Carrot Jalapeño Soup

                                                                 
A friend of mine gave me this recipe to try from her cute blog girlincraftyworld.blogspot.com . It was easy to make this soup vegan. It was so awesome I may have had... 3 bowls of it for lunch. This soup contains lots of delicious carrots. The health benefits of carrots include reduced cholesterol, prevention from heart attacks, warding off certain cancers and many others. Most of the benefits of carrot can be attributed to its beta carotene and fiber content. This root, which has a scientific name of Daucus Carota, is a good source of antioxidant agents as well. Carrots are rich in vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and potassium.
This recipe is gluten-free, vegan, contains soy and cashews (optional)

• cooking spray
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1.5 cups chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lbs carrots
• jalapeno depends on desired heat (I use 2.5-3)
• 1 cup soy cream
• dash salt and pepper
• 3 tbs raw cashews soaked over night (optional for added creaminess) 

Spray pan saute onions, (peeled) carrots and jalapeños saute 3-5 minutes . Add thyme and bay leaf and  stock bring to a boil. Reduce heat and slow cook partially covered until carrots are tender- approx 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.  Puree in blender or use hand held blender add cashews if desired (food processor does not get it to right consistency)  Whisk in cream with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat without boiling.  Serve hot topped with cilantro and soy sour cream.