Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> You are such a snot, Bubba. Really. Seriously. I'm prone to
> depression but have never been suicidal.

What?! You've just thrown away *at least* a dozen blue ribbons and
received just four measly black ones and you are not suicidal?! Have
you neither honour nor shame, woman?!

> Homicidal, maybe, when the
> Beet Boy knocks on the door. "-)

Yes, we all know about all those Beet Boys knocking on your door at all
hours, delivering bushels o' beets. Are you angry with one of them for
delivering less than stellar quality ones?

> Do you like pickled beets? I need to
> know because I'd hate to waste the postage if YOUR TRUE COLOR shown
> through and YOU don't eat them, either. Come to think of it, I've
> never seen you express much interest in them other than to needle me.

Never express interest? How about my borscht recipe I posted about a
thousand times? How about beets Trans-Volga-style I posted almost as
often? How about svekolnik, for which pickled beets are eminently
suitable? See the recipe below.

> Hmmmmm?? I gotta say, though, that the Beety Beauty schtick never fails
> to crack me up. Prevert. (And that's how it's spelled, by the by!)

I'm Jacques Prévert? But that means I've been dead for quite some time,
or else I've been channeling him.

Now about svekolnik (cold clear beet soup). Note: original svekolnik
was made with beet greens, but with no beetroots. Nowadays, it is a
vegetarian version of the Polish chlodnik, made with beetroots and,
often enough, and also with beet greens. The traditional recipe is
below, but svekolnik can be made with pickled beets and I do it often
enough. If using pickled beets, you will need the pickling liquid
(which is often identical to beet kvas (fermented beet juice)), as well
as a quantity of additional kvas. You can make your own kvas or buy it
if it is available (in Germany, it is sold at health food shops). If
you make the soup this way, there is no need to cook anything but eggs.
Wonderful in hot weather. It is bound to become your favourite.

Svekolnik (pronounced sveh-KOL-nik)

2-3 medium-sized raw beets with leaves (more, if desired)
1 l/1 qt beet 'broth,' i.e. liquid in which the beets were cooked
lemon juice to taste
sugar to taste
1 hard-boiled egg or just egg white, chopped if desired
50 g/1.6 oz spring onions, chopped
2-3 medium-sized cucumbers, diced
2 tablespoons sour cream
5 g/0.16 oz parsley, chopped
5 g/0.16 oz dill

Wash the beets, cut off and reserve the leaves and cook beets in water
with lemon juice added, until soft. Take the beets out, let cool and
peel them. Strain and chill the 'broth'. Julienne or dice the beets,
combine them with the 'broth,' add sugar, eggs, chopped beet leaves,
spring onions, and cucumbers. Mix in sour cream. Before serving,
garnish with parsley and dill. If desired, one can also add cooked
diced potatoes and/or peeled and diced raw apples.

It might be a good idea to add some beet kvass (fermented beet juice).
In Germany, I can find it bottled. If you can't, you can easily prepare
your own. Here are some typical recipes (of kvass and of simple
infusions):

Simple beet infusion

Peel the beets and grate them. Cover with boiling water and put in a
warm place for 3-4 days. The ratio of beets to water is 1:2 by weight.

Boiled beet infusion

Peel and coarsely grate the beets. Cover with a cup of hot meat broth,
add citric acid and bring to the boil over high heat. Take from the
heat and let stand for 30 minutes.

Beet-bread kvass

Cube 0.5 kg (a bit over one pound) black rye bread, cover with 1.5 l
(1.5 quart) warm boiled water, add 6 peeled and sliced beets and let
stand for 2 days (in the sun during the day and in a warm place during
the night. On the third day, strain.