The Fuzzy Chef & Friends

Yes, it really is that color.

You, too, can make delicious, vegan, nutrient-rich soup which looks like a pot of melted Carmine Red crayons.   I've had raves about this hot borscht from people who weren't sure about the whole concept of beet soup but tried it anyway.  Christmas Eve was no exception; our guests ate over a gallon of the soup.  Better yet, I was able to prepare it ahead and it was done and waiting 3 hours before guests arrived.

Just don't spill it on a white shirt.  Recipe follows ...

Since it's Easter Weekend, I'm making matzoh ball soup.  Jewish food for this holiday is way better than the traditional American Christian food; I'll take matzoh ball soup, matzoh brei and gefilte fish any day over baked ham, boiled eggs and cigarette-smoking lamb cakes.

Mind you, Kris would like it if I made matzoh ball soup more often, but it's quite a time-consuming dish (and requires 3 pots), so she only gets it on Passover.  And, of course, I prefer not to have the traditional chicken stock, so I make my own veggie stock.  That's why this recipe is "parve", which means neither dairy nor meat.

Recently Cook's Illustrated Magazine ran their 2nd article on French Onion Soup in the last 3 years. The new recipe requires around five hours start to finish. While most of that is passive time, waiting for the onions to cook down, that's still vastly too long (in my opinion) for something which is supposed to be a first course.

Fortunately for you, loyal reader, I several years ago created a recipe for a French Onion Soup which is not only possible to prepare in under two hours of mostly passive time, it's also vegetarian! The one caveat is that you really need to have the right ingredients; substitutions don't work on this one.