My mother knew I was a redhead the moment she laid eyes on me. The doctor didn’t believe it, but she knew. She tells me the eyebrows gave me away. I was bald, but for those tell-tale red brows.
She was delighted. I was her fifth child and her only red-headed girl. She was finally able to cut my brother C’s red locks, which she had allowed to grow long and wavy causing people to regularly question his gender identity.
I am sure he was relieved.
I didn’t share her warm feelings about my predicament, however. I grew into a chubby child with tons of freckles and uncontrollable frizzy hair. I needed braces and, at one point, a head gear. It was painful. I was the victim of many harsh comments by other children. Children, so innocent in some ways, can truly be mean.
I wanted to be someone else. I wanted to be thin with blond hair like Marcia Brady, but I was more like the awkward Jan. In fact, I took a cue from Jan and tried rubbing lemon juice on my face to erase my freckles. It didn’t work, but that didn’t stop me from further experimentation. I stopped eating carrots for fear they would turn both my hair and freckles brighter shades of orange.
As a teenager, I dyed my hair purple, green, and blue. I got my nose pierced and decided being a punk rocker was the best way to deal with what nature gave me. Sadly, I still resembled Raggedy Ann. And, the white makeup I used to cover the freckles and make myself look geisha-like, it didn’t work either. I stopped wearing it after a passing driver yelled out, “Get a tan!”
Well, I can’t get a tan. That much is clear. I accept this and I now, after many years, I also accept my ginger waves. I sort of like them now. I even like the freckles. My mother used to call them angel kisses. That’s a stretch, but they came in handy during puberty as camouflage for the acne.
I eat carrots now too. In fact, I eat them almost everyday. This, thankfully, has not caused any significant changes in the tone of either my hair or freckles. Today, I share with you one of my new favorite ways to indulge in this lovely orange vegetable. It’s carrot soup flavored with Moroccan spices. If flavors can be beautiful, this is it. And, the best part? It’s ridiculously easy. Enjoy it on a weekday evening with some fresh crusty bread. You will love it.
Moroccan Carrot Soup
1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 22/3 cups)
2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred to loosen
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Source: Bon Appetit
31 Comments
Can I just tell you, I am so jealous of people with red hair freckles. I think you are all beautiful!
i LOVE your red hair and freckles.
Looks so delicious! I love carrot soup and remember a cold carrot-orange soup I used to eat as a kid. I'll have to try that again.
we recently made something very similar to this, with hot fresh naan alongside. i could eat it every week. and by the way, i dreamt of red hair [instead of my mousey brown] and freckles as a kid — beautiful!
cheers,
*heather*
I have two red headed boys…the other three were not so lucky! My mom was thrilled as she was the only red headed girl out of five. She has bragging rights on having the first and only red headed grandbabies! The freckles, we call chocolate kisses…and the red, well, I've tried hard to get it out of a bottle! They are the ones that are naturally blessed…you are too!
~kristin
Oh my goodness!!!!! mmmmmmmmmm!
This looks really good – and I'd bet it would also work with squash or pumpkin in the fall.
I'm not red-headed ether, but I used to always dye my hair with henna, the reddest one I could find (usually with a fox on the box…)- but dying brown hair red just isn't the same…
i believe that you have been a "victim of many harsh", but, believe us : you are truely beautiful. Stop worrying !
i loved this post, not only because the recipe sounds delicious (such a fan of carrots and this combo of spices), but because i can relate so much to your story. i used to be terribly pale. well, i'm still pale, but i don't think of it as terrible any more and embrace it. it's amazing how you begin to love what you've got as you get older.
I always wanted curly hair
I also felt the need for a certain look, mine was "skater"…what was I thinking!?!? Really can't wait for my carrot's in the garden to grow and try this soup out 
from one fellow red-head to another, I know what you mean! … It's taken me a long, long time to accept my hair and freckles!
I've always wanted to have red hair…
That soup looks delightful!
Cheers,
Rosa
I secretly have always wanted red hair. And now I really want that soup!
I love that photo of you! Your hair is totally gorgeous, both the cut and the color. Oh yeah, nice soup too! By the way, Graham saw the photo of the soup and said, "G for Graham!" Your yogurt swirl really does look like a "g".
you are adorable: writing, freckles, photography, and food!
That is such a beautiful picture of you. I love it.
Oh, this is so achingly familiar, this childhood! I was just telling my five year old, who tells me how much he likes my orange hair (bless his little heart), how I hated it growing up. How I longed for straight smooth brown, like all my friends. As the only redhead in a family of brunettes, I always felt such an orphan. Though mostly, I just desperately wanted that tan! But, how I'd come to accept it, even like it now and again, in my advanced age
And how I used to always tell people I came to be orange because I ate too many carrots 
I tore out this soup, also, and consider your thumbs-up the nod I need to go ahead and try it. Loved this. Thanks.
Oh gosh. You and me would have been real pals back in the day. We could have blinded people with our legs. My little brother called me metal mouth for a year. And my little sister said, "I don't want to have those ugly things on my nose when I grow up." And she was talking about my freckles. Sigh.
But I've embraced it all now, of course
Hey Red Menace, I love your freckles-they are so cute. I wish I had more being a red haired person myself.
This carrot soup looks wonderful-I love anything Moroccan or Algerian-spicey!
You write so beautifully!
as a child, it can be really hard to embrace your most unique features. so glad you grew into all that fierce red beauty. it seems to have created a slew of great stories to tell. must try soup.
Lovely lovely lovely.
Some of my favorite celebrities are red heads, Julianne Moore for one.
This sounds like a fabulous carrot soup. I like that you added freshly toasted spices in it.
Some of my favorite celebrities are red heads, Julianne Moore for one.
This sounds like a fabulous carrot soup. I like that you added freshly toasted spices in it.
That soup sound delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe and I love your blog! I am going to be back for more!
Greetings,
Diana
Your postings are always so sweet and take us to places we have all been at one time or another…add a fabulous carrot soup to the mix and you couldn't ask for anything more .
Sandy
Love the carrot soup – I like the idea of adding honey to it, I'm definitely going to add some the next time I whip up a batch.
And I always wished I had freckles. I really really like freckles. Every summer I look forward to the five freckles I get on my nose that you can't see unless you're standing nose to nose with me.
Gorgeous hair and freckles. Amazing how the point of view changes when you pass out of childhood, no? Beautiful post.
i'm glad i stumbled onto your blog. your writing is beautiful and the food looks great. carrot soup is one of my favorites. oh, and i think red hair and freckles are lovely!
I just stumbled upon your blog and was drawn to this gorgeous, evocative picture of you. My mother has deep red hair and freckles, and I took on some resemblance – I have always thought red hair and freckles add great character and style. This soup, and all the recipes I am looking at on your blog look beautiful and creative.
I absolutely love this photo of you! You are truly a stunner in so many ways. The soup looks delicious! Like always, a thoughtful and lovely post.