Russian Vegetable Soup (Borstch) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 medium beets
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 medium onions
2 medium potatoes
1 large carrot
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
1/3 cabbage
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn
2 large bay leaves
1/2 - 1 tablespoon salt
1 -3 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon Mrs. Dash seasoning mix
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional) or 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)
2 tablespoons oil
20 cups water

Preparation

Clean beats and grate them on the largest size grater you have.
Open beans do not drain.
In a large pot combine beats, and beans.
Add ~20 cups of water and bring to boil on high heat.
Add peppercorns.
Add bay leaf.
Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile:
Clean potatoes and dice them up in small peaces .5 x .5 inch.
Clean the carrot, quarter it length-wise and thinly slice each strip.
Add potatoes and carrot to the soup. Continue cooking on medium heat.
Peel the onions and finely dice them.
Saute onions with about 2 tablespoons of oil until they turn nice golden color.
Add onions to the soup. Continue cooking on medium heat.
Very thinly slice cabbage and add it to the soup. Cook for another 30-35 minutes or until all the potatoes beats and cabbage are ready. Make sure that the cabbage is not mushy and overcooked.
Turn off the heat.
This step is entirely to the individual taste (you may add any of the ingredients as you see fit):
Add lemon juice and Mrs. Dash. Stir well.
Add sugar and Salt to taste. Instead of sugar I sometimes use Splenda about 3 little bags. The soup should have a hint of sweet and sour flavor.
If the soup is too thick add more boiling water or stock.
Optional:
I like to add about 1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce or Tabasco and 1/2 of tablespoon of ground cumin. This adds a lot of flavor.
The soup actually tastes even better when reheated the next day.