Energy Food Challenge and Celeriac/Roquefort Soup

En français ici.
This is my mom training in Amish country (near where she lives), preparing to bike ride 109 miles in Tucson November 22nd to raise money for research in blood cancers. Nearly a million Americans are battling blood cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma, and 53,000 people each year die of these diseases. Leukemia alone causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults. I'm very proud of my mom, who is not generally a very sports-oriented person, so when she asked me to consider asking the blogging community to support her, I said yes right away.


What do food bloggers have to do with blood cancer research (aside from general human solidarity, of course)? Well my mom is going to need some good energy food to get through the ride and she would love to have your suggestions. So I'm launching an Energy Food Challenge! Post your energy food recipes (main dishes, snacks, drinks, etc.) on your blogs before the 22nd, and I'll do a round-up right here to give my mom a proper send off. Go ahead and use this logo and send me a link with your entry. Even if you don't have time for that, feel free to leave your ideas in the commentary section and I'll pass them along.


In France, one of the meals that's supposed to make you strong, especially when you're growing, is soup. (Did you see that seamless transition there??) I had been pondering what to do with a big ugly celery root I got in my CSA, never having cooked with one before, when Camille heroically came to my rescue by mentioning a celeriac and roquefort soup that she posted about (here). Hoping that the roquefort would be incentive enough to overcome D's dislike of both celery and soup (supposedly), I decided to try it out. It was delicious!! I looked at a couple recipes and added some of my own touches to come up with this:

1 large celery root (celeriac)
2 large potatoes
1 onion
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup dry cider (apple juice or beer would probably work too)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 apple
1 cup light cream or 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup butter
100-150g roquefort or other blue cheese
salt, pepper (as desired)

bacon/lardons (optional) to garnish


Peel and chop the celeriac, potatoes and onion. Sauté in the hot oil about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent.

Add the cider and the stock. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer 20-25 minutes until the celeriac and potatoes are tender.

Add the apple (peeled, cored and chopped) and cook another 5 minutes. Blend the soup, using whatever method you prefer.

Add the cream and crumbled cheese. Heat lightly and stir until smooth. Salt and pepper as desired (I found the soup did not need salt, but I guess it depends on the cheese you use), and serve warm with the garnish of your choice.