Borscht

My good friend up at Truman State went to study abroad in Russia last semester and made me promise to make Russian foods for her. Now that it's finally winter-vegetable time, I was able to make this borscht from almost exclusively farmers market ingredients. I felt very eastern European making this dish, scrubbing and grating root vegetables in the kitchen, and then throwing them into a large pot that looked like a bubbling, purple witch's cauldron. Definitely made me miss my Ukranian and Slovokian roommates from France!! This was exactly how they cooked, so I'm dedicating this one to them : )

Note: let soup sit overnight for best flavor.

Borscht
from Moderate Oven

Ingredients:
1 pound beets, shredded
1 bay leaf
pinch of caraway seeds
3 cups vegetable broth
1 lb. cabbage, shredded (I used purple, but the original recipe calls for green)
1 lb. potatoes, chopped into 3/4" pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, shredded
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained (I used 2 medium fresh tomatoes, crushed slightly and drained)
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. brown sugar + more, to taste
1 Tbs. salt + more, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped + more, for garnish
sour cream, to garnish

Instructions:
1. In a large stock pot, add half of the shredded beets, 4 cups of cold water, the bay leaf, and the caraway seeds. Bring to a gentle but steady boil and cook for 10 minutes to extract color and flavor from beets.
2. Add the vegetable broth, cabbage, and potatoes to the pot. Return to a boil and simmer for 10 more minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet and sauté onions and celery until soft. Add carrots, the rest of the beets, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and garlic. Ladle a few spoonfuls of broth from the stock pot into the skillet, and let this mixture cook at a low simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add skillet vegetables to the stock pot along with the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Thin soup at this point with more water, if desired. Simmer for 5-10 minutes more, or until potatoes are fork-soft.
5. Remove from heat, add the dill, and season to taste. Serve with lots of sour cream and extra fresh dill.

Grilled Melon and Tomato Gazpacho

Grilled Melon and Tomato Gazpacho

Ingredient:
4 heirloom tomatoes, cut into thick 1" slices
2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
1 red onion, diced
1 rid celery, chopped
1 ripe cantaloupe, seeded, cut from rind, sliced 1" thick slices
2 small minced hot peppers
1 lime, juiced
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
2 Tbs. chopped chives
pinch paprika
sugar to taste
olive oil

Instructions:
1. Prepare a charcoal grill.
2. Place sliced cantaloupe and tomatoes on a grilling platter. Pour some olive oil into a bowl, and brush across fruits. Then, salt and pepper them.
3. Grill cantaloupe and tomatoes until grill marks on both sides.
4. Combined grilled fruits with cucumbers, onion, celery, cantaloupe, and jalapeno into a food processor, and pulse until mostly smooth, but still small chunks left.
5. Transfer to a bowl, and add lemon juice and vinegar. Stir in chives, paprika, sugar, and more salt and pepper if desired.
Serve: chilled, if desired

Marinated Cucumber Salad

Marinated Cucumber Salad
adapted from Food Doodles

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, cut into thin rounds
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. honey
1 Tbs. dried dill

Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients except cumber, and wisk.
2. Place the cucumber into a bowl, and pour the vinegar mixture over. Toss with hands until cucumber pieces are thoroughly coated.