Curried Roasted Beet Soup

Today was the first evening this week that they predicted evening rain, so I actually had time to cook a good dinner instead of rushing to the dog park. I opted for the beets since I actually had time and they take forever to cook. This recipe came to me as I rode the Metro home, newspaperless because I was stuck in the Metro for 30 minutes this morning and already finished the sudoku, crossword, and all of the articles. So maybe this morning's fiasco was a good thing.

Curried Roasted Beet Soup

• 8 beets
• 1 red onion, sliced into half-rings
• Olive oil
• 1 ear white corn, uncooked with kernels sliced off
• 2 cups soy milk
• Curry powder
• .5c bulgur, uncooked

Fork holes in the beets and bake on 375 until tender, about an hour. Toss onion in olive oil and bake about 25 minutes (so 40 minutes after the beets go in). Meanwhile, cook the bulgur in 1 cup of water with a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes until water is absorbed.

When beets are soft, let them cool down (I put mine in the freezer for a couple of minutes). Remove the skin, which will be soft and easy to take off. Chop the beets and add to a large pot or blender along with onions, curry, half (or all if you want it smooth) of the corn, and the soy milk. Blend to desired consistency. Spoon into bowl and top with bulgur.

This is one of my favorite dishes I've ever made! Since the onion and beets had cooled and the corn and milk were cold from the fridge, I chose to eat the soup cold. Usually I like my meals hot, but this was so good. It was sweet from the roasting and the corn, but the curry gave it a nice spice and flavor. The color was a beautiful magenta, and the chunks of veggies were delicious. I'm definitely making this again. And again...

Roasted Beets and Tofu Atop a Garlic Millet

What an adventurous day. First rye pasta, now millet. I decided to pass up the couscous for this new (to me) grain since it was the only one in the bins I haven't tried. I wasn't so sure what to do with it, but did some Googling and found that it has a 1:3 millet to water ratio and cooked like other grains. I knew I needed to use up the beets in my fridge, but I couldn't decide what the protein should be. Split peas and lentils didn't seem right, and tofu popped into my head. Luckily I was stopping by Whole Foods for something else (which they didn't have) and soy milk and grabbed some tofu as well. I've never seen "Super Firm" tofu before, but it was cheaper than the tofu I buy at other groceries so I couldn't pass it up.

Roasted Beets and Tofu Atop a Garlic Millet

• .5c millet (uncooked)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 small beets
• 1 package Cubed Super Firm Tofu, drained
• Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash beats and pierce with fork. Place on baking sheet and roast for an hour or until done. Spray olive oil on and add salt to the tofu, toss to coat evenly. Add to baking sheet and cook 30 minutes or until browned.

Toast millet in dry pan for 2-3 minutes until it gives off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes. Add 1.5c hot water, bring to a boil, and let simmer 25-30 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Add garlic to millet at some point during cooking- the earlier you add, the milder it will be and the later you add, the stronger it will be. I added mine with about 10 minutes left.

When beets are cooked, cut off top and bottom and slice in half. Let cool 10-15 minutes and then remove the skin. Cube and toss in with the tofu and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture on top of millet.

So Dr. Andrew Weil tells me that if you simmer millet, it gets fluffy just like rice. That was a lie. While it came out delicious, it was the consistency of polenta/grits- not what I was expecting. Otherwise, the dish was fun. Each ingredient had a completely different texture and all three flavors seemed to mingle well. I don't think anyone would be wowed by it, but it wasn't a flop.

Sauteed Beets with Greens, Baked Curried Tofu, and Brown Basmati Rice

This is a meal. All of my Omnivore's Dilemma reading over the holiday weekend contributed to me thinking I'm eating the best way possible. Really, though, the fresh beets I bought at the farmers market are the only local thing on the plate. But wow are they amazing. Thanks to the book, I assaulted the woman at the stand with a million questions about their farm- which she was excited to answer. No pesticides (no)? How far is the farm from here (2hrs)? Why are these beet greens different than the others (different variety)? $5 later I had a fresh bunch of pesticide-free beets with their greens attached. I may have skipped home a little.

Sauteed Beets with Their Greens
1 bunch beets with greens
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Cut off the beet ends, peel, and chop into small pieces. Add to the pan and sautee until soft. As they cook, remove thick stems from greens and run the knife through the greens a few times so the pieces are more manageable. When the beets are soft, add the greens and cook 1-2 minutes until they wilt and turn a vibrant green.

Baked Curried Tofu and Brown Basmati Rice
Meanwhile, I had some firm tofu in my fridge that I wanted to do something quasi-new with, so yesterday morning I drained it, sliced it into 15 fingers, and slathered it with some of my random Mexican curry powder and olive oil. So it sat in the fridge soaking up all the curry goodness for almost 2 days. I put the fingers on a baking sheet and popped them in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, flipped, and cooked maybe 15-20 minutes more until nice and brown.

Basmati rice is pretty easy- 2 parts water to 1 part rice, add a pinch of salt, and cook for 45 minutes. It can take awhile, so I recommend starting with this one.

The beet is perfection. The sweet beet and the bitter greens create something amazing. And amazingly beautiful. I might take the long route back from the kitchen at the office tomorrow so I can make everyone admire my dish. The whole thing was delicious, easy, and perfect for a lazy summer evening.

Stuffed Tomatoes with Sauteed Beets on the Side

There was a lot of tension in the kitchen tonight as I took on both stuffed tomatoes and beets. Tonight, unlike the past, I came out a champ!

Sauteed Beets
4 beets, washed thoroughly, peeled, and chopped/diced
1 red onion, chopped/diced
1 TB olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Add oil to frying pan. When hot, add onions and cook 10 minutes until translucent. Add beets and cook 20 minutes until done.

Stuffed Tomatoes
2 beefsteak tomatoes
1/2 c lentils
1/2 c bulgur
1.5 cube veggie bouillon

I cut out the middle of the tomatoes, scooping the pulp into the pot. Then I simply boiled the lentils and bulgur together with the tomato for 15-20 minutes, adding the bouillon towards the end. I use vegan veggie bouillon with sea salt and herbs. It's amazing.

Once it was cooked, I scooped it into the tomato, which I did not cook this time.

I was pleasantly surprised by both. Last time I made the beets, I boiled them and ate them by themselves. It was a little too much. The onions helped tone it down some, and I think the cooking method improved the flavor some. The tomato was perfect as the stuffing was amazing. Delicious!

Boiled Beets

My first experience with beets was Thanksgiving 2007 when my family went out for dinner. I was feeling adventurous and plopped a beet on my plate as we passed the dishes around. Surprisingly I thought they were tasty despite being obviously straight out of a can (like all the other food). Within weeks of returning home, both my brother and father had bought fresh beets, and I'd been thinking about it, trying to come up with the best way to cook them.

I'd stare at them at the grocery store, reluctant to bring something home without knowing anything at all about how to cook it. Week after week they'd call my name between the spinach and the cauliflower. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn't 100% sure those dirty things were actually beets. Then, on the week where I severely underestimated how many veggies I needed, for some reason I reached in the bin and grabbed four beets.

And they sat in my fridge all week as I ate every single other thing I had, beating myself up for not buying more veggies. I finally started researching how to cook them and, naturally, wanted to roast them. However, all the roasting recipes require putting the beets in a foil pocket. Great. I don't have foil. I cook everything with a basic metal spoon, so I tend to consider foil along the lines of a bonus or just flat out cheating. So my next option was to boil them. And that I did.

I put my 4 beets in a pot with enough water to cover them and let them boil for at least an hour, scared to death they'd boil over and stain everything in my kitchen. They didn't. They just gently boiled away. When they seemed soft after gently pushing on them, I placed them in another pot with cold water where they sat for a few minutes. Using my fingers, I removed the peel, which was much easier than I anticipated. I sliced them up on a white plate, added salt, pepper, and Earth Balance soy butter.

They are reminiscent of potatoes, but not quite the same. They were alright, but I'm not eager to boil them again. I do, however, really want to try roasting them and I had the strange urge to puree them. Ok, that's not so strange for me since I look for any excuse to break out the immersion blender. The best part is that nothing is stained, not even the white plate I put them on. Whew.

I tried taking a photo, but they were camera shy.