Quick Pensacola trip and Christmas prep

It’s a last minute sort of plan, but tomorrow, Sunday, December 15, 2019, I’ll be doing a pop-up book signing at the Barnes and Noble in Pensacola, Florida! I grew up there (In Pensacola, not the Barnes and Noble) and after this week of horrible, shocking tragedy aboard the Pensacola Naval Air station, it just feels good to go home. I taught school just outside the main gate of NAS and most of my children belonged to Navy families. I remember teaching them the words to “Anchors Aweigh” and how happy it made their parents!

If you are in Pensacola, pop in to say hello (after church, of course!) Even if you already have a book, I’d love to meet you and say hello. Meeting my readers is one of the best parts about writing a book.

I thought I’d show you how great Southern Veranda Florist in Fairhope looks this year. The downtown merchants go all-out for Christmas. Carl always has a great display and I love going there. It’s even more sparkling on the inside!

Here’s my living room so far. It was the one day we’ve had that was cold enough for a fire — a Southern fire, which is anything below 65 degrees. The painting of Santa over the mantle was done by my Aunt Jo when she was 7 years old. My mother laughed at her and said, “One of his legs is longer than the other.” She replied, “He’s going downhill.”

Sick-sick-sick over Thanksgiving, I made carrot/ginger soup with crunchy baked kale sprinkles on top, and it was loaded with so many vitamins, I’m like Super-Elf now. I only sneeze glitter.

I Hope all of my Pensacola readers can stop by Barnes and Noble on Sunday and I also hope all of you are feeling great and getting ready for Christmas!

immune boosting carrot ginger soup

• Author: Alex Caspero MA, RD- from delish knowledge
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Cuisine: vegan, gluten-free, healthy, vegetarian, low-fat

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more/less to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and remove from heat.
2. Add the slightly cooled carrots, ginger, orange juice, turmeric, vegetable broth, salt and freshly ground pepper to a blender and puree until creamy and smooth.
3. Serve! I garnished this with an extra drizzle of good olive-oil and freshly ground pepper.