i win at the cooking derby

Every few months or so, when the stars align just right, I go into an insane cooking spree in which I make way too much food to eat and make a huge mess out of my kitchen. Sometimes during those cooking sprees I make something really good, though no fault of my own. The most recent cooking streak (last weekendwas an insane marathon of Korean food and soups) has culminated in this fantastic dish, which I become more proud of the more I think of it:

Cold Killer Carrot Soup

• Approx. 1 lb of carrots, chopped into small-ish pieces
• 1/2 of an onion, diced
• 2-4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cans of chicken or vegetable broth (3 or 4 cups? I'm guessing?)
• 3 cloves of garlic (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger (sliced, mashed, whatever-- it'll all get blended together)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon (or more, to taste) of hot red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped tarragon
• juice of 1 orange (some pulp too, if you want)
• 2 tablespoons of bourbon (I used Maker's Mark)

Saute the onions and carrots over high heat in the oil until the onions are clear. When onions are cooked, add broth to the pot until it just covers the carrots. Add garlic, curry, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cover the pot and stir over high heat until soup is at a boil. Uncover and let simmer over medium-low heat until the carrots are cooked, stirring occaisionally. When carrots are soft, transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth. Return soup to pot over low heat. Stir in tarragon, orange juice and bourbon and let cook for 1-2 minutes to let flavors blend.

Eat topped with plain yogurt or sour cream.

Consider that it is kind of like a hot toddy, but soup. Yum.