Borscht

Even Claire likes it!
Ingredients

• 4 beets, cut to matchsticks (ish)
• 1 russet potato, cubed
• 2½c green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 5c beef stock
• garlic
• splash of red wine vinegar
• about ¼c chopped fresh dill, optional

Put the onions in a stock pot with some olive oil and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Then add the remaining vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently, for something like 5 minutes. Deglaze with the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-25 minutes, until veg are tender. Using an immersion blender, partly blend the soup (to taste). add the dill and splash of vinegar. Serve with optional plain yogurt or sour cream.

Thoughts: This was our first successful attempt to make borscht. It was great! Even Claire liked it, and she doesn't like beets. Future versions might include trying to get a meatier flavor from the stock. Not sure about this yet. Hm.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Ginger Beer

OK, fine, I'll post something.

I made ginger beer. Ingredients include:

• about 1" ginger, finely grated
• juice of a lime
• 3oz simple syrup
• 6oz water
• 6 more oz cold water
• a pinch (like 1/16tsp) yeast

In a saucepan, heat the lime juice, simple syrup, ginger, and 6oz water to boiling. Simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, clean out some vessel to put the ginger beer in. I used empty soda bottles, cleaned with warm, soapy water. When the ginger mixture is done boiling, strain through a fine meshed strainer (or cheesecloth, or paper towel, or coffee filter) into another sterile container. Add the 6oz cold water, then pour into the bottle (when it's no longer hot enough to melt the plastic). Add the yeast. Screw the cap on VERY tightly and shake. Leave on the counter for about 36-48 hours, returning to shake periodically. Be careful, though, because that stuff gets carbonated. When it's carbonated enough, put it in the fridge.

Thoughts: I didn't know you can make your own ginger beer. We have to try this with other stuff, like adding spices to the boiling syrup mixture to impart other interesting flavors. I should probably get glass bottles for a more sterile/professional method of bottling, but it's expensive. The fizz that you get from this method isn't like your standard coca-cola carbonation - the bubbles are much smaller. It has a great texture and flavor.

Disaster Index: 1/10