Be(ets) My Valentine Soup
15 February 2008 by Jean Johnson
Beets. So red in their heart of hearts. Even yellow beets seem to speak of love this time of year.
Be(ets) My Valentine Soup
Recipe Note
All it takes to make this ultrafast soup is boiling some beets, slipping their skins off and carving them into wedges, flash cooking the beet greens in a dab of water on high heat, and breaking up a little blue cheese to crumble over the top.
You don’t even need to crack the lid on a spice jar. Just pass cruets of good oil and vinegar at the table.
More, you can turn Be(ets) My Valentine Soup into a full meal by adding some cooked garbanzos and leftover quinoa.
Beautiful food. Fresh produce in season. Maybe even grown sustainably by a farm family near you.
Whole grains. Lofty legumes. Beautiful true food for your true love.
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I wasn’t the only one thinking of beets for Valentine’s. Here’s a photo from Bob Goforth in Northern Arizona. He and his wife Beth know how to garden as is evidence by these winter vegetables. They cook too. Check out the comments for Bob’s remarks on the beet soup he made for his valentine this year.
3 Responses to “Be(ets) My Valentine Soup”
Here’s a message I got from cooking and gardening pal down in Northern Arizona. Mac is a mutual friend of ours and the closest he gets to vegetables is salsa:
Jeannie,
I also made my valentine Beet soup. Russian Cabbage Borscht. I was going to take some to Mac but then I remembered what he thinks of beets and cabbage. It is soo good! If they were only willing to give it a fair chance. Bob
By The Cook on Feb 17, 2008
Ah Beets! I remember having simple boiled beets, cut into slices, with a little honey on the side (well, who am I kidding: huge dabs of honey or a sprinkle of raw sugar on top) when visiting one of my grandmothers. It was a specialty treat during winter visits, but all is a a sweet memory now… As a child I loved the rich color and sweet smooth texture of the food. I will now try it again (have not tried to make anything with beets because of the ill conceived thought that it will take a long time to cook the beets! Thanks for correcting this misconception). Many thanks Jeane for unveiling this sweet and special memory.
By Rula Awwad-Rafferty on Feb 19, 2008
Ah, Rula, thanks so much for your note–and your candid aside. I picture a dark-eyed girl so happy at her grandmother’s, sliced beet in hand, honey dripping ever so politely.
And for the larger audience, when Rula remembers back to her childhood, she’s thinking of life in Jordan at the far end of the Mediterranean where the delicious taste of fresh fruits and vegetables picked at their prime was not lost on the generation that nurtured her.
By The Cook on Feb 21, 2008