lemon

For week three of Soupapalooza, I was inspired by one of the few measly snowfalls we've gotten here in Minnesota to make something white and creamy. Given its availability this time of year, cauliflower seemed like the most natural choice, notwithstanding the fact that I spent most of my youth vehemently opposed to it both in theory and in practice. I didn't trust anything so stinky and frankly, so pale. But I've grown up now, and stinky and pale is alright by me.

I know a lot of people who take the month of January to rein it in, take stock, and press the reset button. Some detox, some jump on the exercise wagon, some just try to focus and center themselves after the frenzy that is December. Personally, I never pass up an excuse for a fresh start, so January is as good a time as any to make myself some promises, which I then inevitably break, for which I have to forgive myself. It’s not a big deal. I don’t feel guilty about it. It’s just how I roll.

Chef Adam Anderson, formerly of Lucia's in Minneapolis, is on fire! One look at this week's farmshare bounty from Harmony Valley Farm, and he sent me not one, not two, but three recipes using the fresh, local ingredients in the box. Here's number 2:

Chilled Golden Beet Borscht with Fresh Dill and Chive Crème Fraiche

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

Before last week, I didn’t know what garlic scapes were. I’d never seen them, smelled them, or touched them, and I most certainly did not know where they came from. But our Harmony Valley farm share delivered local, organic scapes to Minneapolis last week - and oh, how far my family has come in one short week.

According to Mother Earth News: