Vegan Borscht

Apparently this Russian beet soup is a helpful hangover cure. It's a little labor intensive to prepare while hungover, but the end result is delicious.

Disclaimer: This requires a great deal of chopping, mixing, stirring, blending, waiting, but it not only makes a whole bunch of soup, it also tastes pretty darn good. In the words of Dwight K. Schrute "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica".

Here we go:

1 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

3 beets (including greens), diced

1 16oz can whole, peeled tomatoes

1/2 cup canned peeled, diced tomatoes

2 potatoes, quartered

1 cup shredded white cabbage

2 cups vegetable broth

4 cups water

2 tbsp. chopped dill

salt and pepper to taste

1 16oz package silken tofu

Labor intensive preparation:

1. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and stir in garlic and onion. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent.

2. Heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and stir in celery, carrots, pepper, beets and beet greens, whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, and sauteed onions/garlic. Cook until cabbage begins to wilt (4-8 minutes).

3. Stir in vegetable broth, water, dill and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

4. Simmer for 1 hour.
5. Strain half the beets from the broth and place in food processor or blender. Add tofu and puree until smooth.
6. Add tofu and beet mixture back into the pot and simmer for another hour.
Serve chilled or warm. We topped ours with shredded cabbage and used fresh dill as a garnish.

avocado soup

as previously mentioned, i moved into a new apartment at the end of may.  as a house warming gift my mother bought me a food processor.  it is a thing of beauty:

the presence of this new appliance in my apartment prompted A to investigate recipes that required the use of a food processor.  she found a recipe for avocado soup.  she made said soup while i was at work.  i must admit to feeling a twinge of jealousy regarding the fact that she used my beautiful new kitchen appliance before i did, but this feeling quickly faded since she did, after all, make me dinner.

avocado soup:

3 limes

3 cups water with ice

3 avocados, halved and pitted

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 small jalapeno pepper with seeds, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

fresh cilantro, chopped

flour tortilla, cut into strips for garnish

olive oil (to fry tortilla strips)

basically you throw everything but the tortilla strips and oil in the food processor and process it until smooth.  while this is happening, take the tortilla strips and fry them in oil until crispy.

ladle the soup into bowls and add tortilla strips and chopped cilantro to garnish.  A served the soup alongside a black bean and corn salad.

my opinion of this soup: kinda bland.  A agreed.  the consistancy of the soup was good, if you are a fan of thick soups along the lines of butternut squash puree, etc.  i, however, am not a fan of thick soups - they tend to remind me of baby food or things served in nursing homes to people with no teeth.  and despite the fact that A claims i am an 80-year-old man trapped in a 25-year-old woman's body, i need food with texture.

*side note* there is some truth to her claims of my geriatric nature.  quote from me while driving home around 11pm: "wow.  i'm suprised to see the lawrence bus running so late at night with all the budget cuts lately."

basically, the soup lacked flavor.  in the event that this dish gets repeated, i would add more garlic, possibly cumin, and cilantro to the mix.  my opinion of the black bean and corn salad: delicious, full of flavor, pretty damn good.

black bean and corn salad (A did not give me the recipe and since i don't use recipes anyways, i'll just give you the basic run down):

cook a cup of brown rice and let it cool.

add one can of drained and rinsed black beans.

add one can of drained and rinsed corn kernels or cook some corn and cut the kernels from the cob.

saute chopped green peppers, maybe some onion, minced jalapeno and minced garlic.  add this to the bowl.

add chopped cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper and anything else you think would taste good.

mix.

as i said, the black bean and corn salad was freaking delicious. and A even cooked the rice on her own - i was so proud.

bottom line: disappointing christening of the food processor but delicious black bean salad.