I went to the gym today.

I’ve been trying to drag myself in there for weeks.

I strolled in and screamed I NEED INCENTIVE! And so I got a free personal training session on the weight circuit and gave every muscle a moment to shine. It doesn’t hurt to have a cute trainer to get you really sweating. Huzzah! I’m feeling great that I’ve finally done it, and as I walked out of there, a woman walked briskly across the room and told me I had beautiful hair (and that was post gym hair!). I’m still beaming!

When I got back to the house, I was determined to continue my positive streak, so I put together this soup in about five minutes from some leftovers of Jamie Oliver’s Sticky carrots* that I had sitting in my fridge. You could just as easily boil some carrots with a little salt, pepper, and garlic, and make the soup in about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Quick Carrot Soup: In a blender, put a few cups of leftover cooked carrots (mine had salt and pepper already on them, but if yours don’t just add some), a half cup of plain yogurt, a half teaspoon of cumin, and a half teaspoon of turmeric, and a dash of water (or chicken stock if you have it), and blend until smooth. Top with some snips of dill.

Serve with garlic toast: just lightly coat a few pieces of day old bread with some good olive oil, put under the broiler or in the toaster for a couple of minutes, and then just lightly sweep a clove of garlic over the warm toast.

*Jamie’s Sticky Carrots: Cut a couple of pounds of carrots into two inch lengths, and stick them straight up in a small saucepan fitting them together snugly. Add a couple of Turkish bay leaves, salt and pepper, and a small nob of butter (a tablespoon or two) on top. (I add in a few cloves of garlic here, although his recipe doesn’t have them). Add enough water so that the carrots are halfway submerged, and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until carrots are cooked, about twenty minutes, and then just take off the lid and continue to cook until the water cooks down almost away, and the carrots get stick and lovely – about half an hour more. Jamie has you turn them out so they are all beautiful on the plate (taking care not to burn yourself), and serve.