Carrot-Ginger Soup

I first had this soup at an Italian grocery and sandwich shop in Pike's Place. I had no idea the flavors of carrot and ginger could work so well together, so, of course, I had to duplicate it at home. For making a smoothly blended soup, an immersion blender is essential. Although, if you do not have one, the soup may be blended in a blender after it has cooled (if you put the hot soup in a blender, the gases inside will force the top of the blender off and the hot soup splatter will hurt you!)
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds carrots, chopped into 1-inch pieces—organic sweet carrots work best
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth—or vegetable broth, for a vegetarian option
½ cup milk
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt, to taste
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat oil, 2 tablespoon broth, onion, ginger, and garlic in a 5-quart soup pot. Sauté for a minute or two on medium. Add remaining broth, milk, pepper, honey, and carrots. Simmer on medium to medium-low. Cook until the carrots are soft and break with a fork. Turn off the heat. Blend with an immersion blender until there are no chunks. Add the spices, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Blend into the soup.

I recommend serving a cup of this soup alongside your favorite sandwich.