Delicious apples
2 lbs. carrots
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) vegetable broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
2 cups water
Half and half and fresh chives for garnish

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden.
2. Meanwhile, peel apples and carrots. Cut each apple in half and remove core. Cut apples and carrots into 1 1/2 inch chunks.
3. Add apples, carrots, broth, sugar, slat, ginger, and water to onion; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove Dutch oven from heat. Spoon one third of mixture into blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and puree until very smooth.
5. Return soup to Dutch oven; heat through. Serve soup with a swirl of half-and-half, garnish with fresh chives.