upstairs inspirations

So we moved. Into a place just upstairs of where we were before. We now have a pantry so I feel like a real wife. Other benefits of the new place include a billion more inches of closet space, exposed brick (complete with covered up fireplace), and room to walk between the bed and the dresser. Trust me it's awesome.

We spent the weekend settling in to the new place. I love it so much I was inspired to get up early Sunday morning and make banana bread even before brunch. Then, to use up a large amount of our cabbage in one fell swoop, I made a big pot of borscht. The good kind. If you're looking for the secret Kootenay Dukabor Borscht recipe, here it is below. (And PS, it IS wonderful.)

In other news, can I just say it is REALLY hard to keep secrets - even Christmas secrets - from someone who you love, usually tell secrets to and happen to live with. Gah! Good thing we're doing our little Christmas next week so I don't have to wait too long.

Borsht for Fifty (Mary Hoodicoff)
16 cups water
1/2 lb & 1 tbsp butter
6 cups tomatoes, canned
1 1/3 tsp salt
1 medium beet
1 medium carrot
7-8 potatoes
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 cup chopped onions
8 cups chopped cabbage
1 medium green pepper
1 tbsp dill, chopped fine
2 green onions, chopped fine
black pepper

Fill pot with water and put to boil. In large frying pan, put in 1/4 cup butter and 3 cups tomatoes and let simmer. Into smaller frying pan also put 1/4 cup butter and 3 cups tomatoes and let simmer. Add salt to the boiling water. Chop carrot fine and also chop 1 tbsp beet fine, add the carrots, beets and remaining of whole beet to the boiling water. Peel potatoes and cut in half and add to water saving enough potatoes to make 1 cup diced to add later. Add a little more than half of the cream to the water and continue to boil. Next, add simmered tomatoes from large fry pan to the boiling water and vegetables in pot and continue cooking til the potatoes are cooked but not too soft. In the meantime, put 1/2 cup butter into large pan, add chopped onions and fry til onions are transparent then add 4 cups shredded cabbage. Continue to saute but do not brown. Take cooked potatoes from pot, also the whole beet (beet may be discarded). Add the diced potatoes to pot of boiling water. Mash potatoes, add 1 tbsp butter and the remaining cream. Set aside. Add the remainder of the cabbage to pot and watch closely so it does not boil. Turn off head and slowly add mashed potato mixture, followed by the remainder of tomatoes and fried cabbage and onions. Add chopped green pepper and a dash of black pepper, green onions and dill sprinkled on top.

non-boxed comfort

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8 after a mere 20 minutes prep time plus 1 hour and 40 minutes in the oven!! Also freezes will for those of you who are pre-planners for the sole reason that at some future date you will not have to pre-plan. If you are such a person, simply freeze in portion-sized OVEN SAFE (I made that mistake once...) containers. If you're more a "I'm-hungry-and-want-my-mac-and-cheese-now-and-only-now" kind of person, follow the recipe and then bake the last 20/30 minutes uncovered until golden and bubbling.

1 pound macaroni or other smallish pasta
Coarse salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (12 ounces)
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)
3 cups very coarse fresh breadcrumbs

1. Cook pasta (if you don't know how to do this, stop now). Drain, rinse, and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat 4 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; whisk for 1 minute. Add milk, cayenne, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons salt; bring to a simmer...but never a boil. Cook/whisk until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (2-3 minutes). Whisk in cheeses until smooth. Give the past a nice bath in the cheese. Put in baking dish(s).
3. Melt remaining butter (2 tbsp) and toss with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over pasta. (Now, if you're the freezing type, pack up your dinners and freeze 'em.)
4. Preheat oven to 375° and put the dish (frozen or unfrozen). Cover with foil and bake until bubbling - 60-70 minutes for large dishes, 40-50 minutes for small dishes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is golden.