This is a wonderful soup that came about by accident. Of course, that happens a lot in my kitchen since I cook a lot with what has been put up out of the garden. The other day, I decided to make some beet soup with nothing but beets and some broth that I had made from  the bones of a smoked chicken. The smoked chicken is another story.

I peeled and cut up three good size beets. Here they are. Aren’t they beautiful? These are an heirloom variety called “Lutz’s Tall Green Top”. They produce wonderful sweet greens all season and then I pull the beets.

Peeled and diced, ready for the pot.

I placed them into the pot with a quart of chicken broth and cooked them until the beets were tender.

Here’s the delicious chicken broth.

Four quarts of chicken made from the bones of a smoked chicken. Ready to freeze.

I had intended to serve them for dinner as a soup but, plans got changed and the beet soup went into the fridge. Yesterday, I noticed a winter squash that was starting to get a bad place on it and I knew that it had to be used. I peeled and cut up enough squash to equal the amount of beets, added it to the beets along with about a TBL of Cardamon seeds, a little salt and another quart of the chicken broth.

I cooked the vegetables until the squash was tender. about 20 minutes.

Then I put it all into the blender and blended it just enough to make it somewhat smooth. You could skip this step but I like the way it really blends the flavors. 

I served it with a dollop of sour cream and ” Wow, this is good” was the exclamation heard at the table.

It was really good! 

The slight smoky flavor added to the blend of flavors, but this soup would still be really good made with plain chicken broth or even water.

The good news is, we had enough left over for a least a couple of more meals.

I am grateful that the idea came to me to expand on my thinking, about what goes together, and to try this new soup. It’s a flavor sensation that is easy to create, while also being full of goodness for your health. How great is that?

Joyful Cooking in Nonesuch,

Karen

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