Free Republic

Do you remember being ill as a child and being given a soothing bowl of hot chicken soup to help you feel better? Sick or not, most Malaysians would have grown up drinking Grandma’s homemade soup that often would have more bone in it than meat. The recipe would almost always be the same: hot water, bone, vegetables – usually cabbage or carrot – and a variety of herbs and spices, left on the stove to bubble away for hours. Sometimes, it would be kept overnight and reboiled the next day – only to taste so much better! This time-honoured...

I've always liked canned beets, pickled or plain, and usually in salads; but I've never cooked or eaten fresh beets before. I decided to try a simple roasted beet for my first experiment. Beets peel better if they're roasted first, so I didn't peel them at the start. Cut off the stem ends, leaving about an inch for a 'handle' (what to do with the greens will be a later project). Also, cut off any long, skinny root, and then wash the beets well - dirt seems to especially collect up near the stem. Place the cleaned and dried beats...