Recipe of the Week: Beet & Lentil Borscht (and the big chill)

The big freeze is coming! Four days of really, really cold nights are upon us. We've covered our sensitive crops, put hot water jugs out with the baby chicks, and put out some tarp chicken "forts" to keep our feathered friends warm. Here is a few pictures of life when it's cold.

Out lettuces are sensitive to frost so we put hoops and floating row cover over them to insulate them. I like to think of it like putting them to bed for the winter.

Some people think that when it's too cold or wet outside to do anything that farmers can take a break. No such luck. Much like teachers, there is no "off time" However, I did get to stay inside and drink some coffee and listen to music which I won't complain about. I organized our seed collection to help us as we start to plan for next years' harvest. 

 

 

Our tubers are also all ready which is super exciting. Here are some pictures from harvesting.

Here is how you find sweet potatoes in the ground. Using a pitchfork, you very carefully lift soil up around the base of the plant. It's pretty much an art to not stab and break every single potato.

Sweet potatoes, like many tubers, are just swollen root nodules. This eensy weensy potato is a great visual aid to imagine a root swelling to be as big as we know them.

I love digging for these guys. It's like finding buried treasure. You can see from this picture that not all sweet potatoes are those picturesque tubers you find in the store. There are some wild looking roots that form.

I found this 2 1/2 pound mammoth today! 

Potatoes are much like sweet potatoes in how they grow. Though, they are waay easier to dig up because they grow much closer to the plant.

Look at this beautiful red new potatoes!

All this cold work can really work up an appetite. There is nothing better to satisfy it than soup! Cozy, warm soup...eaten indoors...with heat...out of the wind...it's just about paradise! There's nothing like a little wind and cold to make one appreciate modern conveniences!

Winter is the perfect time for soup. Roots and greens make the base of some of the best soups I know of: potato leek, minestrone, butternut, Italian wedding...and with home made bread! YUM! I came across this recipe this week from My New Roots. I have gushed about this site before, but it will never be enough. I love EVERYTHING I have ever made from her site. This recipe I am going to share is no different. BORSCHT. No, not your grandma's thick beet slop with dairy. This is a hearty, flavorful soup buffed up with lentils and still identifiable veggies. You've got the beets and cabbage in your box, you're just a few ingredients away! It would be great to slip some of your potatoes or turnips in there when you add the lentils, or even some of your greens (beet and turnip) toward the end! Improvise!

Beet & Black Lentil Borscht
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
knob ghee
3 leeks
4 cloves garlic
pinch salt
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 Tbsp. dried, plus more for garnish if desired
4 medium / 1 ½ lbs. beets
3 medium carrots
2 cups shredded cabbage of your choice
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. dried juniper berries (about 12)
1 tsp. caraway seeds
8-10 cups / 2+ liters vegetable broth
1 cup dried black lentils (Du Put lentils would also work)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
cracked black pepper to taste
olive oil for garnish
Directions:
1. If possible, soak lentils overnight or for up to 8 hours in pure water. Drain and rinse well.
2. Prepare all vegetables. Wash and slice the leeks into rounds. Mince garlic. Peel beets and grate using a food processor or julienne by hand (the beets break down too much when grated by hand). Slice unpeeled carrots into rounds. Shred cabbage.
3. In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt a knob of coconut oil or ghee. Add leeks and salt and cook until tender, about five minutes. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes until fragrant. Add bay leaves, thyme, juniper berries, caraway, tomato paste, and mustard, stirring to coat the leeks and garlic. Add remaining ingredients: beets, carrots, vegetable broth (start with 8 cups and add as needd), and lentils (reserve cabbage). Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until the lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add cabbage and vinegar, stir, and let cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with fresh thyme and plenty of cracked black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and serve. Enjoy.