Russian Beet Borscht for Longevity

Our Valentine Cocktail to start off dinner

Why not make something good for the heart this Valentine's Day?

Love beets? ? Both sets of my Russian grandparents thrived on Borscht ( Cold beet soup), and my paternal grandmother lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and seven! Until her death, she was feisty, dignified, happy ,and with it.. Longevity was prevalent with my Russian ancestors and so was borscht ( is there a connection??)

This is a picture of my relatives. ( 1940's in Brooklyn, NY)

My paternal grandmother made homemade winter borscht with beets, potatoes, cabbage, meat bones, and meat. It was served hot and was a hearty healthy meal for the cold nights in Russia.

However, when she came to America, she started making a vegetarian variety of borscht which she served ice cold and topped with a generous scoop of creamy sour cream. When my paternal grandmother put the borscht and sour cream in the blender, it turned a beautiful hue of hot pink. It was a cooling meal on many a hot , humid, New Jersey night.

Are beets healthy? You bet. Beets are powerful cleansers and help build the blood. Beets are a good source of vitamins and minerals and a very absorbable form of iron.

This vegetarian gluten free borscht recipe contains not only beets but other healthy root vegetables as well. I like to use organic vegetables, which I think enrich the taste and reduce the pesticides.

Personally, I never really developed a taste for borscht until I was an adult.

However, I do love beets and will now occasionally make some summer borscht topped with creamy Greek yogurt. It's good in the winter too..

I don't use the commercially produced jars of borscht because they contain lots of added sugar and the broth is really thin and sweet- almost like a drink.

My homemade borscht can be delightfully tangy because I add a little lemon.

Think you can't eat the recommended five vegetables a day? Think again and think borscht.

Simple Russian Beetroot Soup (Borscht) serves four.

If you are not into beets, you can think about an awesome Valentine dessert , chocolate covered strawberries quick easy and delicious!

I decided to make it in the crock pot.

Ingredients

Directions:

Turn crock pot on high and spray with olive oil spray. Add chopped onion, carrots, and garlic and allow to saute for about 10 minutes, stirring as needed. Add beats and water and lemon . Cook on high for 3 and half hours. Chill and then blend in the blender with or without Greek Yogurt or sour cream .

Cook in the crock pot on high for 3 and 1/2 hours or in a pot for 2 hoursBlend with or without Greek Yogurt

My grandparents drank their borscht from a glass..

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Chocolate covered strawberries

I just recently discovered a website that has a soup linkys on Sunday. I'm going to submit this soup recipe, so pop over on Sunday and check out all the great soup recipes.

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