Redder—and Better—Red Velvet Cake Without Food Coloring

Ingredients

  • 3 medium-sized beets
  • 3/4 cup organic butter (plus extra for greasing pans)
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tsp. white vinegar
  • 2 cups cake flour, sifted before measuring
  • 3 Tbsp. Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking powder (plus an extra pinch)
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1-3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs

Instructions

  • Cook beets; wrap scrubbed beets in foil. Bake in 350° F oven for approximately 75 minutes. Allow to cool. Remove skins.
  • Preheat oven to 350° F (if not already done).
  • Generously butter two nine-inch cake pans. Dust with flour.
  • Chop beets in a food processor until they have achieved the consistency of finely chopped onions. Reserve once cup of beet pulp; set the rest aside. Add one cup of beets to food processor and process again, while adding buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla and vinegar. Purée.
  • In a separate bowl, sift flour with cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
  • Add butter to a stand mixer bowl and beat until soft. Add sugar and continue beating to achieve a creamy consistency. One at a time, beat in eggs.
  • Now take turns adding a portion of beet mixture, followed by a portion of the flour mixture, while continuing to beat briefly to integrate ingredients. Continue the process, adding flour mixture last, until all ingredients have been combined.
  • Pour batter into the two prepared cake pans. Bake at 350°F for approximately 20 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a piece of dry spaghetti in center. If it comes away clean, your cake is done. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Remove from pans, and place one cake on serving platter. Top with about 1 cup frosting (see below) and smooth with a spoon or spatula. Top with other cake, and apply remaining frosting to cover entire cake.

Russian Borscht

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

Servings: 10 – 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bison or beef stew meaty
  • Seasoning for the meat:
  • 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 4 garlic cloves sliced, 4 bay leaves
  • 14 cups water
  • 5 cups water
  • 3 medium beets, sliced
  • 4-5 large potatoes, cut
  • 1/2 head of medium cabbage, shredded
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, julienned or grated
  • 1 medium red pepper, sliced
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Tbsp vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 Tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3-5 Tbsp fresh parsley
  • 3-5 Tbsp fresh dill
  • sour cream, to serve with

Instructions

  1. Cut your meat into bite-size pieces. Slice the garlic cloves. Break the bay leaves into smaller pieces. Season the meat. Combine everything. Refrigerate meat for at least 2 days. 
  2. Clean and slice beets in half. Add beets and 5 cups water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cook 20-25 minutes, until beets pierce easily with a knife. Once cooked, remove them from water and set aside cool. KEEP WATER.
  3. In a large pot, bring 14 cups water to a boil. 
  4. Rinse seasoning off of meat. Add the meat to the boiling water. Remove scum and fat that accumulates and floats to the top of the water. It’s very important to keep removing the scum frequently. Turn heat down to medium, cook meat about 35-40 minutes or until meat is soft.
  5. While meat is cooking, peel and slice or cube the potatoes. Add to a bowl and cover with cold water so they don’t turn color. Set aside.
  6. Shred the cabbage. Set aside.
  7. Chop the onion finely. Add to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp butter and saute 3 minutes on medium heat.
  8. While onion is cooking, grate carrots. (I like to julienne mine into thin short strips.)
  9. Add carrots to the skillet pan with another 2 Tbsp butter, mix. Cook about 5-6 minutes or until carrots are tender. (If the skillet begins to get dry, add a bit of oil.)
  10. Take the cooled beets and cut into thin strips. Add to the skillet with onion and carrots.
  11. Cube red pepper or cut into small thin strips add to skillet. Add minced garlic to skillet. 
  12. Chop tomatoes and add to the skillet. Add the water leftover from cooking the beets to skillet with sauteed veggies. Turn heat down to med/low and cook about 5 minutes.
  13. Once meat is tender, add potatoes and cabbage. (If you like the cabbage a bit crunchier, add about 5 minutes after potatoes are added.) Cook 15 minutes.
  14. Transfer all of the ingredients from the skillet to the pot. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, bay leaves, parsley and dill. Cook another 8-10 minutes or until potatoes and cabbage are tender. Taste if additional seasonings need added.
  15. Add fresh herbs of choice and amount.
  16. Serve with sour cream.
  17. Enjoy.

Moist and Easy Cornbread

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/ cups buttermilk
  • 1 chopped bell pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, buttermilk, olive oil and peppers.

5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and fold together until there are no dry spots (the batter will still be lumpy).

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish or muffin tins.

7. Bake until the top is golden-brown and tester inserted into the middle of the corn bread comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

8. Remove the cornbread from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.