Knitting and Borscht.

Our little nook of the Kootenays is famous for its Doukobour History. They have a long history originating from Russia and settling and settling in Saskatchewan, then eventually coming to BC as they were against going to war. Originally they were vegetarians, but the children now eat whatever they want. So of course, these Russian grammies make the most amazing food. Especially borscht. In our town there is a tiny little restaurant called Weezies. There are five tables and it is always packed. They serve borscht, vareniki and pyrihi, all of which I probably have misspelt. I think I just misspelt that too. Whenever someone comes to visit, one of the requests is inevitably....can we go to Weezies????

We also have a little heritage museum were you can see how the Doukobours lived when they first arrived. In one building there is a little pamphlet, you can purchase for a loonie that has some traditional Doukobour recipes! Of course in this phamplet is a recipe for borscht, and I quote "Serves 12 hungry borscht fanatics- and there should be leftovers to freeze." So I thought it was a good wintery time to make a cauldron full of borscht!

And for all you Weezie fans out there.....it was amazing....possibly a little better then weezies. I know. You guys think I'm exagerating, well I can prove it. There is lots to sample.....oh wait, as of today there is only one jar left. Sorry, I'm sure the next batch will be just as tasty!!!!




But I will post the recipe here, for all who would like to try it on there own! I made a few changes, so I will try to change the font color to show that.

Borscht

1/2 cup butter

2 onions chopped

6 cups canned tomatoes

1/2 cup green peppers, cut up

1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

8 cups finely grated cabbage

12 cups water

1 tbsp salt

8 medium sized potatoes peeled and halved

1/2 cup carrots, finely diced

1/2 cup beets, diced

2 cups tomato juice

1/2 cup whipping cream (I used the whole carton of 250ml whipping cream)

finely chopped green onions and fresh dill.

at the end I felt something was missing, so I referred to other recipes and found they call for vinegar, so I added a healthy sploosh, probably about half a cup, and I really think this is what made it over the top delish!

Melt butter in large casserole dish. (And do use butter...not margerine, oh yummmmm) Add onions and cook at low heat for 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, peppers, dill and cabbage. Cook at moderate heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid browning.

Meanwhile, bring salter water to a boil in a large pot. Add tomatoes, carrots and beets, and return to a boil. Add tomato juice. Simmer until potatoes are cooked. Remove potatoes and mash with cream.

Add casserole dish mixture, once it has finished cooking, to the pot along with the mashed potatoes, dill and onions. Season with salt and pepper.

This time I used one package of fresh dill from Safeway, next time I think I will use two. Also next time I will mash potatoes AND carrots and beets. The chunks were kind of weird....beets that had lost all their color...strange and not appetizing.

Everybody should definitly try this recipe, and don't try to half it, if you don't have freezer room, give some away, but if you decrease this recipe, you will be kicking yourself after you taste it!

Tom and I have finished some knitting projects! I these are gifts, so I will post pictures, but I won't say anything more!