Myroslava cooked borscht on the third day of russian invasion of Ukraine, first time after the beginning of the war:
“Back then, there was still enough food, but almost no energy. Cooking while air raid sirens blaring was really scary. But I did. That borscht was a symbol of my resilience”
Then she cooked it once again. It was the period of goods’ shortage in stores so that borscht happened to be a kind of a quest – one had to seek for the ingredients in many places. They couldn’t find everything needed in the city, but after all, Myroslava’s boyfriend managed to get it from his parents.
Later on, they cooked borscht several more times, and each time it was not only about having a meal but also mental health supportive practice.
Myroslava recalls:
Well, I’d say that the first thing that crocked up during the full-scale war was my attitude to food. And the first thing I got back was my habit to eat good and beautifully presented food. As I used to do before.
Until February 24th, there were practically no buns, sausage, sweets, or desserts in my diet, but after the beginning of the war we started eating it almost every day. It felt as if I returned to my childhood, when no one had heard of healthy food, but everyone knew about limited supply, so that it was necessary to stock up on everything.
At first, I was afraid to post photos of my breakfasts on social media. Several times I was told that “while people are dying, you care about your food’s presentation “. With time I stopped paying attention to it, because these breakfasts kept me going.
There was a period when everything was swept off the shelves in stores. Me and my boyfriend were happy if we managed to find, after going to several stores, at least something that was not junk food.
However, over time, the number of pasta and potatoes on our plates decreased, and the amount of salads increased. At first, I was afraid to post photos of my breakfasts on social media. Several times I was told that “while people are dying, you care about your food’s presentation “. With time I stopped paying attention to it, because these breakfasts kept me going.
When a missile hit a residential building nearby, we moved to live in the corridor. This period coincided with my loss of taste: I ate not understanding what exactly. This is how the defense mechanism worked for me – through food.
But yesterday we cooked borscht again, as a symbol of our resistance and resilience.
I was in Kyiv all the time — and I don’t consider it heroic, really. I was just more afraid to leave than to stay. Was my decision right? I don’t know. I am still afraid of another shelling. But yesterday we cooked borscht again, as a symbol of our resistance and resilience.
Here is the recipe:
First, I poach ribs. At the same time, in another pot I boil washed beetroots. After the ribs start to boil, I drain the water and pour cold water over the ribs. Let them be cooked on a slow fire. Don’t cut it for now.
Then I peel potatoes and carrots. As soon as the water boils, I add them to the casserole for my future borscht. Remove the foam from the meat and vegetables, add seasonings and a pinch of salt. Ideally, beets should be cooked at that time.
When the potatoes are almost ready, I chop an onion and fry it in sunflower oil. At the same time I scrape and grate carrots. Then mix onion and carrots – let them fry. Then I peel and grate beetroots. Beetroots give not only flavor but also color, so the more beetroots we have, the better borscht will be.
I add it to the pan and mix with fried onion and carrots. Then I take 400-500 grams of sour cream, a few spoons of tomato paste, mix it well, add to the vegetables and simmer for 5-10 minutes. You can also add half a spoonful of vinegar – I do so, just pour it on the pan before vegetables. Then I take the ribs out of the pot, cut the meat into smaller pieces, and put it together with chopped cabbage to the borscht casserole. After I add fried vegetables. As you can imagine, a spoon in such borscht literally can stand 🙂
The final touch: chop a few cloves of garlic (or half a head, if you want it more spicy), wait until borscht, which should be over a slow fire, starts to boil again – and put it off the stove. Add some cut herbs.
After five minutes borscht is ready to eat. Smachnoho! (Bon appetit!)