From Ukraine with Love: Borsch.

As promised as it seems now a long time ago at the era I was babysitting my two dear children who lately seem to graduate to the advance level of blood sucking and virtuoso nerves playing. Certificates inclosed.

Back to the borsch. I spell it as I pronounce it. The recipe has been in my family for generations. My mother being an even more ardent fan of quick and easy meals  ( she thinks I cook complicated but as the chefs on TV, which cannot be a bigger compliment from her, since things are rarely done right, right?) passed me the recipe when I moved in with my now husband and became the boss in my own kitchen. Or am I?

According to my mother's eye balling everything, no, we are not related to Rachel Ray, I came up with the amounts for her very quick and easy recipe. And the ingredients are:

 - 1 onion

 - 1 carrot

 - 1 medium/big beet

 - 2 medium potatoes

 - 1/2 cabbage

 - 1 small can of tomato paste

 - salt, pepper, vegetta to taste, pinch of sugar

 - bouquet of greens: dill/parsley

The only uneasy part of the recipe is cutting all those vegetables, so if you have a shredder or a food processor, which I still don't own (Yeah, I know what the Valentine's are for, but I still prefer a pair of vintage earrings or a bracelet, wink, wink, you know who you are,.....the husband), please get those ready. Also, giving homage to Sandra Lee, you can buy pre-shreded cabbage, onion and carrots, never saw pre-shreded beet, and keep it sami-home made.

Place onion, carrot and potatoes ( all clean and diced, carrot is shreded) in the big pot. To Motherofmany, I don't know what a big pot is for the dinner of 9, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Play with the amounts of ingredients then. You're an experienced cook! So, fill the pot with water, bring to boil. After boiling, let simmer for 15 minutes. Meantime, cut the cabbage, add it to the pot, also add tomato paste, your dill/pasley ekibana, salt, pepper and vegetta ( I think it's your variation of a soup cube, but it is sold in major grocery stores) to taste. Add a pinch of sugar to bring out the beet flavor. But please don't make it sweet, just a PINCH! It's still a savory dish ( as you'd add a pinch of salt to baking). Simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste, if the potatoes are done, then everything is done.

Well, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't adjust the recipe to my Iron Chef's palette. So....

For my adjustments you'll need to add:

- celery

-  3-4 table spoons of olive oil

-  1 clove of garlic

1. I suggest that you sautee carrots, beets & onions in 2-3 table spoons of olive oil, for about 4-5 minutes before you add potatoes & fill the pot with water. Makes the flavor richer.

2. I suggest that you cut the cabbage as small as you can, so that when you eat it, it won't feel like eating dripping spagetti.

3. I also strongly suggest that you cut the cabbage & put it in the pot BEFORE it boils: place all the vegetables, fill the pot, then start cutting the cabbage & pui it it right after you're done with it, that way it'll come out soft, you don't want crunchy in the borch. Unless that's how you prefer it.

4. I put whole onion without cutting since my so Russian or Ukranian for this purpose  husband would not touch an onion ( weird, must do a DNA test...), so, that allows you to take out the onion with the greens ( dill and parsley) after the borch is done.

5. I add cerely to my greens ekibana.

6. I add THINLY cut 1 clove of garlic ( not squished, cut thin) to the borch about 5 minutes before it's ready. You'll thank me later. 

There are other variatons of the borsch. Since I'm on the Ukrainian lecture on borsch, I'll tell you that the best is my aunt's version. My husband still checks the pot every time I cook the borsch, to check if the day has come, but...if you don't go to the gym, you don't get the fat borch with the meat. So, my aunt sautees every vegetable separately and then adds beef or short ribs to the pot, which makes it a small heart attack on the plate, but at least you die oh so happy! Unless you're a vegetarian, then you just die.

My grandfather used to eat it boling hot with the garlic bread. No, in Ukraine of 1980 there was no garlic bread on the menu or as a term at all, but my grandfather improvised what seemed to me then ingenious: he would rub a clove of garlic on the bread crust and that would be an indispensable part of serving the borsch.

Oh, right, the serving: you serve it traditionally with a dollop of sour cream. If you are oblivious of the Ukranian traditions you can also serve it with plain yogurt or as I have been serving myself for years, with mayonaise ( secretly, I'm not Ukranian).

Now, tie your rushnichok behind your back, put on those red booties and tune your volinka for a romantic Ukranian accompaniment! Serve with a warm smile! Na zdorov'e!