A Lazy Day Recipe

Wow, it's been a few months since I blogged! The year is almost over and since I am currently on my Winter Break from school, I thought I'd at least do one post before school starts up again. Yesterday was one of those days when all I wanted to do was stay at home and do nothing. Christmas weekend was extremely busy and exciting and yesterday I just felt exhausted! I lazily dragged myself to the fridge to see if we could make it through the day without my having to cook anything. Sadly, I realized that spending some time in the kitchen was inevitable. With a great sigh, I settled down to eat the previous night's leftovers: Shuba and chocolate cake. I'm telling you, nothing compares to a pickled herring salad and a chocolate pastry for breakfast. And when I say that it was actually delicious, I am not lying. The best part is that I didn't have to make breakfast.

As I already admitted, yesterday I was just plain lazy. I was trying to think of something easy that I could make for dinner, say fry up some eggs and potatoes. Sadly, I used up all my eggs to make that pickled herring salad and that chocolate cake. And it's funny how when you're 16 and get your driver's license you want to drive everywhere, but in a few years it gets old and all you want is your personal chauffeur. So driving to the grocery store was out of the question for me. Changing out of my pj's required way too much effort. I decided I'll see how long I can last without having to make anything at all. So when my daughter asked for food and all I could offer her was some mac & cheese I decided I really do need to cook something a bit more healthy. The trick was to cook something that can last more than a day so that the next day (today!) I can truly relax and be lazy. I sound like a sloth right now, don't I? The answer was plain and simple: Borscht! Borscht is super healthy, very easy (although prep work may take some time), and it taste even better on day two. So here you go, on your next lazy day, you can make borscht, too. This is my super easy variation. A true borscht is made with pork, but I use chicken because chicken is much easier and much cleaner. Also, one important aspect is to never let it boil. Keep it on medium to medium-low heat at all times.

Red Borscht with Chicken

3 chicken drumsticks

3 quarts water

1 tbps. vegetable oil

1 medium carrot, grated

1 small onion, chopped

2 medium beets, grated

1/4 small head of cabbage, shredded

3 medium potatoes, chopped small

1 16 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 tbsp. kosher salt

a few sprigs of dill and parsley, chopped

1. For the broth: In a large pot, combine drumsticks and water and cook slowly on medium-low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat starts to come off the bone. Skim occasionally. Remove the cooked drumsticks and set aside to cool. Strain broth through a sieve and return to clean pot. When drumsticks are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone and shred with your fingers. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet, add the grated carrot and chopped onion and cook on medium-high heat until transluscent, about 7 minutes. Set aside.

3. To assemble the borsht: To the hot broth, add the grated beats and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, until they soften. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for 5 minutes until limp. Add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes, until fork tender. Add the reserved shredded chicken meat, the reserved fried carrots and onions, and the kidney beans. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until flavors blend. Season with salt, pepper, dill, and parsley. Add more salt & pepper and herbs to your liking.

Note: You can make the broth one day ahead and refrigerate the strained broth and shredded meat separately. The next day, reheat the broth on medium heat until it starts to warm up (don't let it simmer or boil) and follow the rest of the recipe.

Serve borscht with a dollop of sour cream and some hearty rye bread. Yum!