borscht gets its backstory
and the author gets her first byline.
The last time I wrote about borscht was January 18th, 2022, combined with a profile of Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan. Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 he has led various fundraising efforts for occupied regions of eastern Ukraine.
DONATE: to Zhadan’s Charitable Foundation which supports “a variety of educational, cultural and healthcare initiatives in the Ukrainian East, to help the communities ravaged by war feel [like] an essential part of Ukrainian society.”
Discourse about Ukraine has changed a lot since that newsletter was published, but its national dish has been roughly the same for five centuries. The cost to make it in a wartime economy, not so much. The Borscht Index, similar to The Economist’s long running Big Mac Index, shows how food costs are rapidly rising for Ukrainians.
To learn more about the history of borscht, what makes it quintessentially Ukrainian and how some of those ingredients made it into the index, check out my very first byline in the Explaining Ukraine section of The Kyiv Independent.
Reading - That 1980s Bowling Alley Smell by Jason Diamond (2023)
Listening - My Soft Machine (2023) by Arlo Parks who I’ve been hooked on since 2021’s Hurt which she ingeniously calls back to in the lyrics to Puppy on the new album.
Snacking - on UTZ Carolina Style Barbeque chips. Barbeque meets salt & vinegar. How did it take this long?
Watching - UNTOLD: Swamp Kings (2023) because what is sports fandom without championship nostalgia and an abusive work environment?
Smelling - MÛRE SAUVAGE by DANS un JARDIN, a Quebec made eau de toilette which combines wild blackberries and musk in a way that really has me rethinking fruit notes in perfume.
What is your fall food personality? Are you a gameday grubber? A pumpkin spice head? A soup season fanatic?
<insert whatever in the world you want to talk about here>
Are beets (a) the best of the fall produce, (b) not worth the effort, but maybe at a restaurant, (c) a bloody mess that taste like they slept underground before dinner?
Beets are great if you know how to use them. My recent beet-related win was using them in home-made kimchi, as part of the paste. They provided a hint of sweetness, and I finally nailed the right color.
3) C.
Despite being a fan of the newsletter, beets are one of very few foods that I cannot stand :)