Had a great after dinner chat with lovely new friends at the Blue Heron Inn tonight. Cooking came up in the conversation so here is my recipe for Borscht. It's based on the "Continental Borscht" recipe from the 1970 edition of "America's Best Vegetable Recipes" (Farm Journal).
Double Down Borscht (Purchase beets with fresh tops to make this recipe)
2 - 3 cups coarse grated fresh beets (washed and peeled)
1 medium onion chopped
1 - 2 carrots peeled and sliced thinly or grated
3 cups water
2 cups beef broth
All the beet stems, washed and cut into 1/2 " to 1" pieces
All the beet greens, washed
1 TBSP lemon juice
Sour Cream (optional)
For quick prep, use your food processor - chop onion well, add carrots and chop medium, leaving veggies in bowl of processor, swap out cutter for grater and grate beets (or grate both carrots and beets). Every thing is in the processor and can be dumped into a large soup pot.
Add the water, bring to boil, cover and simmer 20 - 30 minutes
Add the beef broth and the beet stem pieces and continue to simmer 15 minutes.
While soup is cooking, take 4 - 5 leaves at a time. Stack them and cut lengthwise into roughly 4 strips (depends on how big leaves are). Cut strips crosswise into 1/4" slivers.
Add to soup and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Take off of heat and add lemon juice.
Soup is ready to serve hot or can be chilled. Traditionally a dollop of sour cream is added to the soup bowl after dishing up the soup.
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Never Ending Bowl Weekend
So far, we've watched the "Mixing Bowl", the "Porcelain Bowl", and now we are watching the "Soup Bowl". With probably 20" of new snow on the ground and still falling, watching Bowl games is an normal way for folks to spend the holiday.
Unfortunately, I apparently lack the gene necessary to have a favorite team. I root for the underdog and for any team that doesn't have Brett Farve. While this was a less pronounced aberration before high definition TV, now it has become very obvious. Much to my husband's dismay, I find sports games in high def to be totally disorienting. The players look like Foosball players. I almost see the handles as the little plastic players mindlessly run around the field.
I wasn't always this way. When the Yankees and the Dodgers were both in NYC, I was rooted to my transistor radio listening to the games. Games were played in the daylight back in my day. Once the Dodgers moved, the heart went out of the game. It became just another money maker for high muckimucks and the little people, the ones who used to fill the bleachers, became just another pocket to be fleeced and tossed away.
I've spent my free time today doing laundry (oh - I guess I was doing the "Washing Bowl") and making Spicy Lentil Soup (for filling our Soup Bowls once Pittsburgh manages to lose their lead and the game in the fourth quarter).
Pretty soon we will go out and try our hand at clearing off the snow in front of the garage.
Such is life in Findley Lake in the winter.
OOPS, an addenda to above. Got the plowing done and now are watching the "Toilet Bowl". I guess tonight we will move to garage verbiage for the "Carburetor Bowl". Now if that doesn't get your sports blood fired up, you are welcome to come watch You Tube videos with me.
Unfortunately, I apparently lack the gene necessary to have a favorite team. I root for the underdog and for any team that doesn't have Brett Farve. While this was a less pronounced aberration before high definition TV, now it has become very obvious. Much to my husband's dismay, I find sports games in high def to be totally disorienting. The players look like Foosball players. I almost see the handles as the little plastic players mindlessly run around the field.
I wasn't always this way. When the Yankees and the Dodgers were both in NYC, I was rooted to my transistor radio listening to the games. Games were played in the daylight back in my day. Once the Dodgers moved, the heart went out of the game. It became just another money maker for high muckimucks and the little people, the ones who used to fill the bleachers, became just another pocket to be fleeced and tossed away.
I've spent my free time today doing laundry (oh - I guess I was doing the "Washing Bowl") and making Spicy Lentil Soup (for filling our Soup Bowls once Pittsburgh manages to lose their lead and the game in the fourth quarter).
Pretty soon we will go out and try our hand at clearing off the snow in front of the garage.
Such is life in Findley Lake in the winter.
OOPS, an addenda to above. Got the plowing done and now are watching the "Toilet Bowl". I guess tonight we will move to garage verbiage for the "Carburetor Bowl". Now if that doesn't get your sports blood fired up, you are welcome to come watch You Tube videos with me.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
What's Cooking This Week in Findley Lake
I finally got to Erie County Farms during daylight hours. Usually I hit there at 5pm on Fridays, tired, slow, and fighting the last minute crowd. Sometimes workers are actually clearing off the counters.
This past Friday, a friend and I drove in at noon. What a difference 5 hours makes! While I bought my usual assortment of fresh veggies and meat, what was really difference was having the energy to do something with it once I got home.
Friday afternoon I made Cock-a-Leekie Soup using the chicken/leeks/purple potatoes that I'd bought. Put some of the pork into marinate for Thai Spicy Pork. Bagged up the rest of the chicken breasts, boneless pork chops and roasts, and cod, then got them right into the freezer. Usually I'm too tired to do more than stuff the meats into the frig and hope I get back to them.
Saturday cooked up the Thai Pork and made a pan full of Roasted Winter Veggies using a buttercup squash/fennel bulb/red onion that I had bought.
Sunday, today, I plan on blanching some of the kale and freezing it. The rest of the kale I'll cook completely. Then I'll set up my freezer suppers (about 2 or 3) of Thai Pork, baked sweet potato, and kale using divided freezer ware. Sunday supper is half of the roasted chicken that I bought Friday (other half went straight to the freezer). The side will be the Roasted Winter Veggies plus Roasted Garlic as a condiment for the meat.
Monday, I plan on making my own bastardized Hot and Sour Soup. Got the pork and tofu, bean sprouts, then either some frozen Asian veggie mix or some broccoli and mushrooms (also from my shopping expedition).
Tuesday is suppose to be fish and coleslaw (Friday's shopping)
Wednesday is suppose to be steak salad using a head of Boston lettuce and red onion. I may substitute Thai Pork chunks as they are already cook.
So what does it mean when I cook? It's usually a sign that I feel good. My family, like an army, runs on it's stomach. Most of the meals I'm cooking are also providing enough food for two or three other nights. This works perfectly into my plans for Turkey hunting next week. Amongst the chaos of my life, I have an outlined supper menu for the week posted on the frig (just an aberration this week). Next week will be a reprise of this week so I'll have very little cooking, just nuking. Sounds like a plan for the little hunting homemaker, me!
This past Friday, a friend and I drove in at noon. What a difference 5 hours makes! While I bought my usual assortment of fresh veggies and meat, what was really difference was having the energy to do something with it once I got home.
Friday afternoon I made Cock-a-Leekie Soup using the chicken/leeks/purple potatoes that I'd bought. Put some of the pork into marinate for Thai Spicy Pork. Bagged up the rest of the chicken breasts, boneless pork chops and roasts, and cod, then got them right into the freezer. Usually I'm too tired to do more than stuff the meats into the frig and hope I get back to them.
Saturday cooked up the Thai Pork and made a pan full of Roasted Winter Veggies using a buttercup squash/fennel bulb/red onion that I had bought.
Sunday, today, I plan on blanching some of the kale and freezing it. The rest of the kale I'll cook completely. Then I'll set up my freezer suppers (about 2 or 3) of Thai Pork, baked sweet potato, and kale using divided freezer ware. Sunday supper is half of the roasted chicken that I bought Friday (other half went straight to the freezer). The side will be the Roasted Winter Veggies plus Roasted Garlic as a condiment for the meat.
Monday, I plan on making my own bastardized Hot and Sour Soup. Got the pork and tofu, bean sprouts, then either some frozen Asian veggie mix or some broccoli and mushrooms (also from my shopping expedition).
Tuesday is suppose to be fish and coleslaw (Friday's shopping)
Wednesday is suppose to be steak salad using a head of Boston lettuce and red onion. I may substitute Thai Pork chunks as they are already cook.
So what does it mean when I cook? It's usually a sign that I feel good. My family, like an army, runs on it's stomach. Most of the meals I'm cooking are also providing enough food for two or three other nights. This works perfectly into my plans for Turkey hunting next week. Amongst the chaos of my life, I have an outlined supper menu for the week posted on the frig (just an aberration this week). Next week will be a reprise of this week so I'll have very little cooking, just nuking. Sounds like a plan for the little hunting homemaker, me!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
I'm BACK !!
A lot (and I mean A LOT) has gone on in Findley Lake since my last post in July. I'll try and tackle various topic updates in separate posts.
In my life, emotional and physical well-being are tied to my desire to cook. No cookie, no feel well.
After a very social and congenial two hour breakfast with friends at the Blue Heron Inn this morning, I was inspired to cook. Part of our morning discussion concerned comfort food. My straight forward husband goes right for the ice cream. One friend chose Asian food. My choice was whole hominy with butter, salt and pepper. When I was growing up, my Mother served us sausage patties and whole hominy. It was just in the past few years that I found out my youngest brother also opens a can of hominy on occasion as emotional and nutritional sustenance. It's funny how those totally simple foods can soothe the soul.
So starting at 3:30 pm, I started cooking up a storm. Microwaved a small pumpkin (1/2 at a time) and froze most of it for the dog's suppers. Put on a pot of 15 bean soup. Took a spiral sliced ham that we'd been working on and removed the meat. Put the bone into the simmering soup and froze most of the meat. We had frizzled ham and broccoli for supper. The extra broccoli and left over pumpkin are in a bowl ready for the dog's supper tomorrow night.
One recipe ended up a little modified due to my slip of not including sugar in the bowl. I was making two pumpkin pies using the Lakeshore Pumpkin recipe (best pumpkin pie, dense and tasty. The pies were within 15 minutes of being finished when I realized my error. OOOPS ! However, I'm into the glass half full/lemons into lemonade life so this might work out better. The Lakeshore recipe called for 1 1/2 cups sugar. I have taken to using half sugar and half Splenda, which has been OK. Tonight, realizing that I'd completely omitted both, I decided to try caramelizing brown sugar on top. Right now, I'm not sure that I performed the caramelizing process properly but, if we like the pie with a light sugar and whipped cream topping, it will end up actually less sweet than the original recipe. For any of you diabetics out there, I'll let you know if it's good this way. If it ends up that we like it, my glass will be overflowing.
I still have one more recipe to make tonight (beside completing the 15 bean soup). I make a quiche with bacon, onions, eggs, cream, nutmeg, and graham cracker crust. I find it delicious while my husband finds the sweet flavor of the crust too different from regular crust to really enjoy. It's a sweet/savory quiche. I'll post the recipe later.
Now that we've eaten supper and I've got my second wind, it's time to finish up the seasoning in the soup and put the quiche in to bake. Nice to be back.
In my life, emotional and physical well-being are tied to my desire to cook. No cookie, no feel well.
After a very social and congenial two hour breakfast with friends at the Blue Heron Inn this morning, I was inspired to cook. Part of our morning discussion concerned comfort food. My straight forward husband goes right for the ice cream. One friend chose Asian food. My choice was whole hominy with butter, salt and pepper. When I was growing up, my Mother served us sausage patties and whole hominy. It was just in the past few years that I found out my youngest brother also opens a can of hominy on occasion as emotional and nutritional sustenance. It's funny how those totally simple foods can soothe the soul.
So starting at 3:30 pm, I started cooking up a storm. Microwaved a small pumpkin (1/2 at a time) and froze most of it for the dog's suppers. Put on a pot of 15 bean soup. Took a spiral sliced ham that we'd been working on and removed the meat. Put the bone into the simmering soup and froze most of the meat. We had frizzled ham and broccoli for supper. The extra broccoli and left over pumpkin are in a bowl ready for the dog's supper tomorrow night.
One recipe ended up a little modified due to my slip of not including sugar in the bowl. I was making two pumpkin pies using the Lakeshore Pumpkin recipe (best pumpkin pie, dense and tasty. The pies were within 15 minutes of being finished when I realized my error. OOOPS ! However, I'm into the glass half full/lemons into lemonade life so this might work out better. The Lakeshore recipe called for 1 1/2 cups sugar. I have taken to using half sugar and half Splenda, which has been OK. Tonight, realizing that I'd completely omitted both, I decided to try caramelizing brown sugar on top. Right now, I'm not sure that I performed the caramelizing process properly but, if we like the pie with a light sugar and whipped cream topping, it will end up actually less sweet than the original recipe. For any of you diabetics out there, I'll let you know if it's good this way. If it ends up that we like it, my glass will be overflowing.
I still have one more recipe to make tonight (beside completing the 15 bean soup). I make a quiche with bacon, onions, eggs, cream, nutmeg, and graham cracker crust. I find it delicious while my husband finds the sweet flavor of the crust too different from regular crust to really enjoy. It's a sweet/savory quiche. I'll post the recipe later.
Now that we've eaten supper and I've got my second wind, it's time to finish up the seasoning in the soup and put the quiche in to bake. Nice to be back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
