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Summertime always brings back memories of my visits \u201cback home\u201d with my family. When my three children (now all married, with families of their own) were young, I would travel to Winnipeg each summer to visit my parents and spend treasured moments with friends and relatives.<\/p>\n
One of the highlights of my trip was visiting with my late Auntie Adele, Uncle Hy and their four children. We would sit in their backyard, baking in the warm summer sun and nibbling on the baked treasures stored in Auntie Adele\u2019s cookie tins.<\/p>\n
She always had several jars of homemade cold borscht and a big bowl of her super coleslaw in the refrigerator. Her cooked borscht was made with fresh beets and she would always add a beaten egg to the cooled borscht to lighten the color. Her coleslaw could be made in advance and stayed crisp for several weeks because the dressing was boiled first.<\/p>\n
I asked her for her coleslaw recipe, which she gladly shared with me, along with many other tried and true treasures that are in my recipe files. I adapted the method for my food processor cookbook and have been making it for years.<\/p>\n
When I called my mother long distance the other day to have one of our special \u201ctravels-through- time- through-recipes\u201d discussions, I asked her if she remembered where the recipe originated for Adele\u2019s coleslaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course!\u201d she replied. (My mother always says \u201cOf course!\u201d when I ask if she remembers a recipe or a person. My mom\u2019s name is Belle Rykiss and her memory is as \u201cclear as a bell\u201d when it comes to food.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave that recipe to Auntie Adele. In fact, I taught Adele how to cook and gave her many of my recipes because I had been married longer. That coleslaw recipe was never Adele\u2019s, it wasn\u2019t even mine. I got it from Edna, who used to work for me many years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next, the discussion turned to my mother\u2019s potato salad. Mom declared \u201cYou know, it\u2019s very important to boil the potatoes in their skins.\u201d I replied \u201cYes, I always do that, just like you taught me. I boil the eggs together with the potatoes at the same time, then peel and cut them up while they are still warm. Then I add celery, onions and mayonnaise, although I know you used to add Miracle Whip.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother asked \u201cDo you sprinkle them with salt and drizzle a little oil over the warm potatoes? It\u2019s very important.\u201d I responded, \u201cMom, you never did that!\u201d And she declared \u201cI always did that! I learned that technique from Julia Child on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Mom, we never knew about Julia Child when I was a little girl. We didn\u2019t have TV until 1952 and I remember you making potato salad long before that.\u201d And Mom said \u201cOh, you\u2019re absolutely right! I adapted her technique many years ago and it seems like I\u2019ve always done it that way.\u201d And so I learned a new trick from an old cook.<\/p>\n
When I told my sister, Rhonda Matias, the story, she said, \u201cI have the same memories of Mom\u2019s potato salad recipe that you have. Over the years, Mom switched over to mayonnaise, but I didn\u2019t know about the salt and oil trick either. However, the one thing I do remember clearly was that she always sprinkled the top of the potato salad liberally with paprika, and I would try to figure out how to taste it without disturbing the paprika topping. I would try to shmear the paprika around after poking my finger in the middle, but it never looked quite the same and Mom always knew what I had done!\u201d<\/p>\n
My next culinary conversation with my mother was about her no-cook dairy beet borscht. Mom told me that she got the recipe from my cousin Irene Odwak of Winnipeg, who got it from my friend Phyllis Levy of Montreal when they met at the hairdresser many years ago in Montreal.<\/p>\n
I am a culinary sleuth, so I called Phyllis to check out the story. Imagine my surprise when Phyllis said she had no memory of ever meeting my cousin Irene and knew nothing about a no-cook borscht recipe!<\/p>\n
Phyllis begged, \u201cPlease send me your recipe! It sounds amazing. By the way, I make a killer cabbage borscht that I got from my mother-in-law. Would you like the recipe for that?\u201d I told her that she would have to wait her turn in a future article!<\/p>\n
My next call was to my cousin Irene. Thank goodness for my cheap long distance plan! Irene also had no memory of ever meeting Phyllis. \u201cI think I got the recipe for the borscht from Molly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh no,\u201d I replied. \u201cI can\u2019t spend an hour on the phone asking Molly about her recipe.\u201d To which Irene replied \u201cNot our cousin Molly. My sister Molly. You can\u2019t call her about the recipe because she\u2019s been dead for years!\u201d OY!<\/p>\n
We then recalled the famous family story about how my younger cousin Nancy Gordon wanted to make borscht for her father, my Uncle Hy. That lead to yet another phone call to Nancy. Nancy was in Winnipeg, visiting her father, so she called me back. Thank goodness she has a free long distance plan. This was becoming a marathon!<\/p>\n
I related the interwoven stories to her. Nancy then told me that when she made the no-cook borscht, her dad walked into her kitchen and saw all the jars of borscht sitting on the counter. When he tasted it, he exclaimed, \u201cThis tastes exactly like Adele\u2019s borscht! You must have worked so hard to make it! Do you think I could have a jar to take home?\u201d She gave him some borscht and he couldn\u2019t stop thanking her. Nancy never told him that it was a cheater\u2019s version of the original recipe and her dad still doesn\u2019t know the truth.<\/p>\n
I convinced Nancy that it would be a mitzvah if she would make a double batch of borscht for her dad and she agreed. We figured out that she could probably make it in her hotel room, it\u2019s that easy! Now Nancy will have to make up some sort of excuse to her dad on how she was able to \u201ccook\u201d borscht in a hotel room!<\/p>\n
She then reminded me that last summer when she visited her brother Brent in Vancouver, he was also craving his mother\u2019s borscht. Nancy had emailed me asking for the recipe and now Brent makes big batches of this wonderful cold soup all summer long, agreeing that it tastes like \u201cAdele\u2019s borscht\u201d even though it\u2019s a completely different recipe.<\/p>\n
And if you make this borscht for your family, along with my mother\u2019s potato salad and \u201cmy\u201dsuper coleslaw, you can create your own tapestry of culinary summertime memories. Enjoy!<\/p>\n
10 to 12 servings (about 14 cups).<\/p>\n
This light and refreshing soup tastes exactly like the dairy borscht my late Aunt Adele was famous for, but with none of the work. The color is incredible. Don\u2019t dare tell anyone how easy it is!<\/em><\/p>\n Serve chilled.<\/em><\/p>\n Keeps about 10 days. <\/em><\/p>\n * To freeze, pour borscht into storage containers, leaving at least 1 inch at the top of each container.<\/em><\/p>\n Source: Healthy Helpings by Norene Gilletz<\/em><\/p>\n 12 servings<\/p>\n Really delicious.<\/p>\n Source: Second Helpings Please! (Norene Gilletz, Editor)<\/em><\/p>\n 12 to 16 servings<\/p>\n I\u2019ve made this family favorite for years – it\u2019s a winner! The hot marinade keeps the coleslaw mixture crisp. For a colorful slaw, use a mixture of red and green cabbage.<\/em><\/p>\n * Coleslaw won\u2019t keep as long if sweetener is used instead of sugar. Some sweeteners become bitter when heated. Splenda is heat-stable and can be used with excellent results.<\/p>\n Source: The Food Processor Bible by Norene Gilletz<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summertime always brings back memories of my visits \u201cback home\u201d with my family. When my three children (now all married, with families of their own) were young, I would travel to Winnipeg each summer to visit my parents and spend treasured moments with friends and relatives. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":56812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking","category-recipes"],"yoast_head":"\nIngredients<\/span>:<\/h4>\n
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Instructions<\/span>:<\/h4>\n
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\n(My cousin Nancy will have to buy grated canned beets if she\u2019s making this in her hotel room!)<\/em><\/li>\n
\nPotato Salad<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Ingredients<\/span>:<\/h4>\n
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Instructions<\/span>:<\/h4>\n
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\nSuper Coleslaw<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Ingredients<\/span>:<\/h4>\n
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Instructions<\/span>:<\/h4>\n
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\nGrater<\/span>: Use the mini feed if your machine has one. Grate carrots, using firm pressure. Add to cabbage.
\nSteel Blade<\/span>: Drop garlic and green onions through feed tube while machine is running; process until minced. Add to cabbage.<\/li>\n