Simple Roasted Root Soup...and nourishing their roots through you

Simple roasted root soup, parsnips, sweet potatoes, turnips, celery root

As I was chopping the vegetables for this soup, I had some time to think. Quiet kitchens, peeling and chopping are good for that, you know! I wish I could schedule a date with my quiet kitchen every day. At times, that's when my mind loosens the reigns, runs a little wild and creativity pushes its limits. Then on other occasions, my peaceful cooking place reminds me to linger in time where my heart longs to listen to the Lord.

Anyways, during this particular date I got to thinking about my roots, appropriately since I stood there scrubbing and chopping root vegetables. Earlier, I'd listened to a sermon on praying for your little ones...or for anyone you love, actually. I wondered...How is my today's story related to my roots? And how do my roots and the residual of where I came from reach my kids? How is what I'm doing today creating a continuation of that same story in the lives of the young ones living right here in my home?

As I consider these questions, my heart aches with anticipation for what I'm portraying from my imperfect past and I wonder what I'm planting in simple ways every day. My soul years with desire to give all these girls only what's good in me from God and to hide my stains of sin, tarnished traits and any pains from my past. Really what I want is to raise them with nourished roots. I want their roots to burst with life and love, with faith and a blessed future in part because of who God gave them in me. My mother's heart holds tight to a hope of knowing what to say, when to lead and how to step aside as their own young roots grab hold to His mighty and merciful hands.

Yeah, His merciful hands giving me hope that my mistakes and hurts don't stop their roots from flourishing!

As I chopped those vegetables, I realized our roots run deep from our hearts as they dig their very essence into the earth of our souls. Those roots bear fruit and flavor evidenced by the type of life we live. For me, sometimes that notion reassures me...and sometimes it's downright scary because too often I find myself rushing between limited time and mindlessness in the daily mundane. And it's in that space where sinful tendencies seep out, those human tendencies of rotted roots dug deeply in my past.

It's hard to see through the mud and the muck! But, shouldn't be aware of where we've come from before we pass anything on to others? Shouldn't we ask ourselves the tough questions so we can more intentionally plant roots into other's lives?

You know what? No matter where we've come from, despite what we've been passing on, we've got real hope despite our rotted roots! With the power of Christ, we can walk with Him and redirect our own roots away from the results of painful pasts, sin or struggle! After all, Christ is our most amazing and miraculous ancestor! With Him, we can bear fruit into the young lives we live with and all those around us by sharing the fruits of our faithful roots with them! We can cling to the character we inherit from Christ....

No matter where the seed was first planted and what kind of nourishment we've had, the life, death and rising of Christ provides fertile earth to dig new roots into! Don't you see how we can bear fruit and spread faith from now on forward despite where we've been?!

So, just tell them. You'll be changing some things. Go on.... Maybe you haven't helped them dig their roots into Christ-centered, fertile earth. Or maybe you've been stuck against stones of stress or clumps of clay that have claimed your own hope in Christ. But, go ahead...tell them now. Now's time to change. We're re-rooting into fertile ground! From this day forward, do things differently and nourish the life-giving love of Christ that has been trying to take hold of your heart and home.

Back to that sermon I heard. It reminds me of how we start planting more intentional, loving roots into lives all around us: we pray.

So, as I ponder in my quiet kitchen, I'm re-comitting to praying these girls grasp the will of God for their lives. I'll pray His wisdom waters their roots and His salvation sprouts strong faith and their desire to serve. I'll pray His love, grace and hope over each of them during every kitchen date and each day! I pray, with His help, I plant seeds that dig faith's roots deep into their hearts where the Holy Spirit will lead them to living water and eternal life's nourishment.

Yeah. All that from quiet time in the kitchen. That's how it works around here as I over-think peeling, washing and chopping root vegetables for my simple roasted root soup! Won't you join me and give this, ALL of this, a try!?

A simple recipe with a not so simple nutritional profile! What does that mean exactly? It means it's simple to prepare but superior in nutrition. So, in the midst of winter when we're aching for something warm and comforting, make this seasonal soup and fill your body to the brim with these vitamins and minerals: vitamin K, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin C, folate, copper, manganese, dietary fiber, calcium, vitamin E, and vitamin B6. They are a very good source of potassium, magnesium, pantothenic acid. Oh, and did I mention the anti-inflammatory, cholesterol lowering, diebetes-preventative and digestive-regulating properties all in a bowl of this soup? What's not to love!?

Ingredients

3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium to large sweet potatoes, skin ON, washed and cut into chunks
1 large turnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 medium celery root, washed, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 whole, small to medium garlic, peeled and cloves seperated
1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into LARGE pieces
2 tablespoons organic virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ghee (or can substitute with real grassfed butter)
salt and pepper to taste
4 to 6 cups vegetable broth (see recipe instructions and recipe notes)*
OPTIONAL: Truffle olive oil

Recipe Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and chop all of your vegetables as specified on the ingredients list. Yes, it's a bit of busy work, but great time to think, pray or listen to a sermon on podcast! Put all your prepared veggies into a large bowl. (NOTE: the onions should be in large-ish chunks and the garlic cloves should be peeled and whole in your mixture.)
Melt your ghee in a small glass bowl and whisk together with olive oil.
Pour the melted ghee/oil mix over the vegetables and mix well, until all are slightly coated.
Sprinkle mixture with salt and pepper to your liking.
Spread in a single layer on large baking sheets with rims to make it easy to stir. I used two jelly roll pans.
Roast the vegetables in your hot oven for 20 minutes. Remove pans from oven and stir, flipping the veggies over, quickly removing any dark pieces (enjoy them roasted or save them for the soup!). Watch the onion and garlic closely as they may need to be removed. Put pans back into the oven and roast for 10 more minutes. Remove and stir once more. Determine whether you want to roast them for another 5 to 10 minutes. Finished veggies should be slightly browned on the edges and tender enough to be pierced with a fork.
OPTIONAL STEP: Here is where you may add the truffle oil if you choose to. Put all the roasted veggies in a large bowl, drizzle with the oil and gently toss.
NOTE: At this point, we enjoyed some of the vegetables with our dinner simply roasted. The rest, I dropped into my food processer to make the soup for the next day.
Broth to veggie ratio: For every 2 cups of vegetables, you should use about 4 cups of broth. You can always add more if you like a thinner soup.
You may need to do this in 'shifts' if your food processor is on the small side, adding a cup of veggies and 2 cups of broth, then transferring into a large sauce pan or dutch oven on the stove.
Once all the soup is processed, put it into a pan to be heated. Add salt and pepper to taste (which may not be needed since you've already seasoned the roasted veggies).
Enjoy with your favorite whole grain bread. My family enjoys this soup with a nice, crispy grilled cheese!

Recipe Notes

*You may use natural/organic vegetable bouillon cubes such as those shown on the link below if you do not have vegetable broth on hand. You should use one per cup to cup and a half of water.

If you choose this option, you will need to prepare your broth before adding it to your food processor by bringing the water to a boil and adding the cubes, stirring until broth is made.

Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon cubes