Soup Secret: Roasting Your Rabbit Food

Sometimes too much of a good thing can turn out to be, well, just the right amount of a good thing. When I opened my refrigerator vegetable drawer recently, I discovered that the carrots had somehow multiplied like bunnies.

This Roasted Carrot and Garlic Soup is good to make when you discover that you weren’t the only one in your house to buy carrots. And because the active work time is only about 10 minutes, it leaves you plenty of time to whip up a green salad, warm rolls or get some grapefruit marinating in a little tequila for dessert.

If you omit the cream added at the end of the soup, this is a vegan meal to boot.

As I said: just the right amount of a good thing.

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Roasted Carrot and Garlic Soup

Green Salad With Vinaigrette

Hot Rolls

Grapefruit Marinated in Tequila

Roasted Carrot and Garlic Soup

Active Work Time: 10 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes * Vegetarian * Low-Fat

1 1/4 pounds carrots

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt, pepper

1 onion

3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons whipping cream, optional

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

* Cut carrots into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place on baking sheet with garlic and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 500 degrees 10 minutes.

* Cut onion into six wedges. Add to carrots and garlic and stir to coat with oil. Roast until vegetables are very tender and slightly charred, about 10 minutes.

* Put carrots, garlic and onion in blender with vegetable broth and puree until smooth, adding more broth if needed, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into saucepan and heat over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cream, if using, and lemon juice.

4 servings. Each serving: 131 calories; 1,010 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 1.93 grams fiber.

Grapefruit in Tequila

Active Work Time: 10 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes * Nonfat

2 grapefruits

3 tablespoons tequila

* Peel grapefruits with sharp knife and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle with tequila and marinate 20 to 30 minutes.

4 servings. Each serving: 68 calories; 0 sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.23 gram fiber.

INGREDIENTS

Staples

Carrots

Whipping cream

Garlic

Olive oil

Onion

Pepper

Salt

Tequila

Vegetable broth

White wine vinegar

Shopping List

2 grapefruits

2 (5-ounce) bags mixed greens

4 dinner rolls

GAME PLAN

30 minutes before: Slice carrots and peel garlic.

25 minutes before: Begin roasting carrots and garlic. Cut onion into wedges. Peel and slice grapefruits and marinate.

15 minutes before: Add onion wedges to carrots and garlic and roast.

10 minutes before: Warm rolls. Toss salad.

5 minutes before: Puree soup.

*

Soup bowl and plate from Crate & Barrel stores. Napkin from Salutations Home, Brentwood and Pasadena.