Soup: " Beet me to it"

My heart literally skipped a Beet (insert unsolicited cheesy pun) : I'm accustomed to borscht soup (classic soup in eastern Russia and other centrally located european countries) as my grandmother so diligently served to us grand kiddo's growing up. I wanted to incorporate this beety veggie into my new soup escapade minus the cabbage. It turned out well, quite curry-esque but overall a nice warming soup during the cold (LA) weather. Currently: cozied up enjoying the curry creaminess of this soup. Give it a whirl.

Ingredients: 

3 Beets 

~ 10 colorful carrots of your picking

3 tomatoes 

1/4 cauliflower 

3 golden organic potatoes 

1 cup quinoa 

2 tbs. sea salt 

pepper

1 tbs. dill

1/2 jalapeño 

filtered water

5 tbs curry 

1 can Chickpea

Clean, chop, and prepare all veggies for submerging them into filtered water. 

I like to put in the most dense veggies first as they will take slightly longer to become cooked. Place beets, carrots, cauliflower, jalapeño, curry, tomatoes (peeled) and potatoes first. Add 5 tbs curry, 2 tbs. sea salt, 1 tbs. dill, and some fresh ground pepper. After all veggies are boiled and soft, use a beater and blend. The soup will turn into a puree consistency. Now once the soup is pureed add the can of organic chickpeas and 1 cup quinoa. Once brought to a light boil, serve while hot. Add a sprig of greens on top for garnish. 

Jouir. 

Vegetable Crudités

Yes, a crudité. You're probably thinking, "What the french is she talking about"? Francois, from plural of crudité rawness, from Latin crudités indigestion, from crud us, or pieces of raw vegetables (as celery or carrot sticks) served as an hors d'oeuvre often with a dip. 


Thanksgiving, is a time when overindulging is celebrated. It is likely, your grandmother will insist on giving you a large brown paper baggy that holds 5 lbs. of cornbread muffins to-go. I had to reject an extra pie! I know…absurd.  I am not one for excess, I prepared a dish that would hopefully be quickly eaten and not packaged as this week's "leftovers". Plus who doesn't love to pre-eat before the turkey is out of le oven? I was also humbled that Aleksandra, my sister, was to take the dessert thrown by making the Zucchini Bread recipe that I've posted previously. All in all- a big hit. 

Crudités (accoutrements) 

1 bag of endives 

1 bag of colorful organic carrots 

1/2 head of cauliflower (purple cauliflower adds great color)

1/2 head of broccoli 

1 container of cherry tomatoes 

1 bag of celery 

Note: You can always change up the ingredients, depending on what's in season. 

Thoroughly clean all veggies. Separate the head of cauliflower and broccoli into florets. Place a tael underneath the ice in a large bowl. Then place a smaller dip bowl on top, in the center, and fill it with the black olive dip or tzatziki sauce. I purchased mine from True Food Kitchen, it's incredibly light and pairs great with all the fresh veggies.  http://www.truefoodkitchen.com