You had me at golden beets, darling. Rare gems which only show themselves for such a short window of time. They overwhelm me with their golden hue, to be turned into a multitude of lip-smacking creations. I want to shred them to top my salads, juice them to give me zesty energy, slice them thinly to show their stripes to the world, roast them and allow their sweetness to burst forth. Since I only had 3 golden beauties, I chose the latter option, because roasted beets alone are wonderful, but combined with roasted cauliflower to form a perfect summer golden beet soup, they really shine. Hot or cold, this soup is divine, I served it chilled since it was such a hot day and we enjoyed it with bumble berry BBQ sauce smothered roast chicken, which was really something. This super simple soup has side effects of: contentment, you are what you eat syndrome, and sunshine spewing out your every orifice. Ok maybe not that last one.
Stunning, right? If your ever wondering what to do with beet greens, well you’ve come to the right place. Just a few ideas…
- Lightly steamed with some butter, salt, pepper and lemon
- Stir fried in sesame oil and copious amounts of sesame seeds
- Blended into a nourishing smoothie with berries, banana and yogurt
- Finely chopped and fried with garlic to stuff a piece of chicken or an omelette
- Raw in salads
And now, a tiny monologue…for any friends who care to hear my life ponderings.
What I’m realizing lately, is that everything gets better with practice. From taking care of a baby to communicating effectively in our relationships to photography, to washing the dishes. The parallel of practice is change. We can never stop practicing, because we and all things around us are constantly changing. One hurdle may be overcome but the natural progression of things simply brings us to the next obstacle. Natures design for our elevation, also exists to humble. I’ll take a piece of that pie, and come to realize that we are always learning, growing, shrinking, changing, and it’s okay if some lessons take time. Sometimes I think it’s not good enough, I need to be better. But I stop and ask the question, am I doing my best? Is that not all I can ever do? Yes, that’s all we can do, and everything, in time, gets easier.
I’m grateful to have this blog, this space, to write and share my passions with all of you lovely readers. Le sigh, life is good.
Ps. This pesto is great with scrambled eggs, zucchini noodles, or with some lemon and olive oil for a proper salad dressing.
PPs. Don’t you love my retro salvaged place mats!
- 3 golden beets, cut into 1 inch chunks
- ½ a head of cauliflower, broken into florets
- 2 carrots
- ½ tsp sea salt
- some fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tsp+1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1½ cups water
- ½ tsp tumeric
- bunch of parsley, stalks removed
- 4 small garlic cloves or 2 bigger ones
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 400F
- In a roasting pan combine the beets, cauliflower and carrots coat with 1 tsp sesame oil and salt + pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 30 mins.
- In a blender or food processor add pumpkin seeds, parsley, garlic, olive oil and sesame seeds and blend until well combined. Set mixture aside.
- Add the roasted vegetables to your blender or food processor with coconut milk, water and turmeric, process until you achieve a smooth and creamy soup.
- Top with pesto, fresh cracked pepper and sesame seeds.
