Borsh from Yulia's Kitchen

When September is here the chilly mornings give me a yearning for warm soup. Last weekend our daughter-in-law, Yulia, cooked up a batch of Borsh, (sometimes spelled Borsht). This is the recipe her Russian mother and grandmother prepared when she was a girl. The aroma of the beet red broth, fragrant with chicken or beef, often fills our house throughout the fall and winter. Hearty root vegetables of the north are used to prepare this never to be forgotten delight with: beets, potatoes, and carrots. Onions, garlic, and herbs intensify the flavor. Try it with a dollop of sour cream and serve with hardy peasant bread or croutons. But watch out, you could become addicted!

 Thank you, Yulia, for introducing me to your Russian delight, Borsh.

Ingredients:

Meat (chicken--skinned and deboned or beef stew-meat) 1 ½ pounds.

Place meat in medium pot and cover with water until 2/3 filled. Bring to a medium boil and reduce to a simmer. (Cook chicken for 10-15 minutes or slowly simmer beef for 60 minutes) Remove from heat and cover.

Prepare vegetables while the meat cooks:

1 large or 2 medium beets peeled and shredded  

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/3 cup shredded carrots

½ cup chopped sweet onion

1 small can tomato paste

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon Creole seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup peeled cubed potatoes

1 bay leaf

Ground black pepper to taste

Ground oregano to taste

1. In large skillet add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Heat, add beets and simmer for 3 minutes.

2. Stir then add carrots. Continue to stir for another 3 minutes.

3. Add onions and stir for a minute.

4. Add tomato paste, turn heat to low and mix in cumin and Creole seasoning. Stir well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover with a well fitting lid and remove from heat.

5. Take boiled chicken or beef from pot and cut into cubes. Skim foam from broth.

6. Add salt and cabbage to broth. Bring to a simmer and let cook for another 3-5 minutes.

7. Then add cubed potatoes and carrot-beet mixture from skillet. If water has evaporated from broth add more until pot is 2/3 full or 2 to 3 inches below top of pot. Mix well and bring soup to a boil.

     8. Finally add cubed chicken breast or beef to pot and return to boiling soup.

     9. Lower temperature to slow simmer and add 1 bay leaf, pepper, and oregano to taste.                         

     Cover partially allowing steam to escape. Cook for another 10-12 minutes.

      Remove soup from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

   10. Serve with fresh chopped parsley and top with a tablespoon of sour cream. Amazing!

This is labor intensive but well worth it. I promise it is a soup you will never forget.

Shirley's Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

Over the years I have had the honor of eating many wonderful meals at my mother-in-law’s home. Shirley makes the best Challah bread and shared the recipe with me many years ago. It is on this blog, and if you haven’t tried it you are missing out on something special.

My husband says his mom’s apple pie recipe is even better than mine—I’m jealous.

Here is another of her great recipes that I have made for years and it is one of our favorites. It’s Shirley’s chicken soup with matzo balls. It can be made using roasted chicken from your local supermarket or you can roast it yourself in the oven or crock pot.

Since today has been a rainy day, I thought it was the perfect day for chicken soup.

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked cubed chicken

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth

4 celery ribs chopped including leaves

1 medium chopped onion

4 cloves crushed garlic

4 chopped carrots

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

2 packages Matzo Ball mix (May be purchased at your local grocery store in the kosher food section. You will need eggs and oil for this recipe.)

Directions:

Skin chicken and pick 4 cups of meat from the bones. Set aside. Clean and chop vegetables and place in crock pot or stew pot along with broth and cook until vegetables are tender. Add chicken and correct seasoning.

Follow recipe for Matzo balls on the package and place mixture in refrigerator for about fifteen minutes. Wet hands and shape batter into balls by tablespoons full and drop into simmering broth. The matzo balls will float to the top. Simmer about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with more fresh chopped parsley. Serve while hot. You’re going to love it.

Wheels: Peanut Butter Banana Honey Roll-ups

My youngest grandson's first word was "car." He loves wheels--cars, trains, planes.

He's not quite as particular about his food looking like a work of art, as his sister is, but this is one lunch that he loves, "Peanut Butter Banana Honey Roll-ups".

Use a large whole wheat tortilla and spread it with peanut butter. Peel a banana and place it on the tortilla then drizzle it with honey. Roll it up and slice it into wheels.

This makes enough wheels for two children or you might want to share the wheels or do a counting game with them. How much are two wheels plus three wheels?

Then, use a second tortilla to cut out train cars, add wheels, and load it with carrot sticks (logs), raisins (coal), or apple slices (grain). Use celery strips for the track.

If you deal with peanut allergies, try hummus, grape tomatoes, or cucumber sticks on your tortilla. Serve with either a cup of milk or yogurt and you have a healthy lunch.

Do you have any kid-friendly lunch ideas? Can you turn it into a work of art? Tell me about it!