Meatless Monday: Carrot soup with orange and ginger

So, before I dive into this recipe, I want to talk a little bit about stock.
Chicken stock, beef stock, vegetable stock.. whichever your preference, it is an essential in any kitchen. It is used as a flavour base for everything from rice to soup, and adds so much more to any dish rather than just using water.
Sure, it is readily available in any supermarket, but why buy it unless you have to? It is so easy to make.

What you need to get into the habit of doing, is to save and freeze your kitchen scraps... carrot end and peelings.. onion peels and roots.. celery leaves.. garlic peelings.. if you have a bunch of green onions that you know you aren't going to be able to use and are on the verge of being trash, throw them in. Did you roast a chicken? Keep and freeze the bones. All of these things may seem like garbage, but before they are, you can cook them down and use the flavours from them to make your own stock.

Simple as that. If you can get into the habit of bagging and freezing your scraps, you can have delicious, rich, flavourful stock. Just as good as the store-bought kind, and without all the added sodium and preservatives.

Now, onto the recipe.

Carrot soup with orange and ginger
2 Onions, chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
6 Carrots, chopped
juice from 2 oranges
2 1/2 Tbs of freshly grated ginger
4 Cups of vegetable stock

Cook onions in a small amount of vegetable oil until slightly tender. Add carrots, celery, orange juice and ginger. Cook over med heat until the carrots are soft.