Creamy Carrot and Sunflower Soup ~ a happy combo
This recipe is inspired by a delightful podcast episode where my friend Diana and I engage in a whimsical conversation with our food, tuning in to their "thoughts" and insights. The carrots, sourced from my sister's farm in Cleveland, Georgia, and the sunflowers from my own garden, offer their unique perspectives. The carrots express their special vibration, sharing advice on proper storage and the benefits of consuming them, while their central message encourages us to be resilient both physically and mentally. The sunflowers gain solar wisdom from basking in the sun, and urge us to shine brightly and embrace our inner light. Together, the carrots and sunflowers amplify their happiness, creating a vibrant blend of nourishment and inspiration.
Soups, roasted, lightly cooked, smoothies, salads are just the many ways you can integrate sunflowers and carrots together. Following is a soup, a fun way to combine all the parts!
Ingredients
3-4 medium carrots, save the tops for garnish or smoothies
1 C Sunflowers seeds, either raw and fresh from your organic garden or organic seeds from the store. These do not need to be dried or roasted, everything shifts the flavor and consciousness, but all works.
1 Yellow onion
2 T Olive oil for sautéing onions
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cardomon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp celtic sea salt or to taste
1/8 tsp of white pepper
4 bullion cubes or miso
Sunflower petals and pollen from the live flower
1 QT (4 C) filtered or spring water
Note: when you gather fresh sunflowers for pollen, you need to bring them inside as bees and other insects will gather all the pollen for themselves. If you are using fresh sunflower seeds, they do not need to be dry, just scrape some of the old flower bits off before adding to the soup.
Guide for making the soup
Sautee the onions in olive oil, adding in the ginger and cumin toward the end to infuse the flavors.
Add the remaining ingredients (except the garlic petals and pollen), bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.
Transfer to a blender while still warm, add the garlic and blend until smooth.
Add to serving bows and garnish with minced carrot top, pollen and petals.
Serve warm with garnish of petals and pollen and carrot top! Try my seedy crackers recipe for some crunch on the side.
An unlikely duo with double happy consciousness. Listen to the carrots and sunflowers speak in this streaming episode of The 1 to 9 Podcast by Karin and Diana or click below
This photo of of me taking the whole not-quite-ripe sunflower head and tossing it in the recipe above, no carrots. The pollen was a delightful addition to the soup. It was a good experiment, but the soup was a little too fibery for my taste.