Instant Pot Carrot Apple Ginger Soup (6 Ingredients & Easy)

When the temperatures drop and everyone starts talking about snowstorms, all I want is a warm, cozy bowl of soup. Even though there’s no snow here in sunny Florida, my family in Pennsylvania and New York has been sending blizzard photos — and let’s just say, it’s serious soup weather up there!

Comfort Food: Bean and Lentil Recipes for Snowy Days

It's been cold ( but not snowy here) and I'm Looking back through my blog at some of my older bean and lentil recipes. It feels a little like I am flipping through an old photo album. I’ve been blogging for 16 years now and during that time my recipes have naturally evolved right along with the way I eat and cook.

"Whip Up Some Fun: Festive Frozen Whipped Cream Toppers for Hot Chocolate"

A steaming mug of hot chocolate is the perfect cold weather treat, and adding frozen whipped cream toppers is fun, festive, and delicious. Perfect for holiday entertaining. 

The frozen whipped cream slowly melts into the warm cocoa, creating a creamy swirl that’s delicious and visually delightful. 

Back From A Family Emergency

We had a family medical emergency last week, and we needed to return to Philadelphia (we are snow birds).

Fort Lauderdale

The Fort Lauderdale airport was relatively empty (we took a 6 am flight) and our flight to Philadelphia was only 60% booked. Yay! On the return 10 am flight a week later, it was 80% booked and felt a little crowded. We had to Uber each way to our residences but the drivers and we wore masks, and I opened the window for a few seconds now and then.

Covid

You may remember that I had Covid about 5 weeks ago.. Am I protected from getting it again so soon?

9 Degrees!!

The weather was in the single digits when we got there. Despite keeping our spare car in the garage, the battery was dead. After a visit from AAA we were able to drive to my sister in law's house to help her nurse a very sick (and dying) husband in a hospital bed in her home. The hospice nurse came every morning for an hour but only Mon-Friday. All the siblings showed up and we took turns playing nurse, cooking, talking, praying etc. 

 Luckily all of our winter gear is in Philadelphia area. We had a snowstorm one night followed by an ice storm. By morning it warmed up to 34 degrees and everything melted. We stayed for a week helping to support my sister in law and making a daily commute to visit with my mother in law an hour a way. 

Eating Whole Food Healthy- But the desserts got to me

I tried to eat healthy whole food while I was there-  although many family members are gluten free and dairy free and they were bringing baked goods and someone also brought gluten-free Oreo type cookies which I could not resist tasting (4 or 5 cookies over 6 days). 

Soup Hit The Spot

I shopped for some fruit and salad as soon as we got there - and made a pot of (link to recipe) butternut squash red lentil soup which is not in my cookbook but is one of my favorite soup recipes that I developed after I had already published my cookbook. 

Make It Easy

I bought pre-cut peeled and cubed butternut squash and used organic salsa instead of buying onions, tomatoes, chili peppers, and sweet peppers. It's such a time saver. With my Instant Pot, I was able to whip up a delicious batch of warming soup quickly and set it to pressure cook it in just 9 minutes. 

Great Vegan, Gluten-free, Oil-free Very Easy Dinner

I also made my hot rice and chickpea dinner which is topped with chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, cumin seeds, cracked pepper,  and sesame seeds. Another easy gluten-free vegan dish that can be made with lots of shortcuts because I didn't want a lot of pots and pans to clean up.

My Shortcuts

1. I bought a large container of cooked rice from the Chinese restaurant ($3.00) I could have bought their brown rice, but I really wanted white..

2. I opened a can of organic chickpeas

3. I chopped tomatoes and avocados

4. Added the seasonings 

5. I heat the rice and chickpeas before adding the tomatoes, avocado, and seasoning. 

We bought take out two nights. 

I bought the ingredients for a smoothie for each morning.

1. Organic baby spinach

2. Frozen blueberries 

3. Cinnamon and turmeric ( which I had in the cupboard) 

4. Alma powder (a high antioxidant powder) 

5. Almond milk 

6. Banana

I am back now in Florida as of today and feeling the warmth of the sun penetrating my skin and loving it. 

We are glad to be back.

Sharing on Weekend Cooking at The Intrepid Reader and Baker.

Note: All of my recipes starting in January of 2021 are vegan and oil-free. All of my recipes have always been gluten-free and vegetarian.