Borsch

I usually don't measure anything. Yesterday, I tried to take approximate measurements, so I could share the recipe.

I adapt the recipe to make the soup as thick or sweet as I am in the mood for.

Generally, I don't like sweet vegetable like beets and carrots, so I try to mask that sweetness. If you want to bring out the sweetness of beets in this soup, don't add vinegar (you can even add a tiny bit of sugar).

My husband prefers less liquid and more chewable stuff in his soup, so I try to cook the way he likes it. When I was growing up, however, we ate soup with more liquid.

It took about 1 hour to make yesterday. It will all depend on how big your vegetables will be.

I know my pictures are not very good, but that is what you get taking pictures with artificial lighting.

Also, this is the soup I MAKE. I am not claiming to have an authentic recipe. I know in Russia they add cabbage to borsch. I leave cabbage out.

Usually borsch is made with beef that you cook in water to make broth. I tried it a few times, and it is good, but I like adding homemade chicken broth into mine as well as homemade beef meatballs.


So here is the actual recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cans of beets, grated and liquid from cans (make sure you DON'T buy pickled canned beets - you need regular for this recipe - you can buy whole or sliced or even shoestring - I buy sliced, because I think more beets fit into a can when they are sliced - I also like to grate my beets - shoestring is really hard to grate - If you are not a fan of grating slices, buy whole beets by any means - you can also buy fresh beets and cook them in boiling water for about 40 minutes until they are soft)

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 bay leaves

2-3 Tbsp white vinegar

4 cups chicken broth (can add more)

4 cups of water

a few whole peppercorns (you can use ground pepper if you want)

salt (I use kosher salt, but it you don't have it on hand, just use regular salt)

For meatballs:

1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
bread crumbs
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Meatballs can be made adding other herbs or spices that you like.

Sour cream (for serving - I don't like Borsch without it)


Saute diced carrots, onion, and celery in a medium pot with a little bit of canola or olive oil on medium heat until tender. Make sure to stir to avoid burning.


Add chicken stock (I make my own chicken stock and keep it in the freezer, so I add mine frozen) , beet liquid, bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, and salt. When comes to boil, add diced potatoes.




It takes some time to cook the potatoes, so you'll have time to make meatballs. To make them, combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined (don't over mix). Roll meatballs and place on a plate.


When potatoes are tender, add grated beets.

I also add about 3-4 cups of water at this time.
When soup is boiling, add meatballs one at a time.

Let cook until meatballs are cooked through.


Plate and add sour cream to taste. You can sprinkle borsch with fresh parsley before serving.

Frank Asch - kids author we love

Frank Asch. I think he is a excellent writer. His books are so kind and simple, just like the children we read them to.
We took a few of his books from the library and read them over and over.
I wanted to share these two books.

"Just like Daddy" - this book is simple and funny.


"Good night, baby bear" - I love this book, because it's about mommy and baby relationship - care, kindness, and hugs.

Медовик or Honey cake

This is seriously the best cake I have ever had. Every time I make it for a party, my friends ask for a recipe.

This cake is easy to make and doesn't require any fancy ingredients.

Ingredient:

1 cup butter
3 Tablespoons honey
1 cup sugar (can add more)
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cup sour cream
1/2-1 cup sugar

Melt butter (I use a microwave). Add honey and sugar and mix together. Let it cool to room temperature if it is hot. Add eggs, flour, and soda and mix well.
I take two round cake pans; divide the dough into 4 pieces; I can't ever roll this dough, so I put one piece into a spayed pan and with my fingers press it in the bottom of the pan into an even layer. Repeat with the second pan. Put two pans into preheated 350 F oven and cook for about 12-14 minutes (it should be golden brown). Remove cakes from pans to cool down. Put the other two pieces of dough into pans (be careful not to burn yourself, since the pans are hot) and into the oven they go for 12-14 minutes.
NOTE: you can divide the dough into 6 pieces, but make sure to decrease the baking time, because they will bake faster and can burn.
I let all the layers cool down. In the meantime, place sour cream and sugar into a bowl and beat with hand mixer (this helps to dissolve sugar). Usual proportions are 2 cups sour cream and 1/2-1 cups of sugar. I try to use the least amount of sugar, so I taste it before I add more sugar.
Start assembling your cake. Place the first layer on a serving platter; liberally cover it with sour cream and sugar mixture; cover with the next cake layer; smother with sour cream mixture again... Repeat until all the layers are used.
You can leave the top plain or cover with sour cream mixture and crumbled cake.
Leave the cake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (the more the better) for layers to absorb cream.

NOTE: I LOVE DOUBLING this recipe to get a higher cake and have an extra layer for crumbling.

Don't worry about having left-overs of this cake. There either are not going to be any, or you will be glad there is a piece left just for you for after the party treat.

ENJOY!

Best homemade whole wheat bread and peach freezer jam

I've been making bread off and on ever since I got married.
During this time I have been looking for a great whole-wheat bread recipe, since my bread usually turned out too dense and dry.

When I was teaching at the Missionary Training Center, I was privileged to teach a wonderful couple - the Jacobs. Sister Jacob used to bring whole-wheat bread for me sometimes. It was delicious! Sister Jacob made bread for her large family on a regular basis and truly knew how to do it. Of course, I asked her for a recipe. It called for 11-12 cups of flour, and my poor Kitchen Aid would never handle that much dough. I read somewhere that you cannot just half recipes with yeast, so I haven't tried her recipe until yesterday. I did HALF it and bread turned out so soft and yummy, that I think I will consider this the best whole-wheat bread recipe.

I grind my wheat into flour at home. At first I used hard red wheat, but later followed the advise I received from some ladies that I met at the Lindon Cannery and started using white wheat for making my flour.

It is amazing how from something like this



you can get something like this



I also made peach freezer jam for the first time. I used regular fruit pectin (not no-sugar needed one), which required tons of sugar. But after all was said and done it turned out delicious. It stores in the freezer up to a year, so we will enjoy this jam even when it is cold and snowy outside. I like the fact that with freezer jams, there is minimal work involved.

From these



I got these



I really enjoyed snacking on this delicious toast yesterday. It is a PERFECT MATCH.



Here are the recipes if you would like to try this yourself.

Whole Wheat Bread (already halfed)

2 1/2 c. warm water
1/4 c. oil (I use canola)
1/4 c. honey
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp gluten
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
3 c. more whole wheat flour

Mix well first 6 ingredients. Add yeast and mix again. Add the rest of the flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl. Knead dough 5-8 min. and form into greased loaf pans. Let rise until doubles in size (about 1 hour). Bake at pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40-45 min.

Fresh Peach Freezer Jam

Find a recipe and all directions in the pectin box you buy. Recipes will be different for original and no-sugar needed pectin. Use all ingredients exactly like they are specified, otherwise jam will not set.

Children's books #1

Since Alisa and I love reading books, I decided to share some of our favorite children's books on this blog.

We have literally read hundreds of books together, and Alisa is not even two.
We have a lot of favorite books.

Maybe some moms out there are not sure which books to pick when they go to the library. I didn't, since I didn't grow up in the United States. But both my husband and I LOVE reading and it looks like we passed this love to our daughter.

We don't have any book order, so I will share them as we go.

"Little Blue Engine that Could" by Watty Piper

(taken from WIKIPEDIA) "The Little Engine that Could is a children's story that appeared in the United States of America. The book is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Some critics would contend that the book is a metaphor for the American dream.
In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain. Various larger engines, treated anthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating its motto: "I-think-I-can"."

Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack


A delightful book that can teach children about where eggs, milk, blanket, and a few other things come from; about animals and the sounds they make; and about the beauty of hugs.