naughtyFirst, get some beets and a shirt you don't like very much....
I got three red beets and three golden beets, three carrots, two purple-top turnips (the little tender ones you can eat raw if you are so minded), a parsnip, a head of garlic, three celery stalks, and a big white onion. I also got two pounds of stew beef (cubed chuck roast.)
I scrubbed all the underground veg and cut it in one inch cubes, not bothering to peel anything, though I did stem and end it. Then I tossed everything in a little olive oil and sea salt and vinegar (vinegar keeps the beets red) and put it in the oven on 350 for an hour in my big cast iron skillet to roast and sweeten.
While that was doing its thing, I seared the beef in the big stock pot in a little avocado oil. There wasn't enough fat on this stuff for self-cooking. I took it out and set it aside while still quite rare but heavily browned (except for three or four or five pieces that got salted and put inside the Bear, for lunch) and then I added the (now chopped onion) to the stock pot and sauteed it a bit. When it was smelling good, I added bay leaves and dill and chicken stock, though beef stock would have worked fine too. I put the crushed up garlic and the chopped up celery on top, and then the roasted root vegetables, and then the meat and its juices. And then I cooked it on low until the meat was tender, and cleaned up the beet-related bloodbath in the kitchen.
It did not come out as vividly scarlet as it does when you grate the beets and add canned beets and the tinning juice, but it's quite tasty. Could probably use a bit more vinegar. Best served with slivered salted raw garlic sprinkled on top, and a spoonful of sour cream, and the blackest crustiest rye bread you can find.
It made about seven pints. I will have borscht for a while.
Oh, and I went for a long walk and mostly figured out "Chatoyant." Now I just have to write it. But I may give myself the weekend off.
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