Check out our new Love & Lemons Amazon Echo Recipe skill where you can search and cook recipes while Alexa reads the ingredients and instructions OUT LOUD. It's really handy because it'll keep your phone screen from getting messy while you're trying to cook!

vegan / gluten free — Jump to recipe

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Christmas came a little early for us – a few months ago “Santa Amazon” sent us an Amazon Echo and my techy husband Jack could not have been more excited. While he was playing around with its features, he decided that it would be neat if it could read our recipes aloud. So he got to work and here it is: a Love & Lemons skill where you can search and cook our recipes while Alexa reads the ingredients and instructions OUT LOUD. It’s really handy because it’ll keep your phone screen from getting messy while you’re trying to follow a recipe.

So if you found an Echo under your tree this year and want to play around with our new feature, just say “Alexa, enable the Love & Lemons Skill” to get started.

After that say “Ask Love & Lemons for a carrot recipe” or “Ask Love & Lemons for recent recipes” (or whatever kind of recipe you’re looking for) and she’ll read you the ingredients and the instructions step by step.

Here’s a little video demo of how it works – we posted this on Instagram Stories last week. Sorry for the janky quality – remember, it’s an un-edited Instagram Story video. I made this simple carrot soup to show you how it works:

Let us know if you give it a try!

And if you don’t have an Echo, the carrot soup recipe is below. It’s one of my favorites especially after a week of indulgent holiday eating. It’s simply flavored with garlic and a punch of ginger. I love to serve it with a scoop of Carrot Top Pesto (recipe also below).

Simple Carrot Ginger Soup

rate this recipe:4.63 from 8 votesSave Recipe Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed orange juice
• 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth*
• Carrot Top Pesto, recipe below
• coconut milk for garnish, optional

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the smashed garlic cloves (they’ll get blended later) and chopped carrots to the pot and cook about 8 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the ginger, then add the apple cider vinegar, and then add 3 cups of broth. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the carrots are soft, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool slightly and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth. If the consistency of your soup is too thick, add up to 1 cup more broth.
• Serve the soup with the pesto on the side. Garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk, if desired.

Notes

*I like the Whole Foods 365 brand Vegetable Broth (not low-sodium). This soup freezes very well.

Carrot Top Pesto

rate this recipe:4.63 from 8 votesSave Recipe Print Recipe

Ingredients

• ¼ cup pepitas
• 1 garlic clove
• 1½ cup coarsely chopped carrot tops
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ to ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• grated parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions

• Wash your carrot tops well, and set them aside to dry. Pulse the pepitas and the garlic in a food processor with pinches of salt and pepper. Add the carrot tops and pulse again. Add the lemon juice and pulse again, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed. While the blade is running, drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto blends smoothly. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add parmesan cheese, if desired. Add additional olive oil (and/or 2 tablespoons water) for a thinner consistency, if desired.

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