Soulful Soup

“How much longer daddy? Can you see Disney World? Can you see it???”

As a little girl, a child of of the 70’s, sitting in the backseat of my parents big brown Pontiac Le Mans, it was a guarantee that these questions of mine were routinely asked at precise intervals throughout entire road trips. This particular road trip was taking us from Dayton, Ohio to Florida – home to Walt Disney World. It was the summer of 1976.

My father, would always respond, “Why yes darling, I can see it! It is right there!” He would point with his long finger hovering over the steering wheel, pointing so very precisely at our destination, and I, ever so little, would lean over and squint so hard (so hard!) — trying my best to see and then slumping back into my seat, arms crossed in utter frustration because I couldn’t see our destination. Never mind we were still 500 miles away from Disney World — he could see it but I couldn’t!

With his raised eyebrow expression, my father would turn around to look and me and respond, “Perhaps we need to eat more carrot soup, Monica.” He was an an ophthalmologist and believed that carrots were very beneficial to ones vision. Carrot soup was something that my mum would make quite often, it was my dad’s favorite.

Sadly, carrot soup was not my favorite thing to eat, at all.

Fast forward to 2015 I can attest that I am quite happy eating carrots. They say your tastebuds change as you grow older and thankfully mine did.

When my father would come to visit me in Seattle from Ohio, where he lived, I would be sure to make him his favorite carrot soup. We celebrated good times and memories over bowls and bowls of soup and the memories still live strong in my heart.

When I was pregnant with my little B, I ate carrots galore. I juiced them and drank them. I made carrot salad, carrot cake, and carrot muffins. Carrots were everywhere in my life when I was growing little B. I was determined to make this child of mine LOVE carrots.

And the outcome of all this carrot cooking? My boy loves them. As a matter of fact, when B is under the weather he doesn’t ask for Chicken Soup . . .

He asks for Carrot Soup!

And this I am very proud of.

At home, I make this soup in my Vitamix and on the road, I make it with my immersion blender. Which now as I think of it, I would love a Vitamix onboard the Airstream. One day . . .

When we winter road trip to Montana next month — to Whitefish, specifically, I will be packing carrots with us, to make this ever so comforting soup to enjoy. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s a one-pot wonder and I am thankful we all love it. It will warm us up after days spent outside in the white snow. I can’t wait.

A lot of people wonder why we travel during the winter with our Airstream to these cold climates.

Yes there are cozy hotel rooms to stay in or comfy B&B’s, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Traveling with my Silver Girl makes me the happiest girl on this earth.

I bring all of my creature comforts of home with me and best of all, I have my own bed to sleep in. My bed.

Here are some things I like to bring along with me to ensure utter comfort during those chilly days:

A hot water bottle really cozies up the bed and I always make sure to wear a hat indoors. These Skida hats are not only super cute but they keep me warm and feel comfortable when I sleep.

Some other things I bring and do:

I keep my ear muffs, gloves and the like in a bowl in the cabinet by the front door so I can quickly grab then when I head outside.
I keep a broom right outside of the front door. When it snows overnight and Oliver needs to go out, I simply grab the broom and sweep the steps off. I also sweep a quick path so we’re not stepping in two feet of snow.
If I don’t feel like sweeping the snow, I’ll put on my weatherproof boots and carry Oliver to a spot where he can do his business — where there isn’t too much snow to make him disappear.
I swear that wearing running tights under everything keeps me extra warm and doesn’t add bulk.
When we come in at the end of the day and everything is slopping wet — I place a self standing wire shelf next to the one of the heat vents and lay our gloves, hats, scarves, etc them across to dry. It’s like a mini drying rack and works so well.

If you are a wintertime glamper, I hope this helped you in some way. I would love to hear your tips too!

With all my heart,
Monica xoxo

Thank you for being here ❤

Carrot Soup

Print recipe

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 Small onion (chopped)
2lb carrots (peeled and chopped)
4 cups chicken stock
maggi seasoning (dash)
salt and pepper (to taste)
sour cream (dollop for the top)

Directions

Step 1
Melt the butter in a pot, add onion and cook until they become translucent.
Step 2
Add the stock to the pot, add the carrots and a dash of Maggi Seasoning. Cook until the carrots are tender.
Step 3
Blend with an immersion blender. If the soup is too thick, add some water to thin it out. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a crunchy baguette.
Step 5
Bon appétit