Beet Salad

After a weekend of camping and downing smores like it is a full time job, I needed a salad this week!  But I'm over the usual and was craving something different and colorful; I saw some beets at the grocery store that looked pretty good and grabbed them as one of the main fixings for our Monday night salad supper.

What you need:

-About 3 large beets
-2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
-Sea Salt (or regular salt) & black pepper
-Olive Oil
-Spinach greens
-1 box of crumbled Feta cheese
-2 Drops of organic honey (optional)
-1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts

How to:

Prepare your beets by washing, peeling and then chop them into very small cubes, something with the measurements of around 1/4 of an inch in width and length--basically you want them small.  Lay the beets spread out in a baking sheet, season with salt & pepper; drizzle olive oil and the 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar--as well as the optional honey.  Mix around in the baking sheet and stick in the oven at approximately 385 degrees for about 20 minutes, until tender.  Once cooked, set these on the counter to cool off a little while you wash your spinach.  This salad actually works when being assembled once you  are ready to eat.  Pour the beets and any liquid contents from the pan over the spinach in your salad bowl, add the crumbled feta cheese and chopped walnuts and toss.  The sweetness of the beets interacts wonderfully with the feta cheese, and the remaining olive oil/balsamic vinegar from the pan serves as a bit of a dressing (feel free to drizzle a little over the salad itself if there is not much remaining in the beets pan), and the walnuts give a nice crunch.  Healthy and tasty!

Citrus Carrot Soup

A citrusy carrot soup is nice for the hot weather outside.  While it can be served warm, I've found it to taste best, especially for this time of year, at room temperature.  Plus the orange zest in the soup makes this feel like a more seasonal and light soup...okay, I use some butter to make it a little silky, but a tiny bit isn't bad for you, right? :)

What you need:

-1 Bunch of Carrots (slightly over 2 cups chopped into small pieces)

-2 Sprigs of Tarragon (one for soup, the rest for garnish)

-1 Cup of Chicken Broth

-1 Teaspoon Orange Zest (and a few longer pieces of zest for garnish)

-Save 2 cups of the water your carrots were boiled in before discarding the rest when straining the carrots

-1 Tablespoon butter 

-Salt and Pepper (to taste!)

How to:

Scrub and chop carrots into small pieces. Place the chopped carrots into boiling water until they are well covered; let cook until carrots are very tender. They need to be tender to the point where carrots can be punctured with a butter knife or fork without effort. Once the carrots are fully cooked, set aside about 2 cups of the water you cooked the carrots in and then strain the rest of the carrots. Place all the carrots in a blender and pulse, then add one cup of the water and one cup of chicken broth, and continue blending the soup.  Take a break and add the butter, season with salt and pepper, and leaves one of the sprigs of tarragon and the orange zest.  Continue blending, stop to check consistency--add the remaining water in small portions as necessary, if the mixture is lumpy or not smooth in any way (it should not need it, but just incase, it's better to add this saved water since it is almost as if a carrot broth since the carrots were cooked in it) to reach a smooth consistency.  Pour back into a pot on the stove on low heat, and stir--take a taste to make sure you have enough salt and pepper.  Turn heat off and let the soup sit as it cools down.  Pour the room temperature soup servings (makes about 2 servings) and garnish with a few tarragon leaves and orange zest.
            

What's so nice about soup?  Once you know the basic ingredients of soup (water, broth or stock, sometimes olive oil or butter, depending on what type of soup, and the actual soup content)--you can start making a wide variety, and it is a simple but still elegant addition to anyones "back pocket" menu.