Fruits & Veggies Monday {Rustic Beet Soup}

Hey again everyone! I hope I'm not bombarding your feed too much between my plank challenge posts and my usual food ones. ;) I can't go a Monday without joining in on @lenasveganliving's #fruitsandveggiesmonday, though. Check out Lena's weekly post to see all of the details and links to the other fantastic entries. Everyone has me drooling, as usual!

This week I was feeling like a hearty soup as one of our meals. Though it still feels like summer, I always start getting antsy for cooler weather and warm bowls of goodness as soon as football season starts. Not that I watch much football, but it just signals that shift in the season. The local farmers market had a lovely roundup of vegetables as always this week, so I opted for a really simple take on a beet soup.

Soup has become one of those things that I almost never make the same way twice. I don't think I am alone in that among all the other wonderful foodies on here. It is just too easy to tweak based on what you have on hand or what vegetables are in season. You can also spice it up or keep it lighter based on your mood or the time of year. Since it is a long weekend here in the States, I wanted to keep my meal plan simple to execute so I can actually enjoy a little of the extra time to relax. It doesn't get a whole lot simpler than rough chopping a bunch of vegetables and tossing them in a pot to simmer. Well, the slow cooker may have been one step easier, but I opted for the stove this time around. ;)

Rustic Beet Soup

Makes 8 servings

• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 5 medium stalks celery, sliced
• 3 small carrots, sliced
• 2 large portobello mushrooms, gills scrapped out & chopped
• 4 large beets, trimmed & cubed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1 large bunch of fresh dill, chopped & divided in half
• 3 cups cooked white beans
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Add your onion, celery and carrots. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding in a few tablespoons of water as needed to prevent sticking.

Once the vegetables are starting to soften, add the mushrooms and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. After the mushrooms have started cooking through, add in the beets and spices. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, once again adding a bit of water as needed so the spices don't burn.

Pour in your stock and add half of the dill. Bring just to a boil, then partially cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. During the last 5 minutes add the beans to the pot.

Once the soup is done, take off the heat and stir in the remaining dill and the apple cider vinegar. Serve warm or let cool to room temperature. Enjoy!

This is my first post using @steempeak, and so far I am enjoying the layout! I am a little slow on the technology front, so anything new takes me a little while to get used to but I'm sure I'll get there, haha!

Have a fantastic and healthy week!

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