Beet and Red Cabbage Soup

Four heads of red cabbage, two heads of savoy cabbage, a pile of beets, a bucketful of carrots and parsnips, leeks, onions .....all waiting for me to make into soup and freeze.  In the midst of winter, I will be glad to take these savory delights out of the freezer. 

Red cabbage just planted in the garden last spring

When I was looking for photos to post for this soup, I found myself dreamily cherishing the photos of the red cabbage plants when Tom had just planted them early last spring.  Now as I look outdoors, not only are the garden bins empty, they are being covered with snow as it softly falls. 

Red cabbage, white and orange carrots and beets from the garden

I have heard of borscht, which is a soup made from beets and usually green cabbage. But I have far more red cabbage than green. (But why is it called red cabbage when it is really purple??) So....reinvention in the making.  Do you make borscht? Vegetarian borscht?  Pureed vegetarian borscht?  Either do I, but I wanted to try it. 

But I decided in the end that what I made is really not borscht, just a beet and red cabbage soup. I created it from a mixture of recipes I had seen on-line.  When it was finished, I thought it needed a bit more acidic taste, so added some liquid from a jar of capers. I got this idea from one recipe that used a garnish of capers, but I thought that would look ugly and wouldn't be easily digested either, so I just added some liquid from the jar of capers.  I liked that.   The nutritional analysis is for this version. The addition of a bit of soft goat cheese as a garnish also gave it a nice tangy flavor.  

Beet and Red Cabbage soup with goat cheese

For another portion of the soup, I put fresh dill in it and garnished it with a dollop of strained goat yogurt and a fresh dill sprig.  For both versions, I ate it with teff muffins that I made that were yummy, gluten and dairy free, as well as very soft.  The recipe is found at Gluten Free Shortcuts. I used almond milk rather than the coconut milk plus water suggested in that recipe.   

But now...for the soup. Pzazz for sure! 

Beet and Red Cabbage Soup with Goat Yogurt and Dill sprig

Ingredients:

Red cabbage, carrots, potatoes, beets, shallots and garlic

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 Tablespoon chopped shallot
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. peeled beets, cut into 1/2" dice (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 of a Yukon Gold potato,peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
3 cups vegetable broth 
(I used Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable broth)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup water
one small bay leaf
dash black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage
3/4 teaspoon honey
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
About 1 tsp capers liquid 

Peeled raw beets

Diced beets

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute 1-2 minutes. Add the beets, potatoes, carrots, and caraway seeds. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. 

Sauteing shallots, garlic, beets, potatoes, carrots and caraway seed

Stir in the vegetable broth, water, bay leaf, salt and pepper; lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender - about 30-40 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Add the cabbage and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. 

Cabbage added to the broth and seasoning

Add the honey and vinegar, and cook about 5 minutes more. Add the caper liquid.  Puree and thin if necessary with more broth or water. Serve warm, or chill.  Another potential garnish is goat cheese with scallions.

I gave one head of red cabbage to our son, Caleb, so I'm thinking how I will use the other two heads I have left in the fridge.  Any ideas?  

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: Small 1 cup
Calories: 76
Total Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 424 mg
Total Carbs: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 2 g

Cold Pickled Beet and Basil Soup

I had originally planned to make a warm beet soup, but realized Tom hadn't planted many beets this year and the few we have aren't quite ready to be harvested. But I did have a jar of pickled beets in the cupboard. And an abundance of basil in the pots on the deck.  Thus a marriage of flavors was born. Beets and basil are an exquisite couple.  

As I was beginning to take a photo of this incredibly delicious and simple soup, Tom brought me a few of the highly fragrant Nicotiana flowers from the garden. These flowers are fragrant only in the evening, but attract hummingbirds throughout the day to their trumpet shaped flowers.  They are also known as Tobacco Flower, and have high concentrations of nicotine.  

Even if you don't have any Nicotiana to add to your dining Pzazz, I think you will enjoy this soup.  
  

Potted basil  and other flowers and herbs on the deck 

Ingredients:
8 whole pickled beets (medium sized)
4 -5 fresh purple basil leaves and extra for garnish (either green or purple)

Purple Basil and Genovese Basil 

Preparation:
I used my Magic Bullet to puree the beets and basil together and it worked perfectly.  You might need to add just a bit of the beet juice to get the consistency you want.

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 81
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium:  260 mg
Total Carbs: 20 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 0 g

Variety of Nicotiana from the garden

Lemon Balsamic Beets

The beets in Tom's garden are ruby red and delicious!  I relive my favorite childhood memories of planting and harvesting beets with my mom in her garden, then enjoying their sweetness together. Maybe that is why I asked Tom to plant more beets this year.  With each bite, I recall those fine summer days of long ago.  Our Duluth summer will come to a close all too quickly, but fortunately Tom's garden is doing remarkably well, as you can see in this photo from August 18.  That was just a portion of the harvest in a single day. Tom has been busy daily harvesting the bounty, while I have been trying to keep up with processing and cooking it all.  

One of my recent ways to add Pzazz to my food without fat or carbohydrates is to add flavored balsamic vinegar. The Rustic Olive is a new premium olive oil and balsamic vinegar "tasting bar" in Canal Park in Duluth. They carry an amazing line of flavored balsamic vinegar and high quality extra-virgin olive oils. I have never seen such an array of balsamic vinegar!  Blueberry, Espresso, Mango, Maple, Dark Chocolate, Pear, on and on it goes! Their Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar seemed like a good option to try for a variety of summer foods. I splashed some on my finely pulverized beets and let them marinate for about an hour before I ate them. Refreshing and lively!  Definitely my new favorite way to enjoy summer beets.   

As a side note, I read in a diabetes magazine sometime in the past year that there have been studies indicating that about a teaspoon of vinegar can help lower blood sugar for that meal. Fascinating.  I'll see if I can find that article again and do more research into the topic and report back to you.  Meanwhile, check out The Rustic Olive for Pzazz if you are in Duluth! Or stop by my house for an armful of kale, chard, beets, and a variety of summer squash that I will gladly share with you, my sweet friends!

Ingredients:
1 cup peeled and cooked sliced beets
1 teaspoon Sicilian Lemon white balsamic vinegar or more as desired (another type of white balsamic vinegar could be used)


Preparation:
I chopped the sliced,cooked beets in the chopper attachment of my Cuisinart Smart Stick. This gadget minced them so fine! Then I added the lemon balsamic vinegar and let them marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. I garnished them with a sprig of lemon basil. Of course, a couple of flowers from the garden also added some Pzazz to the meal!

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: About 3/4 cup
Calories: 57
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 75 mg
Total Carbs: 14 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 2 g