Root Veggies Soup

Once again my kitchen activities are driven by the contents of my Albert and Eve produce box. To boot, the weather in the Bay Area has been cold and rainy which is perfect for soup.

Turnip Soup

1 medium onion
1 large sweet potato
3 large carrots
3 medium-large turnips
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
6 cups water
~2 tbs ginger root
1/2 tsp dry dill (better if you have fresh dill)
1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/2 cup heavy cream
juice from half a lime

Peel and roughtly chop up the onion, sweet potato, carrots and turnips. Set a large pot to a low temperature and heat the oil and melt the butter. Throw the vegetables into the pot, cover, and "sweat" at low temperature for 15 minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Once the veggies have cooked, separate them from the liquid but reserve the liquid. Add the veggies to the food processor, or a blender, along with roughly chopped ginger root. (Adjust the amount of ginger root to your liking, I used about 2 tbs for a noticable but not overpowering ginger flavor.)

Return the pured veggies to the reserved liquid and reheat the soup on medium heat. Add the dill, pepper, and salt. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. Make sure that your soup is not too hot (near boiling point) or you could curdle the cream.

Lastly, squeeze half a lime (or more if you like) into the soup and mix.

And then... eat!

Notes: Instead of regular carrots, I used rainbow carrots which taste pretty much the same. I've also made this soup with a mix of parsnip/turnip/rutabaga and it was just as delicious. You could use 1 tsp powdered ginger but the fresh ginger root is where the real flavor is!

Beets, Beets, Beets! How many different beets you eat!

The produce box that I receive includes at least one root vegetable item per delivery and they do not skimp out. A few weeks ago, I got beets twice in a row and ended up with more beets than I knew what to do with. After doing some homework and modified a bunch of recipes, here is what I came up with. If your toddler does not like beets, try the Beet Breakfast Bread. My husband, whose attitude towards beets is equivalent to a typical 2-year-old, loves it.

Did you know that the original velvet cake was made with beets before food coloring was introduced? So, if you like to eat natural foods, do away with the food coloring and bake cakes with beets!

Beet Breakfast Bread

3/4 cup wheat flower
1/2 cup white all purpose flower
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (I used 3/4 tsp since I reduced honey amount)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut flower
2 large eggs
3/4 cup honey (I used 1/2 cup honey to reduce sweetness)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup grated beets (1 medium sized beet, the deeper the color the better)
1/2 cup grated carrots

Heat the oven to 350F. Spray a spring form ring or bread pan with cooking oil.
Combine all of the dry ingredients, including pecans, and mix well, In a separate bowl combine all of the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix only to combine until the flower is moist. Do not over-mix.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread come out clean.

Note: Since I use organic brown eggs, they are usually much smaller than the typical eggs you'll see. I picked our the two larges eggs from the dozen for this recipe.

Roasted Beet Salad

9 small-to-medium sugar beets
2 tbs orange muscat vinegar (or any other light color vinegar)
2 tbs lemon juice (~ 1 lemon)
2 tbs olive oil + more for roasting
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 400F. Clean the beets and place them in a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

Once roasted and slightly cooled, peal the skin and slice the beets in 1/3 inch moons. Separately mix the dressing ingredients and drizzle over beets. Store in the refrigerator over night for best flavor.

Beet Leaves and Cheese Quiche
When you are preparing beets, there is no need to throw away the greens that usually come with them. The healthier the greens, the fresher your beets are. Use the greens to make a quiche or throw them into a stew.

greens from 5 beets (young leaves are better)
6 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
2 tbs sour cream or yogurt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup wheat flour
1 cup grated Cheddar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Wash and remove the stalk from  the beet greens. If the leaves are young, you do not have to remove the stalk veins from the leaves. They will add a beautiful pink hue to the quiche. Blanch the greens and squeeze as much liquid out as possible.Slice thinly.

While your greens are blanching, mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Add the sliced greens and mix once again. Transfer into the baking dish and bake for 50 minutes.

Note: The major component of this quiche is cottage cheese, which I love. If you are not a huge fan of cottage cheese curds in your quiche, substitute one cup of the cottage cheese with 3/4 cup half and half. Using half and half in your quiche makes it fluffy and custardy but, in my opinion, custard-like texture does not go well with all quiche fillers like the greens.

Liam Ate Beets

I am always searching for new ways to introduce or reintroduce veggies to Liam. He did not like the texture of cooked beets but he was having it in home made juices. However, I don't want  to always hide vegetables but have Liam enjoy eating them all. The other day I came across the recipe for beet chips and Liam loved it. He ate 3 small beets this way. Brian and I liked it too. Here is the recipe:
Wash and peel 3-4 small beets.
Cut beets in 1/8" slices
Coat slices with olive oil and salt
Place on cookie sheet and bake it at preheated oven at 400 deg F.
Be careful not to burn since slices are thin.

Now, I am ready to make him kale chips. Will let you know how it went.

Sweet Potatoes and Cabbage Mini-Burritos

For those of you who enjoy an occasional bulgogi taco from the local food truck, here is an easy week-night dinner that wraps a simple Chinese dish with a warming tortilla blanket.  The dish was inspired by a similar stir-fry from Epicurious and the fact that most of the ingredients came in my Albert and Eve Organic produce box.

As a new mother who has recently gone back to work, I look for ‘short-cuts’  and ‘do-aheads’ wherever I can find them. So keep in mind that most root veggies can be peeled and chopped ahead of time and stored in water in the refrigerator overnight. In fact, doing this will break down their starch molecules a little and make the veggies taste silky, especially if mashed. Cabbage and cabbage-like veggies can be chopped up ahead of time and stored dry in sealed contains in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potatoes and Cabbage Mini-Burritos

2 tbs sesame seed oil

2 medium Sweet Potatoes - peeled, cut into 1/3 inch rounds then cut into ¼ inch strips

1 medium yellow or red onion – cut into ¼ inch moons

1 large chicken breast – cut into ¼ inch strips crosswise

1 tbs fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves

1 small cabbage (about 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage)

2 tbs hoisin sauce

¾ cup chopped cilantro

Warm whole-wheat tortillas

Boil the sweet potatoes in salted water for 5-7 minutes and strain. Over medium-heat add  1 tbs of sesame seed oil in a pan and toss in strained sweet potato. Add the onion to the pan and stir-fry for about 5-7 minutes just until the sweet potatoes are tender.

In the mean-time, wrap the tortillas in foil (no more than 8 tortillas per foil wrap) and place them in the oven at 350F.

Add the other 1 tbs sesame seed oil, the minced garlic cloves and chicken to the pan. Grate the ginger into the pan with a fine cheese grater. Let stir-fry for about 1 minute and then add the cabbage. Let stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes, occasionally stirring.  Add the hoisin sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Take off heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.

The sweet-savory flavor of these mini burritos makes them pair well with a side of fruit salad or fruit salsa.

Note: Use what you have!  You can also make tacos with small corn tortillas, wraps /pocket if you have pita bread or serve the dish with some rice. I made a side of steamed rice/barley so that I can take the left overs to work for lunch and not worry about eating a messy burrito over my keyboard.