Elizabeth: In The Caretaker of Showman’s Hill, my vampire hero, Basil Wensilton III supplements his feedings with borscht. Of course, Cassie Briggs doesn’t like it since it reminds her of blood, but that is exactly why Basil likes the dish so much. I’ll let him tell you how to make it. Basil?
Basil: Yes, I like my borscht, Elizabeth. And I was lucky enough to find my cook, Helga’s recipe, because when Cassie tried to make it for me she put in a lot of garlic, and you know how vampires have an aversion to garlic. However, lately, Cassie has talked me into trying garlic, and I guess it’s not as deadly as I thought. So here’s the recipe with garlic added in.
Basil’s Borscht
1 large beet (about twice the size of a baseball) (Cook it over a slow boil til soft)
1 small onion chopped
2 stalks of celery with the greens, chopped
4 minced garlic cloves (Yes, I said garlic – it does give it flavor)
Sauté the above ingredients in a little olive oil until soft
Add 1 32 oz. box vegetable broth
2 carrots, chopped
Bring to slow boil and add salt and pepper to taste. (Anything spicy would be good too, but I don’t really do spicy, but it would add flavor.)
1 kale leaf, cut with scissors (Or spinach would work too.)
Some grated fresh turmeric (optional)
Next, peel the beet, put it in blender and puree it. (Careful when putting hot things in blender. Leave the top off a little and hit the pulse button so it doesn’t explode in your face.)
Add that to soup and stir in and cook a little. Then add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar – the secret ingredient.
Spoon the whole mixture into the blender a little at a time and blend it by pulsing and slow and carefully til pureed. (You can eat it with the vegetable chunks, but I like the smooth texture.)
Put back in pot and simmer and keep stirring til the mixture gets a little thicker. Then spoon into bowl and top off with a little sour cream and chopped chives or fresh basil – the herb basil, not me. Or you can just drink it like I do!
Enjoy! – Basil ☽
(Watch Caretaker book trailer)
