Let's Read & A Tasty Mennonite Summer Borscht Recipe

When I was younger my brother and I could spend hours in grandma S. sunroom reading Archie comics emerging finally to eat a blackpepper ginger snap cookie. If anyone has a recipe for blackpepper gingersnaps please share as I am on the hunt for the perfect blackpepper gingersnap recipe.  I reminded grandma S. of these cookies the last time I saw her in the nursing home. She smiled when I told her and then said I must have had a good life. When we left she asked my mom to bring her two cookies the next time she came to visit. That made me smile.

The reason I told this anecdote was to segway into my graphic novel read. I wondered if Archie comics or Astrix and Obelix or Tintin books counted as graphic novels. These were favorites of mine when I was younger. I was not sure of the category graphic novels as I purused some of the titles on kobo books. Finally I settled on Relish by Lucy Knisley because I am a foodie and this was one about food, family and memories. If I was not on a self-proclaimed quest to finish this reading challenge I likely would not have encountered this read. I always enjoy a read with pictures.

 

I also finished All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. It is not at all about food. I enjoyed this novel. It has its moments of sacriligeous charm and complex characters with fabulous flaws. Miriam Toews is a cynical Mennonite and for this I enjoyed the occasional Mennonite references as I too have a Mennonite heritage. Albeit my Mennonite memories are much more charming and involve family, celebrations, gardening, and food. I loved this one passage, "Then we sang a hymn, "From Whom All Blessings Flow." Mennonites like to sing in tense situations. It's one option if you're not allowed to scream or go nuts emptying a magazine into a crowded plaza. I began to cry and couldn't stop no matter how I tried." My family also liked to sing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" but my memories of this hymn are often before dinner when there was a large crowd of family rather than in tense situations. 

All My Puny Sorrows is a rather sorrowful novel as it navigates the frail life of Elf or Elfrieda, a world renowned concert pianist, who is intent on committing suicide and is hospitalized for much of the novel. The story is told through the eyes of Yolandi her sister, whose own life would seemingly be in disarray, seems to be the pillar of strength in this novel.  The novel mines the personal tragedy in Toew's own life--the suicides of her father and her sister. The book is an incredible portrayal of what it is to be a sibling. 

So thinking about food, family and being Mennonite I decided it was time for a favorite Mennonite dish. Borscht and not just any borscht but Summer Borscht. Mmm it is really delicious. 

I thought I would share this delicious recipe with you also. I found a version on the blog Oh So Lovely that I tweaked a little alongside the Treasury of Mennonite Recipes. For instance in these versions there is reference to sorrel or burdock leaves. I have no idea what that is. I made this version with vegetables mainly sourced from Safeway. The sausage is from my favorite local butcher Premium Sausage. I am sure it would be much tastier if made from garden vegetables but alas! my garden is not yet producing.  Imagine new potatoes from the garden in this soup. Mmmm Also in my Treasury of Mennonite Recipes one version calls to add 2 cups of Buttermilk to the broth at the last rather than sour cream. I'm sure that would give it some tang! 

Mennonite Summer Borscht or Zumma Borscht 

Ingredients:

• 12 cups of water
• 1 ring of Mennonite farmers sausage (approx 372 grams)
• Tops of 3 large beets (2-4 cups)
• 1 bunch of green onions chopped
• 1 large yellow onion diced and fried
• 1/2-1 cup of fresh dill
• 2 cups of potatoes chopped (note in the picture above I only used 5 of the potatoes)
• 1 cup of carrots chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• salt & pepper
• sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Place the coil of farmers sausage in a pot with 10 cups of water and bring to a light boil. This will need to boil for an hour to form your broth for your soup and to cook the farmers sausage. Skim off any murky scum at the top. 

While the farmers sausage is lightly boiling start chopping vegetables.  If your slow like me and easily get distracted this could take an hour.

Fry the onions and set aside.

Remove the farmers sausage from the broth and slice. Skim off any lasting scum on the edges of the pot before adding the vegetables. Add two more cups of water, the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. (And then a little more for added goodness and so that the potatoes will be easy to break apart in your bowl.) When the potatoes are cooked return the farmers sausage to the pot.

 Enjoy!

Add a little dollop of sour cream to taste. Have a side salad or fresh buscuits, buns or even garlic bread like we had. Mmm delicious.

This is perfect for a rainy summer day. I hope you like it!

This soup yields approximately 6 large bowls of soup and depending on how large your bowls are could yield more.

Late May Reads & Ultrasounds

READS

While we were in Cuba I brought along a number of novels to read on the beach or by the pool. I left the books in the hotel when we checked out to lighten my load and then later saw one of the hotel administrative staff walking around with them. 

• A Blade of Grass is a story of apartheid set in the land bordering South Africa and is fraught with bad turns of events for the two main characters Marit, the European landowner and Tembi a native South African. In the end Marit loses everything and Tembi gains everything but at a cost.  This was a book I had sitting on my bookshelf for years. 

• Ru I really enjoyed. It was chosen as the winner for Canada Reads this year. It is a fictionalized memoir based on Kim's past growing up in Saigon, living a life of privilege until that city's fall and as a Vietnamese refuge. I liked the unusual lyrical format for this book, a series of one and two page vignettes from her life, not in order of occurrence. This novel could easily be read in a day. 

• What Alice Forgot I devoured quite easily. It is somewhat unbelievable which was perfect as escapist literature for the beach. I can see it being made into a feel good chick flick movie. Alice wakes up after a head injury with no memory of the last 15 years. She discovers her once happy life is gone- she is now in the midst of a divorce and must decide whether to start over or fix her relationships. 

ULTRASOUNDS

Now for the ultrasound that I have buried in this post.  Everybody who looks at these photos says the same thing. What is it? What does it mean? 

I am just so happy that the baby has a heartbeat. 

I was to drink 1 litre of water beforehand between 1:45-2:00 pm last Wednesday. My appointment was not until 3:15. I was so glad they took me at 2:45. I do not think I would have lasted nor did the ultrasound technician. It was over very quick. She said that the heartbeat and sack looked good. Baby measured right on schedle at 8 weeks 2 days. She showed me the flicker on the screen and said that was the heart beat. She gave me a print out of photos. 

I have my follow up ultrasound this week on my leg for my blood clot and an appointment with a hematologist to be scheduled to find out if I have factor v Leiden. I really hope I do not. I do not like taking the blood thinner Lovenox injections. The bruises on my belly are atrocious and they hurt. 

I am still nervous about this whole pregnancy. I am counting the days until we reach the 12 week mark. I read however that one's chance of miscarriage is around 3% after hearing the heartbeat so that is good to know. I had a little bleeding again on Sunday. It really knocks me for a loop. I can't be overdoing it. 

LIFE LATELY

I am the laziest person I know of late. Today for instance I did not get out of bed until 9 then I picked strawberries from my garden and made a pancake and strawberries for breakfast by 10. After I finished folding and putting away two loads of laundry, washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen all by 11. Then I talked on the phone to my mom. My lunch consisted of reheated quinoa and chicken and watermelon. And then I wrote this blog. And now I have the whole afternoon and I don't know what to do with myself because it is too hot to go pull weeds in my garden or go for a walk. I likely will go shopping and come home and read a book. L was supposed to come home today but decided to pick up some extra shifts at work. I miss him. I haven't seen him in over a week. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

About three weeks ago we decided we needed a vacation. Silly me I forgot to renew my passport and it is about to expire in July which meant many of the destinations we were hankering for were no longer options. Oh Thailand... Sigh. The foodie in me really wanted to go to San Francisco but because we had a window of two weeks to travel L wanted to maximize the value. L is not sold on San Fran... how to convince him it would be fun? My passport would allow me to fly to USA, Cuba or Mexico. In the end we were both longing for beaches, sand and sun. L was keen on an all inclusive. So in a last minute internet search on selloffvacations.com we chose Santa Maria, Cuba.

I took my old fujifilm camera on vacation and remembered why I do not like this camera. It died half way through the vacation only to revive a few days before we left.

The Good:

• Beautiful beaches and lounging by the pool for two weeks straight 
• Being on vacation with my hunny 
• Our room was nice and had air conditioning for the 30 + degree Celsius temperatures daily.
• I faced my fear of snorkeling and it was fun snorkeling along the coral reef. 
• I got up close and personal with a dolphin. So amazing. 
• We had some fun adventures.
• L is over all inclusives and buffets which is a small miracle for this foodie. I really do not enjoy buffets. I'd rather eat a sprig of lettuce if it was presented as art on my plate. And tasted for a moment of heaven. 
• This was a rare vacation where I actually lost weight. 

The Bad:

• I have safe toilet syndrome. This was not a happy digestive experience. I tried extra water. Tums. Walking. My system shut down. The bathrooms rarely had functioning lights. There was a lack of toilet seats. No locks on doors. Smells like sewer gas. Women you had to pay after exiting the toilet. TP that was thinner than tissue paper.  I saw a few too many cock roaches. 
• There were way too many flies in the buffet and restaurants.  (I haven't had nausea but perhaps food aversions is similar and counts as a pregnancy symptom? Or was it just mental? I couldn't bring myself to eat most of what was sitting out in the buffet since how long with flies crawling all over it.) I was really worried about not having nutritious food for my baby but on the few occasions when I tried salads they were fermented. It was gross. At first I really liked the donuts until L discovered a worm in his and called it an animal. I almost broke a tooth biting into a rock in my bread at the alacarte. I'd recommend packing granola, trail mix, and protein bars to anyone thinking oh the food can't be so bad she's really a drama queen. You'll thank me later. 

• L got very sick on two different experiences where he couldn't even keep water down.
• We suspected they were fogging for Mosquitos and usually returned to our room before mosquito feeding time. Then one evening or say 6:30 pm much before the general feeding time we were walking along the path to our room, which has large bramble bushes on both sides, and a truck came rolling down the path and fogged us. Umm seriously?! Hoping this has no negative lasting effects. 
• I got stung by a jelly fish on my leg. Ouch. L was a gentleman and helped me out. Note that is not Cristal in the can.

The Ugly:

• I started to spot and bleed after a long day on the Catamaran. It was very scary.  We thought we were having a miscarriage and I bled off and on for several days.  I put myself on self imposed bed rest. I cried out to God and prayed. 
• On my flight home from Cuba my leg started to hurt. It was a very turbulent flight and late. There was little opportunity to wander the aisles. I keep trying to move my legs up and down in my seat because they were hurting. My leg continued to hurt the following day and I was not sure if it was from the jelly fish or something worse. Dr. Google suggested I might have a blood clot based on the symptoms I was exhibiting along with the contributing factors. Red area, swollen, warm to the touch, tingly toes, sore, hard area. I could barely walk folks especially when waking up to go to the washroom at 3 am. Being pregnant, flying, sitting for too long, inactivity, and taking fertility medication, plus I might be prone to clotting based on my family history were also contributing factors. So I asked L if I should go in after the weekend to my doctor and he thought I should go into Emergency immediately. So in we went and waited almost four hours. The doctor was very nice but could not make any diagnosis since the ultrasound technician was not in until the morning so we would have to come back on Sunday at 10 am. Home we went. Back in to wait longer and finally discover I have superficial clotting on my left leg. Luckily the ultrasound technician did not think I was exhibiting deep vein thrombosis but there was a risk it could develop. The doctor said I was complicated and that I had just become a high risk pregnancy. He had to consult with an OBGYN. We were prescribed lovenox, a blood thinner and I have to report back in ten days for a follow up ultrasound. It makes me nervous because I don't want to harm the baby. So far since we have been home I have not had any spotting. I was worried I would start bleeding again with this blood thinner. I'm also nervous about the baby not having a placenta yet. Lovenox does not pass through the placenta but what about prior to the placenta? I am about eight weeks pregnant. There are some internet reports in favor of lovenox during pregnancy and others that are not so favorable. Lovenox is not a fun drug my friends. I have to inject myself once a day. First off it hurts going in. Then it stings, burns, and generally aches following. It's like a wasp sting. Finally it leaves a horrific bruise at the site of injection. I have to get my blood tested now for clotting disorders. And to think I might have to take lovenox for the rest of this pregnancy and maybe a blood thinner thereafter. Oh Jesus I pray that my baby will be healthy. 

& The Excellent

• God pressed on my heart during the times I was spotting in Cuba the verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path." I said this verse over and over and over as I lay in bed, or on my lounge chair near the pool willing my body to stop bleeding. This has not been an easy two weeks but I am trying to trust. I am hoping and praying for a healthy baby. Despite taking a blood thinner since we have been home I have not had any spotting. That is a miracle. Thank you Jesus.

This afternoon is my first ultrasound. I am excited, nervous, terrified, hopeful. I hope beyond everything I have ever hoped for that I will hear a healthy heartbeat. 

We're Pregnant!!

Eeek! I couldn't be more excited! And nervous! And is this too good to be true?

Okay here's my crazy excited face. The above one is far too calm happy.

So I've been sitting on this for a week. I know how is that possible? I can't keep a secret at all. My first test I took at 6dpt in the evening because I thought it was likely too early to test and if it was negative there was still hope, but if it's positive how exciting would that be! L had went to work. The pharmacy is maybe 30 feet from my front door. It was inevitable. 

What if? 

This is what I saw..

Thank you Jesus!!

I waited a few days afterwards to take a second and third. Is this for real?

I told L in the morning after he worked the night shift. He had no idea what the ClearBlue HPT was and said what is this? L isn't one for surprises so I didn't plan a big reveal. He was excited nevertheless asking how am I supposed to sleep now! 

I'm terrified of losing this pregnancy. I have to convince myself not to panic on a regular basis. I have all these odd jabs, pains, sensations and to add to that secretions from the vaginal prometrium. It's enough to do me in most days. To say I'm laying low is an understatement and I'm so happy I don't have to be leading school tours of the museum or art gallery at this time. I can put my feet up at any time and take a nap. I think infertility has made me much more willing to say I'm pregnant so early, to celebrate this achievement. To bask in it. I recognize that I am not out of the woods as I am only at week 5 technically. But hey! I've been on this journey almost five years. 

On Thursday I was up by six and the first one to the diagnostic lab and the first one poked with a needle. I asked when we would find out the results and the nurse was not very sympathetic. She thought if I was lucky maybe the lab work would reach Calgary by Friday afternoon. But then L and I were driving and I saw the tell tale numbers of the Regional Fertility Program light up on my phone. Hello? Is this Rhonda? Yes. This is Dr. Fong's office. We have some good news for you!
Your pregnant!!

A big grin broke out on my face. Joy! I remembered in my excitement to ask a few questions including my HCG numbers. She said she would send a letter to my local doctor and I would follow up with him. 

She said we do not have a follow up HCG test to take. I was a little surprised as I would have been interested to see those numbers change. But it's ok. 

My next appointment is my seven week ultrasound at the end of this month. I am to continue prometrium and estrace until week 10. 

I was early on my previous calculated due date. It is January 11th.

We beat infertility! Yay!