Cabbage Borscht

At Thomas' request. The recipe I "use" is in The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes, but as I was looking at it the other day I realized that if one followed this recipe verbatim it has the potential to become a pot of bones with a lump of onion and a whole cooked cabbage... so I'll write it out the way I make it. It's one of those "start with what you've got, and see where you end up" kind of recipes. So... let's see where we end up.


You will need: soup bones and/ or beef bouillon, a large onion, a small green cabbage, 4 or 5 medium potatoes, fresh dill or dried dill weed, fresh or dried parsley, a bay leaf, a can of condensed tomato soup, cream/whole milk/condensed milk. *Leftover roast beef is a good add-in option. I frequently make this soup with bouillon and add leftover beef at the end, with the tomato soup.

If you're starting with soup bones, put them in a large pot and cover with cold water. Simmer for 3 hours; Remove bones and strain the broth into a large bowl.

Finely chop the onion, and grate, shred or finely chop the cabbage (as for making Cole slaw). Clean and/or peel the potatoes, then dice them.

Put onion, cabbage and potatoes into the large pot. Add the beef broth and measure in enough water to cover, OR just cover with water. For every cup of water you use, add 1 teaspoon of beef bouillon. Add the dill, parsley and bay leaf.

Cook until the vegetables are tender.

Add the tomato soup. If you have quite a large pot full, (if your cabbage was bigger than mine or something) you may have to add two cans of soup. Let it simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavours. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Just before serving, add cream/milk/condensed milk (1-2 cups) OR have the cream available for each person to add as much or as little as they like.