Borscht soup

1. Place beets in a large soup pot and add enough water to cover. Cover and boil for about 1 hour (some beets take longer, some take less time. It depends on how old the beets are). Once you can smoothly pierce the beets with a butter knife, remove from the water and set aside to cool. Keep the water. If making less servings, dump out some water.

2. While beets are boiling, cut up carrots, celery, and onion. Set aside.

3. Slice potatoes, add into the same water (after removing beets) and boil 15-20 minutes. Thinly shred 1/2 cabbage head and add it to the pot when potatoes are halfway done.

4. Add 4 Tbsp of cooking oil to the skillet and saute carrots, celery, and onion until they are soft (7-10 minutes). Stir in tomato puree and a large pinch of salt when they are almost done cooking. Set aside.

5. Peel and slice the beets into match sticks and add them back to the pot once the potatoes have been boiling 15-20 minutes.

6. Add broth, lemon juice, fresh pepper, salt, and cans of beans (with their juice) to the pot. Add sauteed mixture to the pot along with chopped dill and oregano.

7. Cook another 5-10 minutes, until cabbage is done.

8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.