You can make it with or without meat.
It is actually very easy to make, you can even make it with canned beets but please don't let my teacher know I said that. :)
It is a fall or winter soup to me but some people serve it cold in the summer.
You can also use dill instead of parsley if you like.
Yes, the cold with dill is what attracted me. (I wouldn’t use canned :-)