Carrot Ginger Soup and Sesame Dressed Salad

The soup is quick and easy.. and vegan. The salad ended up being kind of elegant in its simplicity by virtue of using a few things that I jsut happened to have on hand (hard boiled eggs, raw broccoli sticks.) Of course, it too could be vegan without the egg (although I personally love the flavor combination of egg and sesame). This made a nice, light dinner on a hot, steamy evening.

Carrot Ginger Soup

1 carton of Imagine No-Chicken broth
7-8 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger (I grate a frozen piece of ginger, it's easier to handle and it dissolves as soon as it is heated.)
salt, white pepper & freshly grated nutmeg to taste
2 T sunflower oil

Heat oil in the bottom of a dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add ginger and stir to dissolve, about 1 minute. Add broth and carrots and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. Transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Salad
2 c herb salad, or other baby greens, mix
1/4 c Trader Joe's broccoli slaw (this is basically just raw broccoli and carrots cut into shoelace-size sticks)
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1 T black sesame seeds

Dressing
3 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1 T tamari
pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake. Drizzle onto salad.

Makes 2 servings