I Tried It: Boston Public Market Cookbook

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the First Edition of the Boston Public Market Seasonal Cookbook in the mail recently. I've been really all about the eating lately but truthfully, it should be a lot healthier (dang it pregnancy!) ... wait, let me start over. Are you local to Boston or New England? have you been to the Boston Public Market (located at 100 Hanover Street at Haymarket Station)? It's a fantastic year round market (no worries, it's indoors) where you can find all sorts of awesome fresh and local food sourced from Massachusetts and around New England. We're talkin' produce, eggs, meat, fresh flowers, CHEESE... and the list goes on. In any event, they've just recently released a seasonal cookbook with accessible recipes for every season using fresh ingredients that you can pretty easily find.

Being that it's been hella chilly in Massachusetts this month, I wanted to whip up one of the Winter recipes that looked manageable and toasty yummy. The Gingery Carrot Soup recipe was the perfect choice and did not disappoint. I'm going to share it here so you know what kind of tastiness lies in wait in the cookbook, to entice you to pick up a copy of your own!

What you'll need:

6 Large Carrots, diced
1 Large Onion, diced
1 Quart of Vegetable, Chicken or Turkey Stock (I used Chicken, my fave)
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Inches Long Piece of Ginger, Finely Grated
2 Tbsp of Butter
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Super Easy Instructions:

In a large stock pot, melt butter (I used my cast iron dutch oven stovetop). Add onions and carrots, saute until tender but not brown. Season generously with salt, pepper, adding garlic and ginger, continuing to saute for 30 seconds. Add stock and simmer until mellow and flavorful, about 20 minutes. Using a blender or food processor, carefully blend soup until smooth. Careful, it'll be hot!

I literally made this soup in the midday, had it for lunch and then heated up seconds for dinner! It's delicious and makes you feel warm and cozy. For my next batch, I'm going to make sure that I have some fresh crusty bread on hand for dipping because #Bread. This recipe also lends itself to a little tweaking so if you love your meat, I can totally see tossing some chicken in during the saute phase. I love to experiment and can't wait to dig into more of these recipes as the seasons change and I'm able to pick up different ingredients locally. You can snag this cookbook and utilize your own local farmer's market if you're not local to Boston, but I'd urge you to visit if you've got the opportunity!

What's your favorite way to cook with fresh, local ingredients?

*Boston Public Market provided me a copy of their cookbook for review. All opinions are 100% my own.