This is the Russian-style Borscht, not that musty-smelling beet soup that no one in my family seems to like. Russian Borscht is essentially vegetable soup with beet and cabbage, and is really quite tasty. IMHO, it's heartier than standard vegetable soup, and good for you, too.

• ¼ cup of butter (for sautéing)
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 cup of chopped celery (some of the stalk leaves are o.k. to throw in, too)
• 1 beet, shredded (grated)
• 1-2 sliced carrots
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (apparently you're supposed to blanch and peel a whole bunch of tomatoes, but that's a lot of work and not necessary at the end of the day, according to my Mom).
• 6-8 cups sliced thin cabbage (about 1 cabbage)
• 6 or so medium potatoes, peeled
• 4 tbs. fresh chopped dill (the key is fresh dill; else use more dried dill)
• Salt & pepper, sometimes lemon juice to taste

1. In a large 4-6 litre pot, sauté butter, onion, celery, beet, carrots. Beet sometimes takes a while to cook, so it might be best to cook this first.
2. Add can of tomatoes.
3. In a separate saucepan, sauté cabbage until transparent. Add to the pot.
4. Add 8-10 cups of boiling water.
5. In another pot, boil potatoes for about 10-15 minutes. Take out half and dice into squares. Add to other ingredients in first pot.
6. Continue to cook remaining potatoes for another 10-15 minutes, then mash them with milk or cream and add to borscht in first pot. This will make the borscht thicker.
7. Add dill.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice if soup is not tart enough.
9. Cook at a simmer for 30-45 minutes.
10. Enjoy!