Today is the Winter Solstice, and two days from now it is the new moon. Zzzzzzzz... Anyone feeling a bit sluggish? I'm sharing with you a deliciously warming, winter beet soup recipe that is just perfect for this time of year.
I had a fabulous beet soup last weekend when I was supervising the Ayurvedic Practitioner interns in clinic at Mount Madonna Institute. At their center, like many retreat centers do, they have a vegetarian kitchen that serves hundreds of meals a day.
I liked their soup so much because it was pretty, delicious and really stimulated the digestion without being too heating. It seemed pretty simple to make too. (And you know I'm not really a huge fan of cooking, so I like simple recipes.)
So I tried to recreate it, and I added some more spices to give it that Solstice/New Moon warmth you might be needing right now!
I'm not doing much of anything today on the Winter Solstice, but I'm going to make this soup today. When I woke up, one part of me said, "Heather, you should do 108 sun salutations to fight the low energy of the darkness this week." Another part of me said, "You woke up with a sore neck, so just chill out." Grrrr.... what is a girl to do?
Make the soup. You'll like it, and you'll feel good.
The spices together are very subtle, but strengthening for your digestion.
Enjoy all the light that you have today.
Embrace all your darkness.
If you haven't already, please follow me on INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK for posts every week, and some exciting things happening in the new year!
INGREDIENTS 1 large beet or two small/medium beets, large chopped 2 cups Yukon Gold or fingerling potatoes, large chopped 3 big carrots, large chopped 1/2 head of chopped and deveined curly kale 2 tablespoons sunflower oil 1 carton of vegetable broth 6 cups of water 2 bay leaves, whole 5 whole allspice corns, whole 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp black pepper DIRECTIONS
Sauté beets and carrots in sunflower oil on medium heat for 2 minutes, mixing occasionally
Add potatoes and sauté for an additional 1 minute
Add vegetable broth, water, bay leaves, allspice and salt and bring to a boil
Once boiling, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, covered
Add curly kale, ginger, turmeric, curry powder and black pepper
Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes before serving
Remove bay leaf and all 5 allspice corns from broth
Optional: Serve with cooked quinoa or brown rice and throw a fried egg on top!
P.S. Let me know if you make this soup, and tell me how it goes!