February 22, 2012

Five Spice Beet Soup- It's Better Than You Think


beet soup, it'll stain your teeth

I've done it again. Neglected the blog. But I do have a good excuse. After 5 months of living in Arizona, I had to buckle down and find myself a solid source of income. And guess what. I did. So now that that headache is out of the way, I figured I'd have so much time to focus on this blogging thing. Well, I have yet again run into another predicament. I don't have all that much time at all. After working 8 hours a day, dragging myself to the gym and returning home from a long day only to find myself inundated with a long list of chores waiting to be done, finding an hour or two to write up a post and upload pictures seems like an impossible task. I've even sat down several nights this week, laptop in lap, fingers gingerly placed upon the keyboard, mind geared up to write a simple post, and the next thing I know is it's 4 in the morning and I have a crick in my neck from sleeping slumped over my computer screen.

freshly scrubbed beets

So I know what I need to work on. Balance. Balancing work, responsibilities and personal projects. It's so much easier said than done, but it's a good goal to work on. I've always been one of those people who constantly has a list a mile long of Things To Do. I always have projects and goals.

pureed beets

Not to mention, it’s often difficult to get things accomplished when you have mountains in your backyard and it’s 75 degrees outside in the middle of February.

Lake Saguaro

One of these goals: losing weight. I have I mentioned this recently? Perhaps here? Or maybe here? Yeah… this goal is proving to be rather tricky. Jon and I tried out the Food Lover’s Cleanse. A diet meant for foodies, provided by the good people at Bon Apetit, which is where this recipe for Beet Soup came from. Did we stick to the14 day cleanse? Not exactly. We made it to about day 4 before we decided to give it up. The food was good, but it wasn’t practical enough for us. The recipes tended to be a little overly involved for week night meals and the ingredient lists proved to be pretty expensive at the grocery store.

how badass am I

A few good things did come from this short lived diet, however. This beautiful soup for one- I love the pink color of beets- and Jon and I learned that we love lentils. Neither of us had ever had them before, but they sure are tasty! And healthy to boot.

scenic drive through the AZ hills

Come to think of it… I’ve made quite a few soups as of late. The Vegetarian Wonton Soup, Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Soup with Collard Greens and now Beet Soup. Which one is your favorite?

healthy for you beet soup

Five Spice Beet Soup
Recipe Courtesy of Bon Appètit

Ingredients:
4, 2"-2 1/2"diameter beets, scrubbed, trimmed, unpeeled, each cut into 6 wedges (about 3 1/2 cups)
3 cups vegetable broth, divided
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 celery stalk with leaves, stalk chopped, leaves thinly sliced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
*1/4 tsp (or more to taste) Chinese five-spice powder
2 tbsp low-fat Greek-style yogurt
*Chinese five-spice powder is a spice blend available in the spice section of most supermarkets.
Directions:
1. Place beet wedges in 4-cup glass measuring cup. Add 2 cups broth; cover with paper plate and microwave on high until tender, about 15 minutes. (Beware of this- perhaps try microwaving in increments- mine exploded!)

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and chopped celery stalk; cover and cook until almost tender and translucent, stirring often, about 12 minutes.

3. Add beet mixture and 1 cup broth to onion mixture; cover and simmer 4 minutes. Mix in ginger and 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder. Transfer to blender; cover and puree. Season soup to taste with salt, pepper, and additional five-spice powder, if desired; rewarm if necessary. Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top with yogurt and sliced celery leaves.

Makes 4 servings