#let me know some of your fave alberta soups

[battle-of-alberta]

Cities opinions on soup.

(dips spoon into the ask box I feel like I've been ignoring for two months)

i didnt really know how to answer this ask so i went with the first reaction i had (a statement for another statement? lol). Pencil crayons were on sale last week and I replaced a few prismas that I've been wearing down for the past 19 years (aah) so I figured this would be a good time to get back into it.

I don't think any of the cities would say no to a warm bowl of soup, especially on a cold day like today. There are two staple "Alberta" soups that I make for guests, beef and barley stew and "Ukrainian" borscht, which I will provide a (loose) recipe for below.

This borscht isn't an ancient/authentic family recipe or anything, just something that my dad and sort of tried and tested that we like and that pays some dues to ye olde heritage (and that doesn't break the bank or require a lot of special stuff for poor students like I was when I was perfecting it. It can also be made vegetarian.)

Hapo's Not Authentic But Pretty Nice Borscht That Friends and Family Say is Good

Sorry for the vague directions and measurements. Measure with your heart and the size of your pot. In Western Canada, red beet soup is basically the core of what borscht is, although in Europe red borscht and green borscht are entirely different beasts which do not share beets as a commonality.

you will need:

big pot

big knife (sharp)

cutting board

vegetable peeler if you want

frying pan (for cooking meat version)

ingredients

beets (i usually use 3 fist-sized beets, you can use more small ones)

red meat (optional) (i usually use ground beef/pork but if you can get a kubasa you should use that. you can use mushrooms instead too.)

onion

garlic

carrot

turnip and/or apple

tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

water or soup stock of your choice

salt, pepper, sugar to taste

lemon juice, sour cream, dill to serve

optional: celery, potato, cabbage

instructions

If you are using meat, cook with the onions in a frying pan until no longer pink and onions are translucent. Add some garlic in there if you want. Drain and set aside.

If you want to make the beets easier to peel, you can boil them in water before peeling. Keep the water as stock for all those good beety nutrients. I usually skip this step and just peel and chop the beets and make the kitchen look like a murder scene without pre-boiling.

Peel and chop the carrots, turnips, etc. and put them in your big pot on medium heat with your chopped beets, beef, and onions and garlic. If you are using celery or mushrooms or tomatoes, you can put them in at this stage. I also will occasionally add an apple to boost the sweet/sour flavour.

Add in a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and stir to coat, letting it caramelize a bit. You can deglaze with a bit of red wine or red wine vinegar afterwards or just use some soup stock to get everything off the bottom of the pot. Add some more garlic, treat yoself.

Add in your soup stock and bring the pot to a boil. Simmer for at least half an hour (or all day if you feel like it).

In the last 15 minutes of cooking, you can chop and add a potato if you feel like it and have room in your pot (just because russet potatoes tend to get mushy if left in too long). This is also the stage to add shredded cabbage (which I hate doing so I usually skip). I also recommend if you have them to put in some frozen pierogies (tiny and filled with cottage cheese yum) and boil them right in the soup because it really elevates the experience hehe.

Season with salt and pepper and about a tablespoon of sugar or so. You can also add in something like oregano if you want.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a splash of lemon juice, and maybe some fresh dill if you have some.

[storiesofsvu]

I'm about to invade your ask box. Hope that's cool.

Your photography of the grey stuff cupcake made me think of this question. I've only been to Disney World/Land once and didn't try any of the cool food. What Disney food and drinks do you recommend?

Omg INVADE AWAY! ESP about Disney! Okay...I’m doing this by memory, and it’s been a while so I will likely forget things, but lets go park by park:

WDW

Magic Kingdom: classic Mickey pretzel, Mickey ice cream bar, Mickey ice cream sandwich, found at most kiosks throughout most of the parks. Pretzels are delicious and come with cheese sauce automatically now, YUM.

-Corn Dog Nuggets from Casey’s corner. They’re exactly what you’d think they are and they are the best meal/snack

-Giant cinnamon buns from Gaston’s Tavern

-Grey stuff from Be our Guest (need reservations, lunch & dinner are very different) breakfast is the most worth the cost, but no grey stuff

-Dole whips, kiosk in adventureland(also have these at Disneyland) pineapple soft serve in a cup or with pine juice in a float! Great to eat while waiting for parade in the sun

-Pecos Bills in Frontierland: has a fajita platter, its HUGE, ask for an extra set of tortillas (will cost but cheap) then go WILD at the free topping bar, more than enough food for two people

-I THINK they might still have poutine at the little kiosk across from pecos, waffle fry poutine but they might’ve gotten rid of it

Hollywood Studios:

I’ve heard great things about Star Wars land & Toy Story land food, but haven’t been since they were built...the rest of the food at DHS is crap. Except for the pb 7& j milkeshake from 50’s prime time cafe, it’s a sit down restaurant with great food, but you can get milkshakes to go at the bar that’s walk in

Animal Kingdom:

-Avatar land has some great meals and snacks, and some super yummy boozy (or non boozy) slushes

-Yak & Yeti sit down is my fave, they also have deep fried cream cheese wontons on the dessert menu, YUM.

-Harambe market place has great smaller snack/small meal type things.

-Flame Tree BBQ is the best bang for your buck, big meals and portions and lots of choices

Epcot:

-Best food out of all parks, hands down.

-Skip future world food completely, it’s all your basic burgers and fries minus Sunshine Seasons inside of the Land, they’ve got some super delicious, super fresh, and grown in house meals.

-world showcase is WHERE IT IS AT though.

Canada: sit down restaurant Le Collier, their filet mignon is to DIE for, holy shit (they also exclusively use Alberta beef, so you know its good) also peep that pretzel bread, and beer & cheddar cheese soup. You NEED reservations here and it fills up FAST (one of the smallest dining rooms on property)

-Uk: fish and chip stand. Literally the only fish & chips I’ve found since being in Aus that taste good. Beware the seagulls though... the Welsh Dragon drink at the rose & crown is bomb!!

-France: grand mariner orange slush(during flower & garden get the pink slush) amazing baguette sandwiches inside the bakery, along with so many good treats

-Morocco’s quick service has great platters, the vegetarian platter is delicious!!

-Japan: Tokyo sunset drink, their quick serve is super good, but your basic Japanese food you can get anywhere

-Italy: in the wine shop, a glass of rose regala! Inside Tutto Gusto, go to the bar and get a espresso martini. They don’t have a quick serve, but Via Napoli has great pizzas, and during food & wine their food is amazing (duh)

-Germany: grapefruit beer (also a great choice if drinking around the world cause its only 2%) also LIFE HACK: go to the very last shop in the shops on the left, they have cheese plates & wine flights for like $5 a piece! Don’t waste your time on the pretzels, they’re usually stale/dry.

-Norway: people are obsessed with the school bread, but i don’t like it, but their bakery has lots of yummy options

-Mexico: fucking a avocado margarita my friends! (If you want blended) or a cucumber margarita for not blended. If spicy is your thing, get a jalapeño one. They’re all located inside the temple in the small margarita shop also TONS of tequila options, it’s tiny, so there’s going to be a line and chances are you will have to buy one and not get a seat unless you want a long wait.

Advice on drinking around the world (aka, having one drink in each country) ITS EXPENSIVE, budget like $120MIN. Get one drink, drink it between that pavilion while you explore, AND the next one, skip the 2nd country and get a new drink in the third (aka, start in Canada, drink your beer during it and the UK, get a fresh drink in France and so on) repeat this over two loops around world showcase. Also SHARE drinks, and for the love of god drink water, it’s florida after all.’

RESORTS:

Starting with my favourite “monorail pub crawl” we usually opt to do this during out MK day and start on the monorail there, heading to....

Contemporary: the Blue lagoon drink from the Wave, it’s a fishbowl drink meant for sharing and there’s gummy fishes in it.

-Otherwise, time it right and head up to the California Grill lounge to watch the sunset/fireworks

Polynesian: the Lapu Lapu upstairs by Ohana is served in a pineapple and super yummy. I prefer to head to Trader Sams downstairs. Inside is tiny and usually busy but they have an outdoor terrace with the same menu, the Zombie head is delicious, but hella strong. The Uh-ohh is meant for sharing and DELICIOUS and they set it on fire and let you throw cinnamon in it, which is bomb. The headhunter roll sushi is bomb

Grand Floridian: grab a glass of wine from the Citricos lounge i usually opt for a blush sparkling but now i cant remember the name. We usually also order a cheese board & charcuterie here and take them to the couches in the upstairs lobby to listen to the live music, but there’s a new bar there now so that’s probably not do able.

Fort Wilderness Resort & campground: Davy crockett’s tavern has some amazing moonshine drinks. Trail’s end is also a super bomb buffet, but the QUEEN of everything here is the Hoop Dee Doo musical revue (again, book in advance) it’s dinner and a show, dinner includes, cornbread, salad, fried chicken, ribs, potatoes, corn (ask for the Mac and cheese too), beans, strawberry shortcake, red or white sangria, red or white wine or beer, or non alcoholic drinks and IT IS ALL YOU CAN EAT AND ALL YOU CAN DRINK. Seriously. And the shows incredible.

Animal Kingdom lodge: the “Mara” their food court, has without a doubt the most authentic dishes and they are delicious, they also have “zebra domes” which are a dessert, they’re like...cookie chocolate, custard, with booze filling? I dont know how to describe them but theyr’e amazing

Disney Springs: Ragland Road. It’s my ride or die. You can create your own beer/cider flights for super cheap and the size of the drinks are decent! The shrimp and scallops on the appi menu are delicious

Also Earl of Sandwich: the holiday sandwich is my go to.

DISNEYLAND:

-honestly, overall, way better quick service food than WDW.

-Soup in a bread bowl in California adventure, different flavours of soup, or you can do salad (also check out the bakery next door where they give out free sourdough samples)

-In New Orlean’s square, just like, anything and everything, the gumbo is amazing, you must try the beignets, and the mint juleps

Okay that got WAY out of hand and there’s probably way more things that I’m forgetting or that or more authentic that I just can’t remember right now, BUT, there ya go!