Ingredient List



4 Beets will make soup for 3-4 people
1 quart of vegetable stock
yogurt or tofu cream
fennel seeds
fresh herbs
salt and pepper

I prefer red beets for this soup, but really any heirloom beet: orange, yellow, white or pink would do just as nicely. Beets marry very well with the following spices: fennel, dill, cumin and parsley as well as basil, lovage, cilantro or thyme. You can't go wrong with any fresh herb and a roast beet, I suppose.

Roast or boil your beets till tender. Roasting is my preferred lazy woman's way to cook, all you have to do is prep the beets, pop them into a hot oven and forget about them for up to an hour for early season beets, or up to an hour and a half for late season beets. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Wash them well, cutting off the greens but leaving an inch or so of the stem attached. Do not cut the beets, but dry them well. Rub with a little bit of olive oil and place them into an ovenproof dish. Roast until tender. Let cool until you can handle them, and then the peel should come off easily. Chop the beets finely and set aside. Meanwhile, your stock should be nicely warmed if you'll be eating the soup hot or cool or room temperature if eating it cool.

Add the stock until the desired consistency and/or flavor is reached. I like to use my blender stick (or blender, food processor etc) to puree the soup, leaving aside several pieces of chopped beet for color and tooth after the soup is assembled.

Jane Sherry, one of the Founders of Satya Center is a Reiki practitioner/teacher, spiritual counselor, creator of healing art talismans, healing gardens & loves to cook! She has a background in the visual arts before moving into the healing arts and has been a longtime lover of herbs & spices & cooking. She newly resides in the East Bay Area of Northern Calirnia right next door to farm country an hour east of SF, Oakland & Berkeley. She works the Satya Center healing practice with co-founder and husband, Curtis Lang and co-operates the Satya Center Crystal Gallery and web portal. Plans for new gardens are germinating fast here in the California sunshine, well watered by lots of drought breaking winter rains. You will always find crystals in among the herbs, flowers & vegetable gardens!