Julia's Borscht

I do not have written recipes. I cook borsch similar to the way my grandma and my mom did it, with my modern modifications to cut on time and work. So here is what I do:

I use the following ingredients:

2 cans of beets, cut or sliced
1 can of green peas
3-4 potatoes
A package of shredded carrots (About two cups I think)
A package of shredded cabbage (sometimes I use only half of it when I do not want too much cabbage)
0.5-1 lbs of beef cut in small 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 of onion, chopped
Salt - by taste
Sugar - two packets
Lemon juice - 1-2 table spoons

In a big pot, I boil beef for about 30-40 min. Normally I get it to boil, boil for a few minutes, then discard the liquid and wash the beef (and the pot) real well. Then use new water to start over. This way you get rid of most of the nasty cholesterol.

After the beef is ready, I add potatoes, cabbage and carrots and boil another 20 min until cooked. In the meantime, I fry onion in olive oil. Then I add a can of green peas and beets (if I bought sliced beets, I cut then in smaller pieces), get to boil and turn the heat off. At this point, I add the fried onion, salt, sugar and lemon juice. Done!

If you really want to follow the correct recipe, buy real beets, peel and boil the WHOLE beets together with beef, starting in the second water. My grandma's recipe: always cook whole beets, then after they are fully cooked pull out of the soup and shred. This is to retain the bright red color. This works for the simple beet soup as well: this is a much easier summer version that is normally done with just beets and potatoes, nothing else, but with sugar/lemon juice eat the end. You eat it cold, right from the fridge, adding sour cream and scallions. I do not bother with this and use canned beets, shame on me :-)