' Behind the scenes....& warm beef borscht! '

 ‘COOKING WITH MAVIS’  # ‘ A baker’s dozen  ’  ‘Behind the scenes…& beef borscht’

“ Behind the scenes…….”

I fixate while asleep…yes, can-you-believe that !   

I fixate on what to blog next, or I  have in my Mind   the exact configuration of yet another new photo-shoot-yet-to-be-taken …and……..what comes first?…the chicken?... or the egg?…the recipe?... or the idea of the photo?...the ingredients?...or the baked product?....and so, while asleep, my Mind  is a whirlpool of ideas just screaming to be born !

I  spent all of Saturday morning playing in my kitchen ...never do I  allow Myself   to indulge as such....but, aching to do pics for  “…’MAVIS’s “   blog...I  baked Granny Polly’s Blechkoechen to take pics…. stylized Blechkoechen, cut Blechkoechen, then took pics of Blechkoechen slices, and then slow roasted tomatoes...pics of the prep and ingredients!...then the bottled product too...also did bread-and-butter puds...prep…/ ingredients / finished product / of course, pics with / pics without  custard!  Whew...many hours of intense fun!... and food-styling bliss !

Best yet, is the fact that I can see behind-the-scenes, the ‘Google workings’ of my spot-of-blog -   the ‘stats’.. “stats? “ - you ask.....yes! ….S-T-A-T-I-S-T-I-C-S … showing me no! addresses…but rather how many ‘hits’ …and in which countries ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’   is read:

 It does my heart good when You  in Russia  read it…and You  too , in Latvia …and then there is NZ and Oz…and BOTSWANA and ZAMBIA!...and I know Some-of- You.. who open it in UK…and Israel too, Canada, due to Jo , has taken-off like a rocket, and ‘America North’ is adjusting quite well to “…’MAVIS “   …..and in Italia, that lonesome single ‘hit’…I-know-when- You -read-it!...and Malaysia, gosh! - I’d love to know who You.. are?....and France and Germany…Belgium too…occasionally…..Yes!... Mmmm, and neutral S-w-i-t-z-e-r-l-a-n-d  too! …a-an-and “…’MAVIS “   has progressed to Sweden!

…And home, being South Africa..wellllll……….You-hundreds-of-persons  are just absolutively supportive! 

“ …’Mavis”  is growing in girth!

And may I divulge, that a colleague in my office has so many times, spoken to me of  “that-blog-‘Mavis ”   …and had not the faintest notion that I was She! ...that is,  until  “Those-That-Knew”  spelled-it-out-plain-and-clear-to-her!

"....'Mavis" reaching across the Globe

         ' cookingwithmavis'  spreading across the world!

And so to recipes…..

     Mouthwatering warm beef borscht…   

This is beetroot  soup - a hearty meal-in-a-soup!

Easy and simple, and good-on-the-eye!

When making this soup, quantities don’t have to be exact. Adding the amounts of salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice are really according to your preference…

INGREDIENTS:

2 bunches fresh beetroot (this amounts to about 10 medium , or assorted sized beets)

¼  cabbage (or 1 baby cabbage is okay too)

1 medium onion

1 celery stalk

12 small young potatoes

500g stewing beef (okay if you use a little more – a couple of slices of beef brisket is nice to use)

6 dried bay leaves

2 tablespoons coarse (‘Kosher’) salt (or 1 tablespoon table salt)

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

½ cup sugar

Concentrated tomato purée (2x small 70g cans -  or similar amount)

¼ cup white vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

Juice of ½ large lemon

3 litres of water

Optional :  …..3 whole cloves added with the other seasoning at the start.

 METHOD:

1) Prepare your ‘mise en place’:

I make sure first that my “mise en place” (pronounced “ miz ɑ̃ plas “ ), is done!  - it’s a French phrase - literally means:  "putting in place" ….I suppose it’s the ‘pre-preparation’

- think ahead,  having everything at hand ready to use  - bowls, knives, utensils, peeler, dishtowel to wipe the beet-stained fingers!, BEFORE  you start to peel the beets!...they’re going to make a very pink mess!

2) Wash and peel onion, potatoes, beets

3) Finely slice the onion and the celery stalk

4) Finely shred the cabbage, and beets

5) Then cut the beef into bite-size cubes

6) With the water, add all ingredients into a large pot, including the whole, peeled potatoes, bay leaves, salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar  (keeping the lemon juice to put in at the end of cooking).

7) Put on medium heat, and when it begins to gently boil, skim off any “foam” from the meat, if any.

8) Then turn the heat down to low, and simmer very gently, with lid on, for 2 more hours.

9) Add fresh lemon juice, and season further to taste, adding more sugar/ salt /pepper if necessary.

10) Serve with a whole potato from the pot, in each bowl…..

         …b-b-b-bbb-beet-the-beat-beetroot-b-b-bbeet..roooooot……..

                    Borscht - warm, beef borscht

* And for them-of-You who have just discovered ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’… see how ‘Mavis  got her name…in blog #9 (“Clora….”)

- You might even discover the simply scrumptious Semolina-and-Rosewater cake in blog #3 (“Running away from ‘Mavis…”) Mmmmmmmm!!!

Until next time…..

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’