Borscht with Kvas (Beetroot Soup) In the Bag - Detox Special

Its really hard for me to even think, that few years earlier, I used to hate soups. I was cajoled, threatened, blackmailed by my mom to start having soups to no effect. Then during my college days, a friend of mine managed to get me hooked to Tomato soup which was totally delicious in our cafeteria - but that was that! No other soups for me. Then after marriage, I started trying out various soups - well because I wanted to just - you know- try it out. Surprisingly I started liking the soups - No, don't think me conceited , but somehow my soups actually inculcated the habit and now here I am willing to try all kinds of soups.:)



Borscht (borsht or borshch ) is traditionally an Eastern Europe soup where the prominence is given to Beetroot along with other vegetables. There are basically two variations of this soup – hot and cold and since we are not fans of cold soup, I opted for the former. It is totally yummy with minimal ingredients and effervescent flavors. The color is deep red thanks to the beetroot and its only enhanced further with the addition of Beetroot Kvas. This is a recipe from a ‘Detox health-plan cookbook’ which I adapted quite mildly for my tastes.

Ingredients


• 2 beetroot, peeled
  
  
• 1 large carrot
  
  
• 1 celery stick
  
  
• 1 onion
  
  
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
  
  
• 1/4 cup of tomato puree
  
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
  
• few sprigs of parsley/cilantro
  
  
• 3-4 cloves
  
  
• 4-5 whole black peppercorns
  
  
• about 3 cups of water/vegetable stock
  
  
• 2/3 cup of beetroot Kvas (recipe follows)
  
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
  
• few chives to garnish
  
  
• 2-3 tsp of fresh lemon juice
  

Method

To prepare Beetroot Kvas

Grate one beetroot, add it to 2/3 cup of water and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cover and set aside for about 30 min.



For Borscht

In a saucepan, in 1/2 tsp of olive oil, saute the onions until soft (yes, chop onions first - otherwise they will look 'bloody' like this one :)



Chop beetroot, celery and carrot into thick strips and then along with garlic add them to the onions. Saute for 2 seconds with little salt (about a pinch or so).



Add the tomato puree and saute for another 1-2 min.



Tie the bay leaf, peppercorns, herbs and cloves in a muslin cloth. Add about 3 cups of water/stock to the saucepan, drop the muslin cloth with the stock, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.



Remove the muslin bag, add the strained Kvas, season to taste and serve garnished with chives.

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This is my entry to 'In the Bag' event which focuses on a Detox special this month with the ingredients - Beetroot, Carrot and Celery

This is also my entry for SWC : Soups hosted by Neha conceptualized by Cooking Station

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How to Remove Beetroot Stains

I love Beets and use it so often for my recipes. While I love the color, I personally am not so sure about seeing the color everywhere in my kitchen - wooden boards, counter tops, my clothes etc. Here are some tips which have helped me to counter this 'bloody' trail.

1. Its always better to clean right after cutting the beets. Don't let it dry out. Makes cleaning a bit harder.

2. Better safe than sorry - so don't wear your snow white, ultra light colors when cutting Beets - old worn out clothes are a good idea! :) Or else wear an Apron.

3.Having Lemons are such a boon. If your wooden chopping board has stained - sprinkle some salt over its "wounds" / stains - let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then with a chopped lemon rub it on the stains until the stain slowly dissoves. Sometimes if the stain is not dark enough, just lemon juice rubbed on the stained part for 20-30min is enough.

Few more tips in the following links :-

1) Tips to remove Beetroot stains from Carpet

2) Tips to remove Beetroot stains from clothes and Fabric

3) Tips to remove Beetroot stains from upholstery

Gingerbread (Eggless)

"And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread. – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost"

There are few recipes out there which make me re-incarnate an old saying into "Slow and Steady wins the taste"!! Some recipes are such. They take their own sweet time to blossom and develop, but when they do - their taste and smell etch an everlasting impression in your tastebuds. One among the few such is Gingerbread.



I read that Nuremberg(Germany) is referred to as "Gingerbread Capital of the world". Although when I think of Gingerbread I simply remember the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel and the Gingerbread house The origin and the taste has come a long way and its been adapted like no other by US where a Christmas celebration would be considered incomplete without the good old Gingerbread - be it made like a cake, or gingersnap , or house or the more famous Gingerbread man. I came across many gingerbread recipes all varied but also which were quite rich by way of calories.

I had one recipe given to me by an aquaintance which was far lesser calories than the one I have seen and which I adapted further more to be more of healthy and nutritional value than the calories. Its made eggless but if you want, you can add one Egg to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups flour, sifted
  
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour (gram flour), sifted
  
• 2 tsp ground ginger plus couple more to get that additional zing of ginger
  
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 6 tbsp vegetable shortening
  
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 1/4 cup molasses
  
• 7 tbsp milk (low-fat works fine too)
  
• pinch of salt
  

Method

1.Preheat Oven 325F. Take a skillet and mix together sugar,shortening,honey,molasses and heat them in low flame until blended and melted. Cool it slightly and then add the milk.

2.In another bowl add the sifted flours along with the spices,baking powder and salt and mix them well.Now pour the syrup mixture into the flour and blend them well.

3.Pour this mixture into a well greased loaf pan, smoothen out the top and bake for 1-2 hrs or until the top of the bread is firm to touch and the sides turn brown.

4.Allow it to cool and then turn it out into a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap the leftovers in foil. It tastes better with time.

This is my entry to Zorra's World Bread Day

Other Thanksgiving Specials

1)Moist Cornbread -Low Calorie

2) Nutritious Gingersnaps

3)Cranberry and Apple Pie

4)Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crusts and Honey Pecan filling