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!
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
Equipment
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven (I like using my Staub to make soup)
- Blender (I love my Vitamix Ascent!)
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
Carrot Top Pesto
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.
This is very delicious recipe. I love it and will try it today eve.
Really Awesome.
Looks delicious
I love carrot soup our amazon echo recipe skill article is really amazing thanks for sharing your recipe skill.
I love the way in which you prepare it. I will ready this healthy soup for my son. I will also share it with my friends.
That’s sound healthy and tasty. i will try this in new year eve. Thanks for sharing this healthy stuff before new year. 🙂
Just made this soup, it’s fantastic! It has the perfect bit of flavor with the ginger and garlic but is also just a delicious smooth soup. Love it!
Thanks Hanna, I’m so happy to hear that! It’s one of my favorite simple soups 🙂
As I was watching your video, my Alexa heard your voice and set a “30 minute timer!” Guess I better get going on the soup — it looks lovely!
Too funny!
That’s so insanely cool!! Although it’s kind of crazy how far technology has come… sooner or later we might not have to cook at all 😉
I’ve been drooling too long, need to get this gadget! Not sure whether to get this or a Google Home, though. One of the biggest reasons nonetheless are to be able to cook like that, with that kind of help.
I make a lot of soup in the fall & winter & freeze in portions so this is one I will definitely try. I have a suggestion ( actually to all bloggers) it would be so helpful to write ” use 3 or 4 medium carrots ( for example) instead of 2 1/2 cups of chopped carrot as it would give a guideline without having to chop & then measure. Thank you
Hi Christine, thanks – I’ll try to include #’s of vegetables in addition to the measurements. Here, I used about 3 carrots that were on the medium-large side.
This looks divine and I love how nutritious it is at the same time! What a perfect cozy soup to make all through the cold seasons
I love this winter soup! The carrot top pesto is such a creative addition. Happy Holidays!
Aughghgh ….. I was as excited as your husband when my Echo arrived. Alexa is my new Best Friend! I couldn’t finish reading your article … I had to go the Echo Skills and activate L&L right away !!
I recently bought the Kindle version of your book … can Alexa read the recipes in your book ???
Hi Nina, that’s awesome – I’m sorry only the blog recipes will work with the Echo, the Kindle recipes aren’t programmed the same way. Hope you enjoy anyway!
A super winter soup. It looks delicious.
Hi there,
Oh this is the best holiday gift!! I am a college tech buyer and the Echo is my absolute favorite techy toy of all time Going to enable your skill tonight.
Happy happy joy joy dance going on here in the Northwest!!!!!!
Happy New Year for all,
Anne
Ha 🙂 Let us know if you give it a try!
I got so excited when I read this, we got my 12yr old son an Echo for Christmas & I will be using it a lot, I love it!
Yay, let us know if you give the skill a try 🙂
What a fantastic idea! I do not have an Echo, but my daughter got one for Christmas. I just forwarded her the email. I can’t wait to hear what she says.
Ha, thanks 🙂
Ooooh very yummy!! xxx
http://www.diaryofanexpatgirl.com
That is so cool. My mom has an underused Echo, so I’ll be sure to tell her to try this.