Making Borscht- Recipe

I am an advocate for shopping for food both from local sources selling local products and for purchasing food whe it is in season. For example, you buy apples in season; I also like a good deal and find that when the seasonal produce begins to hit the market the prices are pretty good.

I was walking by the local grocer the other day, even when I am not shopping, I like to take a peek at what’s outside the store which is were the deals or the seasonal produce usually is. I spotted a 10 pound bag of beets for sale at a good price and beets, especially pickled are one of our favourite foods so I bought a bag.

I will be pickling them over the next few days and will produce a hub detailing that experience.

This one is about making borscht, which I have not done in some time but hey with a big bag of beets, there are only two of us to feed, it was time.

I had a number of errands to run, well, actually walk, today so decided to make the borscht in the slow cooker.

I had a borscht recipe but wanted to take a look at one that used a slow cooker, making sure to get the cooking time and quantities straight.

So I took a trip to the local public library which is a 45 second walk from our house. The book I checked out is Donna-Marie Pye’s 300 Slow Cooker Recipes. If you use a slow cooker check this book out.

The recipe that I used is on page 71 but I did modify it to suit my own tastes and the following recipe is with my modifications.

Needs:

1 slow cooker

1 measuring cup

1 stir spoon

Ingredients:

5 beets, tops removed

½ cup shredded cabbage

1 cup diced turnip

1 carrot sliced

4 cups vegetable stock

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp celery seed

Sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Preparation;

1- wash beets

2- peel beets

3- dice beets

4- shred cabbage

5- dice turnips

6- put beets, cabbage, turnip, carrot stock and paprika into slow cooker

7- Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours, vegetables must be tender

8- Add vinegar, celery seed, sea salt and black pepper,

9- Cover and let sit for five minutes.

10- Serve and enjoy

If you wish you can add a dollop of sour cream.

By the way this smells delicious while cooking, I went out to complete my various errands and when I came back home the house was filled with a delightful aroma that had my mouth watering.

The beets that I used to make the borscht barely made a dent in the 10 pound bag that I bought, I may make another batch tomorrow and then over the weekend get to the pickling.

An important note, to keep your hands from turning red while handling the beets, wear gloves. Another note if you are new to beets be prepared to see red after you have used the toilet and the beets have been processed by your body, it is what happens when you eat beets, not just one or two but a few, best to be prepared that be scared.