Un-bore the borscht!

Please understand that this gives me great pain to admit.  I’ve done much soul searching, and came to the conclusion that I must give credit where credit is due, even though a small part of said soul dies a bit in the process.  I do have some small justifications to make afterwards, though.

Here goes.

Deep breath.

The best borscht…

(I can’t believe I’m doing this)

I said, the best borscht recipe I’ve ever had…

(please Lord, forgive me)

…comes from…

Martha Stewart

Ouch.  I thought I’d feel better afterwards, but no.

For what it’s worth, though, is this is actually Martha’s mother’s recipe.  Let’s face it, even though Martha was once part of that housewife (or househusband, as the case may be)-powerhouse rat-race, rivaled only by Oprah for notoriety, the fact that she still had to give up her Alpha status to her Mom is worth noting.

I’ve made many, many an attempt at borscht, and the results have been varying.  I once thought I’d found the perfect borscht here in Vancouver, but they’ve since changed the recipe, and now it’s a gauzy, albino shadow of the beety perfection it once was.

This recipe, however, has met and exceeded my expectations.  It’s sweet, savoury, earthy, and perfect as a hearty meal on its own in winter, or as a bright luncheon soup in warmer weather.  Not convinced?  Go heavy on the sour cream for hearty, heavy on the dill for lighter.

I’m just gonna link you to the recipe (and video clip featuring Martha’s mom), because I am NOT about to take any chances with going up against that woman’s copyright lawyers!  She may have survived prison, but don't expect me to.

Mrs. Kostyra's Borscht

Enjoy!