I had planned to share my new Instant Pot beef stew recipe this week, but after recently spending two hot and sweaty days in Austin, TX it still feels too early for hearty autumn stews.
So today I’m bringing you beet soup instead of beef soup, which still feels autumnal without feeling heavy.
If you like borscht, you’ll love this soup. You’ll also love it if you’re craving a simple, very nourishing soup that warms up beautifully for several days in a row.
Beet vegetable soup has the deep, vibrant color of red beets and the earthy flavor of beet greens. Creamy chunks of potato mingle with the beets and you can add as many or as few additional veggies as you want.
Two things you need to know before you make beet soup (here’s the recipe):
It’s easy but not quick
When it comes to soup, time = flavor. To make this soup, you slowly sauté onion, carrot and celery and then add canned tomatoes and sauté some more. In goes the water, beets and potatoes for a gentle 45-minute simmer. Then add the beet greens and give it another 10 minutes or so. All in, you’re looking at about 1.5 hours on the stove.
You can clean out the veggie drawer or keep it simple
The two main vegetables in this soup are beets and potatoes. You can leave it at that, or add more veggies like rutabaga, zucchini, green beans, bell pepper, frozen corn or cabbage.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Well, this was a random “use what we have” dinner. I found 2 potatoes and 1 zucchini in the fridge that I roasted on a sheet-pan with 2 chicken sausages. I added Trader Joe’s frozen samosas and made alphabet shaped pasta for the kids.
Tuesday: Instant Pot chicken and basmati rice with chickpeas (recipe for paid subscribers only)
Wednesday: Steamed broccoli, white rice mixed with scrambled egg, Trader Joe’s egg rolls
Thursday: Tofu tacos with black beans, purple cabbage slaw, avocado, etc. This is a new recipe that will be showing up on my Kitchen Skip blog next week.
Friday: Sorin and I were invited to a dinner party at a friend’s house and it was so lovely to eat a meal that someone else cooked! The kids stayed home and had quesadillas made from leftover taco fixins and we also left them with a bowl of popcorn and ice cream in the freezer. Everyone was happy!
Reading
My nightstand runneth over with books.
I’m currently reading September (the middle is getting a little slow), How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water (I started it, then decided to put it aside for the moment) plus Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None on my kindle.
I downloaded the Agatha Christie book for something to read on my flight. I’ve never read Agatha Christie and an old-fashioned 10-strangers-stuck-in-an-isolated-house murder mystery sounded fun. I’ll let you know what I think!
At the rate I’m reading, In Memoriam and The Vaster Wilds will end up being my October reads. I’ve also added Hello Beautiful to my library queue, after getting yet another recommendation, this time from my friend this past weekend.
My friend and I spent more time by the hotel pool than we did exploring Austin because my lord Texas, how do you handle the relentless heat?
Of course, the real reason for our trip was a Pearl Jam concert and those boys (middle-aged men?) never disappoint. It was a great show and a great trip that took me a solid day to recover from.
This weekend will be less exciting, but a little downtime will be good.
Until next week,
Jenny