Tech Eats: What’s Sustaining the A2J Team This Week?
You can stop sending in your urgent emails, very heated tweets, and emoji-laden Instagram comments: we are finally answering the pressing question of what the A2J Tech team eats while working remotely! Alright, we know that wasn't at the forefront of your mind when thinking about legal innovation and access to justice, but it's not so much of a stretch. Food brings people together.
Take, for example, this carrot soup, lovingly created by Amanda, the wife of our CEO Joseph Schieffer, who graciously fed some members of our team during our recent legal kiosk installation training two weeks ago. And, in the interest of accessibility, the base soup itself is gluten and dairy free and can be made vegan/vegetarian by using olive oil for cooking the carrots and vegetable stock instead of chicken.
CARROT SOUP
Ingredients
- 2-4 lbs. carrots, peeled
- sprigs of rosemary and thyme, amount to preference
- one whole large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 boxes of chicken broth
- olive oil or butter for cooking carrots and onion
Topping suggestions:
- bacon, fried and crumbled
- chives, chopped
- parmesan, grated
- basil pesto
- yogurt or cream
Instructions
1. Chop carrots into even coins. Because you’ll be blending the carrots later, you don’t have to worry about Michelin-chef-worthy knife skills here, but what you’re looking for is thin (quarter-inch) pieces so that it cooks quickly with the onion.
2. Melt butter or heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. When fat is shimmering, add carrots and onion. Add salt and pepper.
3. After approximately five minutes – when carrots and onion are well on their way to caramelizing but before the carrots have turned soft and the onion translucent, add herbs and garlic. Stir to prevent burning.
4. When carrots and onion are caramelized and herbs are fragrant, blend with chicken broth in a blender or, if you have one on hand, using an immersion blender in the pot directly with the heat off. (Note: Because of the additional blending step, I found it was fine to leave the herbs in – the stems disappear into the velvety purée. If you’re put off by the idea of leaving the herbs in, you could remove them before blending.)
5. If using blender, return the carrot-chicken broth purée to the pot. Season with more salt and pepper to taste and simmer for at least one hour, allowing the flavors to meld and the color of the soup to deepen. The soup will also thicken slightly during this simmering period – you can add more broth if it becomes too thick for your liking.
6. When the soup has turned a darker rust orange and you’re happy with how it tastes, serve hot and garnish with desired toppings. Eat with family, friends, and most strongly encouraged, a crusty loaf of bread.
For more information about our kiosk projects, check out our Legal Kiosks website and stay tuned to our social medias (we're on Tiktok if you haven't seen yet!) for more behind-the-scenes content on our kiosk projects.