Borscht

Borscht is a true comfort food for me.  I think I can speak for many members of my family that would agree.  My grandmother made borscht often.  She made it without measuring anything, like so many cooks in her day.  I have been experimenting with it for a while now, and I decided to update my previous borscht post, because I have much improved my technique!  If you try this, let me know what you think!

Here is what you will need.  You may notice that I have coleslaw mix in the picture.  I substituted coleslaw mix for the cabbage and carrots which worked out great.  I used about 5-5 1/2 cups of coleslaw mix.

Borscht Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2-1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. onion, minced

3 Qts. water

4 c. chopped cabbage
2 small carrots, shredded

3-15 oz. cans diced beets, drained

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2-1 c. peas or green beans, fresh or frozen is fine

14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (can sub fresh)

2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. onion powder

1 1/2 Tbsp. vinegar

4 Tbsp. beef bouillon

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. dill weed

Sour Cream

Heat your large pot with 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once it is nice and hot, add the beef stew meat and onion.  Quickly sear the meat and onion until browned.

Add water and bring to a boil.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and mix in.  

In my opinion, this is even better as leftovers or after it has been sitting for a while.  The flavors just come together better!  

Cheese Buttons (AKA: Kase Knepfla)

One of my warmest childhood memories is having Cheese Buttons at my grandmothers house.  They were, hands down, my favorite food growing up and I still think of them as the ultimate in comfort food today.  When I first married my husband, he wasn't impressed by them...I am pretty sure they are growing on him too.  That could have something to do with that I have become much better at making them.  These may seem odd to all of you non-Germans out there, but give them a try!  I always serve these with canned peaches, because that is what grandma always did:0)

Cheese Buttons (Kase Knepfla)

Dough:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 egg

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. water

Filling:

2 c. dry curd cottage cheese 

1 egg

salt and pepper, to taste

Finishing Ingredients:

Butter, 1/4-1/2 c.

Stale bread pieces (I use at least 5-6 pieces), torn

1 medium onion, sliced

Serve With:
Heavy Cream

Salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients together.  It will be a very stiff dough.  I find that it is very easy to use my Kitchen Aid bread hook to mix this.

Combine filling ingredients together.

Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 inch squares.  Place a spoon-full of filling on half on each square.  Fold dough over and pinch sides together securely to make the button (my grandma always made triangles instead, so that is what I usually do).

Put buttons into a kettle of slowly boiling salted water and cook for no more than 10 minutes (they are done when they float).  Boil and handle gently, or you may lose filling.

Fry Cheese Buttons in a large skillet with the other finished ingredients until lightly browned.

Drizzle with heavy cream and salt to taste.