Ellen's Sweet Potato Soup (yummy and healthy)

There is nothing like hot soup in the winter-- this is one of our favorites-- a classic recipe of my Mom's that is tweaked just a bit to be super heatlhy and still delicious and satisfying...

Ellen's Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:
· 2 big yams or 2-3 large sweet potatoes- Peel and cut into about 1 inch cubes
· 4-5 carrots - peel and chop into about 1 inch cubes
· 1-2 stalks celery- chop into about 1 inch cubes
· 2 Vidalia or yellow onions - chopped
· ¼ cup chopped parsley
· 2 Tbs butter (or smart balance)
· 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
· 1/2 cup fat-free half and half

Procedure:
· Melt 2 Tbs butter/smart balance in big soup pot.
· Add all veggies and parsley. Cook 10 min over med heat, tossing occasionally
· Add 6 cups low sodium chicken broth.
· Cover pot, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer ~40 min.

· When veggies are soft, remove veggies with slotted spoon and put into food processor (keep broth in pot)
· Puree
· Stir the puree back into broth in pot
· Stir in the fat-free half and half
· Pepper to taste (Cinnamon to taste if you like the taste of pumpkin pie!)

Make a day ahead and reheat for best flavor. Freezes well. Makes 10-11 cups of soup. A very yummy, soothing, and healthy winter-time favorite of ours!

New Airline in Wilmington

NEW AIRLINE - ALLEGIANT AIR ANNOUNCES NEW NON- STOP SERVICE TO ORLANDO:
Low-cost airline Allegiant Air announces new, nonstop jet service to the fun and sun of Orlando, Fla. from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) beginning April 4, 2008. The low-fare carrier will celebrate the convenient new service to the Sunshine State, with introductory fares starting as low as $39.00 each way plus taxes and fees. A checked baggage fee will apply per bag. Allegiant Air introductory fare is limited, not available on all flights and must be purchased by March 8, 2008, for travel completed by August 31, 2008.

http://www.flyilm.com/

Star Sightings in Wilmington

Busy 'Bees' stars win at Grammys

Though she is playing one of the main characters in The Secret Life of Bees, filming in and around Wilmington through February, Alicia Keys has spent a lot of time on the road. She performed at the Super Bowl Feb. 3 in Arizona and last night performed twice at the Grammy awards in Los Angeles.Keys won two Grammys - Female R&B Vocal Performance and R&B Song - for her hit No One.

Keys' Bees co-star, Queen Latifah, was attached to a winner as well. Her song I'm Gonna Live Till I Die won for Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist.Last week, Latifah was spotted at Chick-fil-A on Oleander Drive and at the Gold's Gym off Racine Drive.

Carolina / Kure Beach - Referral Agent

Referral for a Seller! For your Seller client who is planning to sell a property in the next few months, this service is designed to help establish the current market value. Simply fill out the referral form information. We will use comparable sold listings to help calculate the fair market value of the property and list the property providing the best possible marketing techniques for it to sell in the shortest time at the best price.

Referral for a BUYER! For your Buyer client who is planning to purchase property. Fill out the referral form and they will receive personalized MLS listings by e-mail. Auto-search the local MLS finds the properties that match their criteria and notifies your client immediately with the latest listing MLS information! We will help the buyer with accommodations and you can check out the links here for vacation rentals.

Click Here for More info: http://www.coastwalkrealestate.com/index.asp

Shrike Sighting (Kure Beach)

This past week we spotted a Shrike (see picture to the right) on Ft Fisher Blvd in Kure Beach. Photo courtesy of Brady Beck.


No larger than a robin, this handsome bird has a curious liking for food items that one usually associates with the Falconiformes, members of the hawk family. Adept at catching insects, small mammals, snakes, lizards, amphibians and small birds, the loggerhead shrike is an enigma amongst the songbirds with its powerful, hooked beak quickly dispatches larger prey by biting the nape of the neck. The shrike then impales the prey on a barbed-wire fence or a convenient thorn. It tears off edible portions and swallows them whole—bone, fur, feathers etc.— and later regurgitates the parts it does not digest like bones.

Thus, because of its small size and lack of large talons for gripping, the shrike has learned to use thorns or barbed wire in its environment to aid in holding and consuming these larger prey items. To hunt prey the shrike often perches for long periods of time, high on trees and telephone wires, where they are commonly observed from the road.