borscht

This was long a stand-by for me - I love me some root vegetables, and then learned how to make it for real when I lived in Russia. But somehow it fell by the wayside. Yesterday when I went to the farmers' market, though, the beets called out to me provocatively. "Hey baby, you know you want to take us home." And there they were, so beautiful, so robust, so vibrant, so beety. And now they are in my fridge (and don't get me started on how upset I am that 2009 is The Worst Gardening Year Ever). So, back to borscht I go (though, there's there AMAZING beet/potato cold salad we used to eat in Russia that was to die for - that may be next).

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Beef (or goat) meaty bones (make broth from them in slow cooker, drain fat, then add):

3 medium beets, peeled and diced

1 diced carrot

3 medium potatoes, cubed

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded

can diced tomatoes and/or small can tomato paste

1 T lemon juice or vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dried dill (if don't have fresh - which is really far superior)
salt and pepper to taste

Toss it all in the slow cooker, give it a good stir and cover with water if necessary (and maybe a little beef bouillon if the broth doesn't look rich enough). Don't cook it too long or it'll all get mushy (I've never slow cookered it before, though I like not having to stir regularly).

[That's the easy & quick way; better to saute onion & garlic first and then toss it all in.]

Serve with sour cream or yogurt (сметана would be best but I've never seen it for sale here) and dark, grainy Russian bread.