Beetroot Soup
Not only is this soup delicious and healthy, it can also be served either hot or cool if work makes it tough to take a break.
I like to store them in old glass jars which makes it easy to add to the work bag, heat up in the microwave, or used to drink from so I don’t need to worry about a spoon. It’s also a great way to “Reduce, Reuse” for conservation so that I don’t have to buy more plastic containers.
The glass jar is also a great way to get people to ask about the brilliant pink colors and what sort of deliciousness might be inside.
I ended up using a recipe that required only 4 beets, a red onion, celery, dill, and vegetable broth. Dill and yogurt is added in at the end, but I substituted the yogurt with Feta cheese to add a subtle sour note.
It doesn’t quite qualify as the traditional Borscht soup served in several Baltic and Russian ethnic nations, but here’s the full recipe: http://www.veggiedesserts.com/beetroot-soup/
Fresh Coleslaw
For this, I used “America’s Test Kitchen” and made two batches to compare the different recipes in the book.
Starting with two heads of lettuce, one white and one red, I prepared them the night before by putting salt over them to take out the excess water and soften them up for a more edible texture.
The first recipe is a traditional Deli style, adding only a carrot, half an onion, a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, and 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar.
It had a very fresh flavor that I could eat every day.
The second recipe is a Creamy Buttermilk, using 1/2 cup of buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of sour creem and 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to provide the creamier texture. The local grocery store was out of buttermilk, so I substituted with a mix of 32% cream and some white vinegar.
The extra ingredients include a carrot, minced parsley, 1 minced shallot, a 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar, a 1/4 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. It also included a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, but I try to avoid adding sugar whenever I can.
It was very interesting to compare the use of an onion versus a shallot. The shallot had a much more complex flavor and was also more pungent than the white onion I had used.
It was also very interesting to compare the use of rice vinegar versus cider vinegar. Clearly, the second recipe is supposed to be sweeter while the first has a sharper flavor.
I can’t wait to make my co-workers jealous, but to be honest, I’m also trying to lose a little weight, so having a nutritious and vegetable based meal is going to help me stay away from the office snacks!
Waunder 