Rosemary Red Soup

Recipe Maven's Musings:

You may have noticed a new look to the printed crop sheet this week. That’s because I (Carrie Sanford) have finally figured out a good way to put in my working member hours for the farm. I’ve been a member for four years and have always done my work at the end of the season and all on one day. I always felt like I wanted to contribute more, but couldn’t schedule the time to get out there! With a little (18 mo.) daughter, being in the fields is even harder now. I wouldn’t be much help if I’m chasing her all over the farm.

So, I asked if we could get creative and Lee suggested I try doing the crop sheets for a while. I’m a bit of recipe maven and am SO glad to have my addiction put to good use.

If you have great recipes to share, by all means, send them to me or if you need help figuring out what to do with all of that . . (fill in the blank), I’ll do my best to find a healthy, relatively easy answer. I hope this space will be used to give you fun farm facts, for the kids corner (should it come out of retirement) and other random information we (me, Lee and Doug, or any of you) find useful!

This week's Recipe:

Farm member Brianna Noach passed this recipe on to share. I LOVE the book it’s from. Our library system has a copy (it’s currently at my house) and I recommend you check it out (when I’m done!).

Rosemary Red Soup

(Recipe from Feeding the Whole Family by Bastyr University faculty member Cynthia Lair)

This soup is a gorgeous red color with a deep, satisfying taste to match. Because of the combination of legumes and vegetables, all you need is some whole-grain bread and salad to make this into a beautifully balanced meal. Try it with Sweet Squash Corn Muffins and Dark Greens Salad (found in Feeding the Whole Family).

• 3 medium carrots
• 2 beets
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups water or stock
• 2-3 tablespoons light miso

Scrub and chop carrots and beets. Heat oil in a soup pot; add onion and sauté until soft. Add carrots and beets; sauté a few minutes more. Finely chop rosemary and oregano leaves, if using fresh herbs. Wash and drain lentils. Add herbs, lentils, bay leaves, and water or stock to onion mix; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 40 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Puree soup in blender or processor. Dissolve miso in ½ cup water and add to soup. Gently reheat before serving.

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings

For babies 6 months & older:
Steam a few extra carrot slices and puree with water.

For babies 10 months & older:
Reserve some pureed soup before adding the miso and serve.