Borscht

There's a local farm here in town that sells organic produce. I went there last week to check it out and scored these two monstrous beets.
The first thing I think of when I see beets is borscht. Borscht is a soup common in Russia. I have a brother and a brother-in-law who both lived there for an extended period of time serving missions for our church, so I was introduced to it and learned how to make it from them. It's actually pretty easy to make and tastes good if you can get past it's looks.


Here's how I made it:

2 T olive oil
1 onion , chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 giant beets, peeled and chopped
5 potatoes, cubed
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1 T vinegar
1 1/2 quarts turkey stock
6 oz can tomato paste
sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, carrots, and celery in olive oil until tender. Add beets and potatoes and continue to saute for about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and vinegar and saute for 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add stock and boil until veggies are tender and a spoon stuck in the soup stands up. Top with a dallop of sour cream and serve.

I used home-made turkey stock because I had it left over from Thanksgiving. Chicken stock would be interchangeable or you could even use bouillon. I have to say that even my eleven month old son liked it. He ate two bowls all by himself!