supertasty orange potato soup

This is the perfect lunch soup. as someone who doesn't remember the last time i ate lunch at work while doing absolutely nothing else, i get a little picky with what i take with me for lunch.

eating something that doesn't necessarily need utensils and tastes great both straight out of the microwave and lukewarm after being neglected for a few minutes while i answer email or type up documents is a rare treat.

this potato soup takes about 40 minutes or so, start to finish. it has a couple major ingredients, and they're all staples that you'd likely have on hand whenever the mood should strike.

Potato Soup

• 1/2 onion and 2 stalks celery, chopped
  
• 4-5 potatoes and 4-5 carrots, diced or shredded through a food processor
• tetra pack (1 litre?) of low-sodium chicken broth
• few sprigs of chopped thyme, a few bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes
• 2 cups medium sharp cheddar
• small handful of parsley, if you want

sautee the onion in a few tablespoons of oil on medium heat, salting lightly

when the onion is about halfway cooked, add the thyme, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant

add the carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes while you clean up, stirring every so often

add the stock, then fill the container with water and add that in too. clamp a lid on, and cook for 30 minutes. taste for seasoning.
take off the heat and puree with an immersion blender. throw in a small handful of chopped parsley and the cheddar, and let the heat of the soup get it all melty. Andy suggested that you could leave the cheddar out of the soup and add a bunch on top so it gets both stringy and melty. i told him to keep his opinions to himself.

final note: this would be tasty with some corn.