More kitchen adventures…
The borscht was a success!
My refrigerator!
On the top shelf, a giant pot of borscht, applesauce, raspberry jam.
Middle shelf, a bowl of pampushky, a large jar of pickles, several jars of pickled tomatoes, and a pitcher of grape compote
And on the bottom, jars of jam, pickled peppers, fresh parsley and celery, and a large tupperware filled with mashed pumpkin
In the drawers: apples, cabbage, potatoes, beets, and carrots
And in case you’re interested in making any of the items pictured above, here are a few recipes. Like the chicken soup, I didn’t really measure anything…so you might have to play around with the amounts.
Domashnyi Borscht:
Ingredients:
Whole chicken leg or breast
Several red beets
Several potatoes
Small cabbage
Pre-soaked white beans
A few carrots
Two medium-sized onions
A few cloves of garlic
½ tbs. Vinegar
Tomato paste
Oil
Black pepper
Salt
Spices (dill, parsley, bay leaves)
Put chicken in a large pot of water with a little salt and maybe some pepper, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Once meat has cooked, add chopped potatoes. Once potatoes have cooked, add beans and cabbage. Grind or finely chop beets and add to the pot with vinegar (crucial!). Add a little more pepper and salt, maybe a tablespoon of oil. In a saucepan, grate carrots and slice onions, then sauté until soft. To this mixture, add sour cream (fatty sour cream works best so don’t try to save yourself a few calories with the low-fat stuff…it’s not worth it!) until the vegetables are all coated, and then add to the pot. Add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Add spices as you see fit—I added a mixture of garlic salt and paprika and a few other miscellaneous things. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic, dill and a little parsley. Once beans are completely cooked, add 1-2 bay leaves, cover the pot, and allow to simmer for 2-3 more minutes.
Domashnyi Applesauce
Ingredients:
Apples
Water
Cinnamon
Sugar
Peel, core, and chop apples into small pieces. Put in a pot and fill with water just until apples are covered. Add a little bit of cinnamon. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer until apples are tender and mashable. Drain water off the apples, put the apples in a bowl and mash with a potato masher. If you actually have a blender and you want your applesauce to be really smooth, put in the blender. Add sugar to taste.
Смачного! (Smachnoho — enjoy!)
YUMMmmmmmmmmmmmm again. It doesn’t look like you have a freezer compartment though, unfortunately, or we’d ask you to save some for us. My sweet tooth is hoping there might be some jam left, though! Awesome job!