Helen's Borscht

I have a thing for soup. It always makes me feel better and I can always eat it or drink it even if I can’t really eat. The other day I decided I wanted borscht. I have only had this soup once and that was about 20 years ago but I decided I wanted it; and the beautiful thing about being a cook is that if you want something you can make it! I looked up the recipe in my joy of cooking (copy right 1964). Good recipe but not quite what I had in mind so I tweeked it. The results were very very good. My husband said he was surprise how sweet the soup tasted as he expected it to be “more earthy” he went on to say “every beet I have ever cooked has tasted like dirt” the rest of the crowd seemed equally happy and it and the color is just so pretty! Cooking time is somewhere between 30 and 60 min.

Helen's Borscht

Peel and chop
1 cup carrots
½ onion (I use white onions in all my cooking but I am sure yellow would be fine)
2 cups beets
Put in soup pot and barley cover with water. Simmer till tender. As you simmer the water will evaporate so add in chicken stock, keeping the level just above the veggies. When Veggies are tender add 1or more (depending on your taste) tablespoons of butter. Stir in and then CAREFULY pour contents into blender (unless you have an emersion blender in which case use that!) blend till smooth. Pour back into pot and add 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar. Stir in and serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Date night menu

Last nights dinner (Date night) both of us love garlic so you will see it just about every dish. This took me about 45 min in total, but that may be because I make small portions since there are only 2 of us. None the less a good dinner of good food and a good date night.

Quick fry chard
Wash and chop chard. Add some chicken broth to a fry pan along with some chopped garlic. Throw in the chard and cook till leaves turn bright green take off heat and squeeze lemon over it.
Buttery parsley potatoes.
Quarter red potatoes (lower glycemic index then russets) boil till tender. Drain and then add in a few pats of butter and some cut parsley. Swirl to coat evenly
Roasted Asparagus
Snap off the bottoms of asparagus and lay into a roasting pan. Add some cloves of garlic and a little olive oil to coat. Roast in an oven at 400 till done.
Broiled NY steak with mushroom sauce
Salt and pepper and herbs de provance both sides of the stake put in pan that can stand high heat and then put in oven under broiler. How long it stays there depends on how done you like your beef.
On stove top cook butter and garlic and sauté carmine mushrooms in it. add a flour making a roux. Add in chicken broth to get a good consistence. When serving pour sauce over steak.