Pinch Me

There is a flaw in most recipes ... and that has to do with measurements ... in particular the term "pinch." A pinch of salt can be but a few grains or as much as a third of a teaspoon ... and recipes don't distinguish between these extremes. Therefore may I propose the following clarification to this term "pinch"?  I suggest that cookbook or cookblog authors use an antecedent as to the number of fingers used ... e.g., "two-finger pinch" (thumb and pinkie) or "2F pinch", "3F pinch", and all the way up to "5F pinch". This way, cooking recipes can keep us from over or under spicing our dishes.

If this protocol were observed then our foods would not be undersalted or overspiced ... and the world would be a much more regimented place. I promise to follow this instruction in future recipes here ... I might even go back a remedy some of my older posts.

Zosia’s White Borscht

Around our home, we have many traditions ... one of which is the Polish one to mark Easter with a bowlful of Zosia's (Sophie's) white borscht sometime in the late morning ... while we are beginning to prepare for our Easter repast. This is a unique and very flavorful dish which evokes the old country. Here is the process of preparation as passed down from Zosia:

2 good quarts of cold water in a large enamel cooking pot
1 Polish Kielbasa (we get ours shipped from the East Village Market in NYC, 212-228-5590)

1 piece of smoked slab bacon (with the bones in ... optional ... from the same supplier)

Simmer these ingredients for 30 minutes ... don't boil!

Remove slab bacon and kielbasa and set aside

¼ cup flour (sour rye flour if available)
½ cup water
1 tbs salt
Mix together and slowly add to the above

Simmer for an additional 30 minutes

Add juice of one lemon

Add ½ cup of dried Polish mushrooms (try the Kielbasa supplier)

4-6 fresh egg yolks

1 pint sour cream

Wisk together and temper with a little of the hot liquid

Slowly add this mixture to the soup wisking all the while

Warning! if you boil this soup, it will break ...

Serve with peeled and chopped up hard boiled Easter eggs, small pieces of Kielbasa and the slab bacon.

Grate fresh peeled horseradish root on top (to taste ... very traditional). Try your local supermarket for the horseradish root ... they often have it around Easter.