Recipe ~ Instant Pot Borscht ~ Comfort, Colour, and a Bowlful of History

As always, if you just want the recipe without the story behind it, click here,.

There’s a reason borscht has survived centuries and borders: it’s not just a soup — it’s a ritual in red. Earthy beets lend their jewel-toned magic, beef bones infuse the broth with richness, and the tang of lemon ties it all together in a single, steaming spoonful that feels like home, no matter where you’re from.

The rest of the bone broth waiting to go in the pot

This version honours that old-world heart while embracing the speed of modern life. The Instant Pot turns what once demanded an entire afternoon of simmering into a meal that comes together in just about an hour and forty minutes, start to finish - tender beef, sweet-savoury vegetables, and that unmistakable crimson glow that makes the kitchen smell like nostalgia itself.

I first tasted borscht at a large camping event back in the early 2000s, and it was so delicious that I just had to have the recipe. So I did what any food-obsessed camper would do — I begged very prettily, full on, shameless, big, brown puppy eyes engaged, until the chef caved.

What I got was a 300-serving recipe, complete with measurements in grams and litres, written in that mysterious shorthand of professional cooks who assume everyone owns a compact car sized cauldron and a crew. From there, the challenge was scaling it down to a non-insane, household version and translating everything into regular, USA-style kitchen logic.

This involved more math than any meal deserves, but I wanted that, exact borscht - not a simplified version, not a “close enough.” So I sat down and did the math (with lots of help from Google and conversion calculators!), scaling everything down precisely before buying a single ingredient. The first time I made it, it was exactly as I remembered it from the event.

For years after, I made it the traditional way: slow, aromatic, and all-consuming — the kind of recipe that fogs up all the windows, and makes the house smell like comfort itself. I made a few tweaks to the recipe over the years, to make it more to my exact tastes, budget, and to make it a little healthier (and even more delicious, IMO!) too. It was worth it every time, but let’s be honest - a meal that takes all day to coax into perfection isn’t exactly weeknight-friendly.

Enter the Instant Pot. With a few order of operations and timing adjustments, I finally managed to capture that same deep, ruby richness without sacrificing an entire afternoon to the stove gods. It’s the same flavour I fell in love with, just with modern magic doing the heavy lifting, and allowing just enough time to shape, rise, bake, and cool a nice loaf of crusty, slow fermented, no knead bread to serve alongside every bowl. (That recipe will be coming soon!)

So here it is: the evolution of my borscht. Same flavour, less waiting — because life’s too short to stand watch over a pot all day… unless you want to.

Serve it the traditional way, with a dollop of sour cream or thick Greek yogurt and a scatter of fresh dill, and you’ll swear it’s been cooking since sunrise.
(But your Instant Pot and I will know the truth.)

Instant Pot Borscht

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour, 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour, 40 minutes
(Cook time includes IP coming to pressure and release time)
Yield: 6-10servings
Method: Instant Pot

Equipment

• Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• ~3 lbs Bone in beef shank (can sub bone in beef chuck, beef short ribs, or oxtail)
• 2-3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 Med-Lg onions, chopped or sliced
• salt & pepper for meat 
• 1 tsp paprika
• 5 Cups beef stock or bone broth
• 0.5 lb carrots, chopped or sliced
• 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 Med head red cabbage, chopped or shredded
• 1 lb beets (about 4 cups), chopped or sliced
• 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp white sugar
• 2-4 large potatoes, sliced or large diced (optional)
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish/to mix in
• fresh dill for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Salt and pepper both sides of meat well.
2. Brown meat & onion with paprika in oil on sauté. 
3. Remove meat from pot.
4. Add broth & deglaze pot w/wooden spoon.
5. Return meat + remaining beef stock to pot.
6. Set for 30 minutes on high pressure, and allow 15 mins natural release. 
7. Remove meat again, add remaining ingredients except lemon juice to broth & set for 5 minutes w/quick release.
8. While veg is cooking, cut/shred beef into bite sized chunks.
9. Return beef to pot along with lemon juice and stir well.
10. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt in each bowl.
11. Yum yum!!

Notes

• Using homemade bone broth instead of instant significantly improves the depth and richness of flavour!!
• This goes very well with slabs of rustic, crusty, buttered bread!

• This can be made vegan or vegetarian by omitting the meat and sour cream, and just using vegetable broth. 

Click here for more great recipes!

Recipe ~ Ram Copycat Beer Cheese Soup (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or Stovetop)

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

 

October "officially" kicks off soup season, especially thick and hearty soups to ward off the fall chills, and since I've already posted my Oktoberfest Ale Potato Cheese Soup, which I've already made twice in the last couple weeks, I figured I'd post the one that was actually the impetuous for that one - My Ram Copycat Beer Cheese Soup. 

 

 This is a seasonal soup they serve, and it has changed somewhat over the years, from what I can glean on archived versions of their website, but this is the one that was my personal favourite, from sometime in the 2010s, that used their Buttface Amber Ale, and was chock full of rich, creamy cheeses, bacon, ham, celery, and carrots. 

I am sure that my version is not exactly the same as theirs. Their recipe is proprietary, and, unlike many restaurant recipes, theirs seem to remain pretty solidly locked down. That doesn't stop dedicated cooks who happen to be super-tasters/smellers from coming up with the closest thing possible, though, and what I came up with, after lots of research on the ingredients that I COULD confirm being in their recipe (one ingredient search at a time, and a very tedious process, but worth it!), was pretty damn close! Definitely close enough to skip the trip to the restaurant and have it at home most of the time. 

 

Whether you've had the pleasure of enjoying the Ram's beer cheese soup or not, I guarantee this is a delight for the taste-buds! The only problem is being too full when you still want to eat more of it. 

Ram Copycat Beer Cheese Soup

 

(Times based on Instant Pot Method. Other methods take longer)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings

 

Ingredients: 

•     1/2 lb bacon, diced (ends and pieces or thick sliced is best)
•     1/2 lb ham, cubed, bite sized (can sub additional 1/2 lb bacon)
•     2 large white or yellow onions, chopped or sliced
•     2 Tbs minced garlic
•     1 Cup carrots, finely chopped
•     1 Cup celery, finely chopped
•     8 Tbs butter (1 stick)
•     1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
•     1/4 tsp cayenne
•     1/2 tsp+ fresh ground pepper medley, (or black pepper) - to taste
•     1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
•     1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
•     1 tsp dry mustard powder
•     12-24 oz Ram's Buttface Amber Ale, or another, similar amber ale (Like Alaskan)
•     2 Cups half-and-half
•     2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
•     ~4-6 Cups chicken broth (bone broth is best, and you can make it for almost free!)
•     1 Tbs Dijon mustard
•     16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
•     8 oz Colby & Monterey jack cheese, shredded (can sub jack, mozzarella, Havarti, muenster, or white American)
•     4 oz cream cheese, cubed or sliced for even incorporation
•     8 oz sour cream or plain, Greek yogurt

Directions: 

• Heat a large pot or Dutch oven (Or skillet, for Slow Cooker) over med-high heat, or set the Instant Pot to "Sauté", add bacon, and cook until almost crisp. 
•     Add the butter to the pot.
•     When butter has mostly melted, add the ham, onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 5–7 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened.
•     Add the minced garlic, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant. 
•     Sprinkle the flour over the cooked vegetables, and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to create a light roux. 
•     Slowly whisk in the ale, making sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
• If USING SLOW COOKER: Transfer contents of skillet to slow cooker, stir in all remaining ingredients except cheeses and sour cream/yogurt, and cook on high 4 hours or low 8 hours, stirring in cheeses and sour cream/yogurt in the last 20 minutes of cooking, and serve when it's all mixed in smoothly. Otherwise...
•  Stir in broth and Worcestershire sauce.   
• IF USING INSTANT POT: lock & seal lid, and cook on "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" for 4–5 minutes, with a natural release, and skip to the last step. Otherwise...
• Reduce heat to med-low and gradually stir in half & half, then simmer 10–15 minutes, until thickened slightly.
• Reduce the heat to low, add Dijon, and gradually stir in cheeses, stirring continuously until the cheese is completely melted and the soup is smooth.         
•  IF USING INSTANT POT: After quick release, open lid, add half & half, Dijon, and gradually stir in cheeses and sour cream/yogurt, stirring continuously until the cheese is completely melted and the soup is smooth.

• Garnish With:
  

  •     Crispy bacon bits
  •     Shredded cheese(s)
  •     Chopped green onions (scallions) 
  •     Parsley
  •     Popped popcorn (apparently, that is a thing)
  •     Whatever else sounds good! 

Notes: 

• Do not let the soup boil after adding the cheese! It will separate and the texture will be grainy/curdled.

Recipe ~ Cheater Instant Pot Spaghetti

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

My regular, Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe is definitely WAY better than this, but we all know that sometimes, we just need something really fast and easy, and this spaghetti hits all the comfort food buttons in short order along with the quick and easy ones. 

 I, again, borrowed from the bare bones IP spaghetti recipe I found online elsewhere for this, but it is still more involved than that one. 

You can just omit the  majority of the ingredients, other than the pasta, sauce, and water, and it will basically be that other recipe, and will be a passable quick meal, but so would just having a pack of ramen with a few spare condiment packs stirred in. 

 

The added ingredients only add an extra 5-10 minutes, and make SUCH a difference in the final product, that I feel like it's worth it every time. 

 

Also, like most on this site, this recipe is for a BIG batch, that either feeds a lot of people with 6-8 LARGE servings (as in, there aren't side dishes in the meal - it IS the meal), or has leftovers to eat later, whether that means you're having it for every meal until it's gone, or portioning, packaging, and freezing for next time you need something even MORE quick and easy, like a freezer meal. 

 

Cheater Instant Pot Spaghetti

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15-25 minutes (including time to come to pressure & natural release time)
Yield: 6-8 servings

Equipment:

•  Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker

Ingredients: 

    • 2 lbs Ground Beef, Meatballs, Italian sausage, or other meat (can reduce for cost or health)
    • 1-2 Tbs minced garlic (OR 2 tsp garlic powder for faster & easier)
    • 2 med onions, chopped, diced, or sliced, as preferred (OR 2 tsp onion powder for faster & easier) 
    • 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning (to taste)
    • 2 Pound Spaghetti Noodles
    • 2 (48 Ounce) Jars Spaghetti Sauce
    • 1.5 Jars Water 
    • 2 (29 Ounce) Cans Diced Tomatoes or tomato sauce

Directions: 

    • Set IP to sauté and add ground beef.   
    • Add garlic, onion and Italian seasoning.   
    • Cook, breaking meat up until browned & onions (if using) are tender.  
    • Break spaghetti in half and place on top of meat.   
    • Pour in spaghetti sauce, tomato, and water, ensuring pasta is completely covered in liquid. 
    • Seal and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes w/natural release 
    • Stir well & serve

Notes:

Recipe ~ Instant Pot Spaghetti

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

This is basically just my regular spaghetti sauce recipe, but with instructions for including the pasta right in the pot instead of cooking it separately in a different pot. The only differences are the pasta in the pot and the addition of extra water.

 I had previously found a recipe elsewhere for Instant Pot spaghetti, but I only really was going for the information I needed for time and additional liquid, cause the recipe itself was just straight up jarred sauce and pasta, which, IMO, doesn't really qualify as a recipe at all, but rather, a method. Anyway, I took into account the fact that the sauce would already be hot, and adjusted the cook time and liquid addition accordingly, and that's it. But I figured I'd post it anyway, since it's Spaghetti September and all. (Yes, I'm still going with that. I won't stop. I will make it a thing.)

 

So, without further ado, I present to you... 

Instant Pot Spaghetti

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
Total Time: 30-40 minutes (including time to come to pressure & natural release time)

Equipment:

•  Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker

 Ingredients: 

• 2 lbs Ground Beef, Meatballs, Italian sausage, or other meat (can reduce for cost or health)
• 1-3 Tbs Olive Oil
• 2 Lg Yellow Onions, Diced
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded & diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 lb or so carrots, chopped (or minced, it you want to hide them)
• 3-4 Lg stalks celery, roughly chopped
• about 8oz sliced mushrooms of desired type (fresh or canned-drained) 
• 1 Cup white wine (can sub red/merlot) 
• 2 cans (28oz) diced or stewed tomatoes (or 4 14oz)
• 1 can (14oz) crushed/pureed tomatoes
• 1 can (4oz) tomato paste
• 16-24oz good store-bought or homemade marinara sauce
• 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
• 2-4 plums, figs, or dates (fresh or dried), chopped, diced, or pureed (Or sub 2 Tbs sugar)
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/4 Cup finely minced fresh parsley (or 3 Tbs parsley flakes), more to taste
• 1 whole rind from one wedge parmesan (optional)
• 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)    
• 4 Cups water or broth
• 1 lb spaghetti pasta, broken in half 

 

Directions: 

• Set to sauté, add meat to pot and start to brown, breaking up into smaller pieces if ground.
• Add garlic onion, peppers, and seasonings, and continue sautéing, stirring regularly, until onion starts to turn translucent, adding olive oil if needed to prevent sticking (not usually needed with leaner meats).
• Add additional veggies and cook for another 3-5 minutes.     
• Deglaze pot with wine allowing it to boil and reduce for about 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes, paste, sauce, plums/figs/dates/sugar, parsley, Parmesan grated + rind and crushed red pepper (if using), and stir well.
• Seal and cook on high pressure for 20-30 minutes w/natural release, or 30-35 minutes w/quick release.
• Remove lid, add broth/water, stirring down to bottom of pot as well as able.
• Add pasta to pot in a criss-cross pattern, ensuring it is completely covered in liquid by pushing down with spoon or ladle. 
• Seal and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes w/natural release 
• Stir well & serve

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

I love this time of year, when the oppressive heat of summer has faded into crisp mornings, with the scent of dry and mulching leaves and a hint of wood smoke carried on the brisk, autumn breezes. 
It's the perfect time for hearty soups and fresh, whole grain breads to warm body and soul on these chilly nights! 

So, the other day, we got a bunch of extra potatoes from my daughter, and I had this Black Butte Porter that I'd been wanting to use in my Ram copycat beer cheese soup, but I didn't have any bacon or ham thawed. What I did have thawed though, was a pack of German sausages. Then I realised, "Hey! It's October! I should make an Oktoberfest soup thing!"  And thus was born this recipe. It turned out absolutely delicious, filling, and perfect with a nice, crusty bread. Round it out with a nice, dark greens salad and you've got a spread worthy of any table!

 

Oktoberfest Ale Potato Cheese Soup

Yield: approx 6 quarts

 

Ingredients: 

 • 3 Tbs olive oil
• 2-4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 med/lg onions, chopped or sliced
• 1 cup shredded or finely chopped red cabbage
• 1 lb German (or other) smoked sausages cut into disks about 1/4" thick
• About 1/4 lb baby carrots or chopped/sliced regular carrots
• 1 tsp sea salt (more or less to taste)
• 2-3 tsp freshly ground black pepper or pepper medley (more or less to taste)
• 1 Tbs smoked paprika 
• 1tsp mustard powder
• 6 or so cups bone broth (or filtered water +2 heaping Tbs each chicken and beef broth base)
• 8 or so medium sized potatoes (any variety/ies) - sliced or chopped into bite sized pieces 
• A pint or 2 of your favourite dark ale, porter, or stout (Try a pumpkin stout!!)
• 1-2 Cups shredded, sharp cheddar
• 1/2 - 1 lb sour cream or plain, Greek yogurt      

 

Directions: 

1. In a 6qt or larger pot, sauté onion, cabbage, and garlic in the oil until onions start to turn transparent
2. Add sausage and continue sautéing a few minutes longer, until the sausages are slightly seared.
3. Add carrots, spices, and broth base (if using) and sauté a few minutes more (keep stirring - be sure to scrape bottom of pot regularly).
4. Add potatoes, ale, and enough water/broth to reach just below the fill line/top of pot and give a good stir. (If using Instant pot, lock lid on with valve set to pressure and set it for 13 minutes on manual - let pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes or so - then ok to manually release. Skip steps 5 & 6).
5. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
6. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender.
7. Add cheese and sour cream/yogurt and stir in until smoothly combined.
8. Enjoy!  

This hearty, fall garden soup gets its lovely, golden colour from the carrots. 

I prefer to use all organic produce, and think it tastes better, though it isn't required.

I make it in the Instant Pot, however, I've included instructions for other methods as well.

For an easy to print version, click here to be taken to this recipe on All Recipes, and, if you like it (or even if you don't), please leave a review!

Potato Carrot Soup with Leeks and Kale 

 

Yield: approx 6 quarts

 
Ingredients:

• 8 - 10 medium sized potatoes (or equivalent - any variety/ies) - chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2-3 leeks - thickly sliced
• 1 good sized bunch of kale
• 1-2 large carrots with greens
• 1/4 lb bacon, chopped small
• 1-2 Cups shredded, sharp cheddar
• 1/4 - 1/2 Cup sour cream
• Sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper or pepper medley to taste
• Several healthy shakes Hungarian paprika (or the regular stuff, if you must)
• Enough Beef/chicken/vegetable broth to reach max fill line/almost top of pot (home made vegetable/bone broth is ideal!)

• 1/8 tsp nutmeg 

Directions:

• Cook bacon in large Dutch oven or soup/stock pot/Instant pot (on sauté setting) until nearly crisped, stirring regularly.

• While bacon is cooking, cut the greens off the carrots and stalks off the kale. Set aside tender greens. Chop/slice carrots and kale stalks and add to sauté when bacon is almost crisp, then thickly slice leeks and toss them in. Keep stirring, and be sure to scrape bottom of pot regularly!

• Add kale, carrot greens, and spices and sauté briefly (stir/scrape more).

• Add potatoes and broth and give a good stir.(If using Instant pot, lock lid on with valve set to pressure and set it for 13 minutes on manual - let pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes or so - then ok to manually release. Skip steps 5 & 6).

• Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

• Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender.

• Add cheese and sour cream and stir in well.

• Serve garnished with carrot leaves.

Notes:
• I like to double the bacon and vegetable sauté amounts, and scoop out half the mixture to freeze for another batch (or other soup/stew) before adding the potatoes and broth

• If you prefer a vegetarian/vegan version, omit the bacon and sauté the veggies in your oil of choice.
• Feel free to add other veggies, meats, spices, etc to personalise the dish!

Delicious, Nutritious, Hearty Bone Broth/stock for Free

This weeks thrifty food tip is how to make your own bone broth, absolutely free.

(I'm cheating here, and using lots of the wording from my vegetable broth post, so if it looks familiar, that'll be why!)

You can buy chicken or beef broth in cans, cartons, or powder at the store, but not only is it pretty expensive, even for the cheap stuff, but it is also usually full of preservatives and artificial flavours and colours and very high in sodium to boot. 

Instead, why not just make your own?

You'll need gallon freezer bags, a freezer, some cheesecloth  (optional, but makes things much easier) or a wok skimmer or strainer, and a crock pot/slow cooker, rice cooker, Instant Pot, stock pot, or other large pot for simmering or pressure cooker, and a marker. 

Every time you have bones left from cooking (or bringing home a roasted chicken), save them. You can even ask for take away bags/boxes to save bones from when you eat out, if you like. After all, you DID pay for everything on your plate!

Put them in all in labelled freezer bags and keep them in your freezer (if you have a deep freezer, better still!)
I have some separate bags for chicken, turkey, beef, pork, etc, some for general poultry, some specifically for smoked meats. You can separate them however you like.
When a bag gets full, time to make your broth (or start a new bag and make the broth later.. whichever). 

• Line your pot with the cheesecloth, if using and dump all the bones in. 
• Fill to the top with water. 
• Add any additional salt or seasoning, if desired.
• Turn the crock pot on low and let it go for 8-16 hours. 
  •  If you're using a rice cooker, turn it to the "cook" setting until it starts boiling, then leave it on warm for the same amount of time. Check water level periodically and add as needed.
  • If using the stove, bring to a boil and then simmer on lowest possible setting for 3-5 hours, at least. Check water level periodically and add as needed.
  • If you're using the Instant Pot/pressure cooker, set it to manual/pressure for 90-120 minutes and let it do a natural release.
• When it tastes like broth, turn off the heat and let it cool enough to handle. 
• Pull up the cheesecloth and squeeze out all the liquid you can into the pot, or skim solids out with a wok skimmer or strainer. (The bones and scraps can then be composted or added to animal feed. Just make absolutely sure the bones are soft enough to easily crush with your fingers before giving to animals)

That's it!

Once it's done, you can use it right away, or you can freeze or can it. For freezing, I suggest using a rinsed out, cardboard milk carton, freezer bags, reditainers, or, if you want more measuring control when you use it, ice cube trays.

A day in the Life of a "Make Ahead Cook"

0800

 The beets and rhubarb have dried from their washing on the counter overnight. I'm roasting them with carrots, shallots, a pear, goat cheese, and walnuts for supper this eve. This recipe, (without the fennel - cause I don't have any right now)

I've done my morning blood sugar testing and  taken my insulin. Now for coffee and a brief bit of socialising in a chat room over breakfast. (A very nice fruit and cheese plate)

Am I officially a "foodie"?

Someone mentions craving pho, and that sounds delish, so, I decide it would be a great idea to make up a pot!

Off to the freezer to see if I've got enough soup bones and such to make a good broth. I do, so I get to work. The bones are saved from previous meals. Smoked pork, chops,  beef roast,  steaks, etc. I also save veggie bits - celery ends, onion and garlic tops and skins, bell pepper stems and seeds, leaves or stalks that aren't good enough for using in a regular meal, etc. They will all have a second "life" in making a wonderfully flavourful bone and vegetable broth.

 First, to sauté the garlic, ginger, anise, cardamom, and veggie ends and pieces for the broth. I would normally put the fish sauce in now too, only, since I'm cooking the beets above it, and don't want that flavour added to the beets, I'll wait to do that.

  Next, since I like to pre cook the beets some in the Instant pot and peel them after, I go ahead and put them on the steamer insert on top of the veggies, and add enough water to soften them up. This will add a nice flavour to the broth, I think. I've used the beet water as a base for bone broth and soups plenty of times before. Never tried it for pho. Not precisely traditional. It should be interesting though.

In the meantime, I cut up the rhubarb and shallots, set them aside for later, and go back to some other household tasks.

 Once the beets are done, it's time to take them out to let them cool...

... Then toss the bones, salt, and fish sauce in the pot, along with the drippings from last night's beef roast.

 

 90 minutes, plus natural pressure release time in the Instant pot produces the same, delicious broth which used to take 4-12 hours simmering on the stove! It's a wonderful improvement!! No stirring, no monitoring. I just "set it and forget it" and come back to it later in the day.


That's about the time I decide that this would make a great blog entry, to give an idea of how this "make ahead" cooking can work, even if you're not willing or able to devote a full day or three every month to making an entire month's worth of meals to freeze ahead. This is a few meal's worth in almost the same amount of time it would take to make just one meal!

Fast forward to the afternoon. Lunch was a couple hours ago. (roast beef sandwiches from lst night's roast on fresh baked, rustic bread. OH yeah!)

 The beets are cooled and I'm taking a break from other duties, so I toss the rhubarb and shallots in olive oil and honey (even with the sweetness of the pears, the rhubarb needs a bit of honey to "tame" it.),

 

 I pop that in the oven for a bit whilst peeling and slicing the beets, and coring and slicing the pear.




Of course, I save the beet ends and skin too - they're going in the dog food! (more on that later).

Back to other things as I wait 'til time to add the rest of the ingredients to the roasting pan. I've got some more produce from my weekly Terra Organics delivery to sort, wash, and put away, and a couple recipes to type out before I forget what went into them.

It's getting on toward evening now.
Next up: add the beets, pear, nuts, and goat cheese to the shallots and rhubarb, toss it a bit, and back in the oven for its final stretch. This gives me just enough time before supper's ready to strain and decant the pho broth into the broth jug for another day or few (it's a lot of broth!)
Then I put the bones and scraps back into the pot, along with the beet skins and ends with more water and some rice and oats for some tasty, home made dog food in the coming days.

Now, the food is ready and that's good, cause all these amazing smells have been driving me insane ALL day.

Roasted Rhubarb & Beets with Goat Cheese & Walnuts

YUM!

Vegetable broth for free!

This weeks thrifty food tip is how to make your own vegetable broth, absolutely free.

You can buy vegetable broth in cans, cartons, or powder at the store, but not only is it pretty expensive, even for the cheapo stuff, but it is also usually full of preservatives and artificial flavours and colours and very high in sodium to boot. 

Instead, why not just make your own?

You'll need a gallon freezer bag, a freezer, some cheesecloth
 (optional, but makes things much easier) or a wok skimmer and a crock pot/slow cooker, rice cooker, Instant Pot, stock pot, or other large pot for simmering or pressure cooker, and a marker. 

Every time you make a salad, trim veggies for dinner, slice onions, etc, there are some bits, like ends, stems, peels, and such that usually get thrown out. 

All you have to do is start saving those bits in a freezer bag kept in your freezer. Green onion caps, onion skins, celery and cucumber ends, tomato cores and stems, bell pepper seeds, stems and the white "pulpy" bits, artichoke stems, green bean ends, carrot peelings... You name it! Toss it all in the bag. When it gets full, time to make your vegetable stock (or start a new bag and make the stock later.. whichever). 

• Line your pot with the cheesecloth, if using and dump all the trimmings in. 
• Fill to the top with water. 
• Add any additional salt or seasoning, if desired.
• Turn the crock pot on low and let it go for 8-16 hours. 
  •  If you're using a rice cooker, turn it to the "cook" setting until it starts boiling, then leave it on warm for the same amount of time. Check water level periodically and add as needed.
  • If using the stove, bring to a boil and then simmer on lowest possible setting for 3-5 hours, at least. Check water level periodically and add as needed.
  • If you're using the Instant Pot/pressure cooker, set it to manual/pressure for 90-120 minutes and let it do a natural release.
• When it tastes like broth, turn off the heat and let it cool enough to handle. 
• Pull up the cheesecloth and squeeze out all the liquid you can into the pot, or skim solids out with a wok skimmer or strainer. (The veggies can then be composted or added to animal feed. Just take out any bits that are still too tough, like tomato stems, and beware of giving dogs onion, as they can be toxic to some dogs)

That's it!

Once it's done, you can use it right away, or you can freeze or can it. For freezing, I suggest using a rinsed out, cardboard milk carton, freezer bags,reditainers, or, if you want more measuring control when you use it, ice cube trays.