If you have been following my posts, you already know that one of my hobbies is gardening.

The growing season is over, but my organic garden is still supplying me with some of the herbs and vegetables.

One of these vegetables still in supply, is a red beet.  Not everyone likes red beets, but my family and I happen to like red beets, and I either cook borscht from beets, or make vinaigrette salads.  Actually red beet borscht is one of the main meatless courses at a Traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner.

I will post my red beet recipes in future posts, but this time I would like to tell you a little bit about the health benefits of this vegetable.  You may not have been very fond of red beets before, but you might reconsider, once you are aware of its health benefits.

• Red beets are high in carbohydrates and low in fat and it is an excellent source of folic acid

• It is loaded with antioxidant that helps the body against heart disease, certain cancer especially colon cancer

• It is believed that red beets, when eaten regularly, may help against certain oxidative stress-related disorders

• The fiber in red beets helps to reduce serum cholesterol by 30-40%, and help in normalizing blood pressure

• The iron content in red beets is of a very fine quality and it makes a powerful cleanser and builder of blood

• It contains folic acid, thus recommended to be consumed by pregnant women, to lower the risk of spina befida and other neural tube defects in newborns

• Red beet juice stimulates the function of liver cells and protects the liver and bile ducts

• A mixture of red beet juice and carrot juice is an excellent aid in healing gout, kidney, and gall bladder problems

Even though most of the health benefits from consuming red beets is from the root of the plant, the leaves and stems should also be consumed, since these contain such nutrients as: beta-carotene, folic acid, chlorophyll, potassium, iron and vitamin C.

So, if you were not so fond of red beets before, are you ready to give it a try now?

You have nothing to lose, and lots of healthful stuff to gain.

Once my garden produces an abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables, the time is right to cook Botvinka.  Soups are very popular in Eastern Europe, and are the first course of a lunch of dinner meal, just like tossed salads in the US.

The name for this soup derives from the description of the tops (botvinka (in Polish)- leaves and stalks) of very young red beet plants, which are the major ingredient in this soup.  This dish is full of  goodness of fresh, young, green leafy vegetables, and because they are so tender, they require very short cooking time.

I prepared this recipe in a vegetarian style, but you can use chicken, or beef, broth as the base, if you prefer it that way.

Ingredients:

• 10 cups of water
• 2 Tbs. salt
• 3 bay leaves
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs. canola oil
• 2 medium potatoes, coarsely grated
• 2 carrots, coarsely grated
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup chives, chopped
• 2/3 cup Dill Weed, chopped
• 1 cup red beet stems, chopped
• 2 cups red beet leaves, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh Parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbs. Maggie Seasoning
• 2 Tbs. Tomato Paste
• ¼ cup sweet cream (half and half, heavy cream, or whole milk)
• ¼ cup Sour Cream or Oikos Organic Greek Plain Yogurt
• 3 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
• ½ tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1. Fill a soup pot with 10 cups of water, add salt and bay leave and start cooking.
2. Chop up the onions and sauté for 2 minutes in canola oil.
3. Chop the garlic and add to onions, and sauté another minute.
4. Add onions and garlic to soup stock.
5. Prepare all your vegetables:
6. Rinse and pat dry all vegetables.
7. Remove any damaged leaves and stalks.  Cut off thins roots from any beets attached to stalks.
8. Coarsely shred potatoes and carrots.
9. Chop the red beet leaves (botvinka), chives, dill, and parsley. Set aside.
10. Add potatoes and carrots to soup stock, bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes
11. Add all remaining vegetables, and cook another 2 minutes.
12. Mix tomato paste with cream/milk until smooth, and add to the soup.
13. Bring to boil, and cook for 1minute.
14. Add pepper, Maggie Seasoning, and Balsamic Vinegar.
15. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.
16. Put  sour cream in a cup, and add some  hot soup stock (2 Tbs.) at a time, and keep on mixing it until it looks smooth, not lumpy.
17. Add to the pot of soup.  DO NOT boil again, because the sour cream with curdle.

You can serve with chopped dill, and a spoonful of sour cream as a garnish.

With all the frequent rain showers we experienced lately in our area, my garden is in its glory, and thriving.

If you love gardening, as I do, you will agree that no matter how much, and how often, you water your garden, it does not measure up to one good rain fall, and the plants just seem to grow in front of your eyes soon afterward.

This season’s  harvest already began in my garden, and, with great pleasure, I was able to pick some baby red beets, dill, chives, summer squash, zucchini, green beans, and basil.

My raspberries produced about a pint of fruit this year, and today I was able to pick a few blueberries already.  I am very excited about having fresh berries and herbs from my garden, and to share them with my granddaughter.

Don’t you just love the freshness of these veggies and fruits…..and best of all….I know these have not been sprayed with any chemicals.

Tip: If  you wonder what can one  do with red beet leaves, I have a recipe coming up in my future posts.