Five Spice Carrot Soup: Winter Inspiration

It's that time of the year.

Spring is official -- and yet, here in the Midwest, we haven't quite moved officially into any semblance of a "growing season."  And yet, I can just taste all of the deliciously fresh spring greens that will soon be coming out of the cold frames and greenhouses.  I'm starting to get a taste for that first obnoxiously delicious batch of truly local asparagus that's just bursting with

In the meantime, it seems we're stuck with the root vegetables.

I shouldn't malign those hearty vegetables whose veracity allows them to withstand even the initial bite of Wisconsin winter weather, and whose thick skin allows them to submit gracefully to the challenges of storage in cellars, produce drawers, and basements.

But, I must admit that I get tired of them.  By the time March rolls around, I'm tired of eating produce from last fall. I want something fresh and green.

Fortunately, just when I'm about to give up hope, I always seem to be apt to stumble upon awesome recipes like this one that give me the courage to persist a little bit longer.

Inspired by a recipe sent over to me by Rachel from Healthy Food Whole Life, and a bin of vegetables obtained from the great people over at Fresh Picks, a delivery service that offers year-round delivery of a wide range of local and organic vegetables, I made this recipe for the first time in February for one of our annual Soup Night events.

It's sweet and lively, thanks to the rich combination of carrots and sweet potatoes, with just the right amount of spice from a dash of Chinese five spice powder, which offers up a series of complex notes from cinnamon to fennel to star anise.

Although a garnish certainly would have made the photo prettier, this is the sort of soup that holds its own, and needs very little in the way of embellishment -- though a scattering of something crunchy would only enhance its silky charms.

Five Spice Carrot Soup

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