2.2 lb. beets
1 lb. meat for making beef broth
2 carrots
1 parsnips
1 lb. onions
8 cloves garlic
1 laurel leaf (or substitute bay leaf)
1 tsp. lemon juice

Cook meat in salted water on medium low for 2-3 hours to meat broth. Skim off fat. Peel and cut all the vegetables (beets, carrots, parsnips, onions, and garlic) and put in another big pot. Break laurel leaf and put it and the lemon juice over vegetables. Pour meat broth over vegetables and let stand overnight, covered.

Next day: heat pot to blend in fat. Pour soup through strainer into another pot (so you strain out the vegetables). Throw out vegetables. Add the following to soup (which looks like red broth) : Salt Sugar Soy sauce Pepper Lemon juice

Add these to taste. It shouldn't be too sweet. (American beets are sweeter than Polish ones, so you'll have to add more salt, pepper and garlic.)

Heat over low heat. Put ears in bowl, put the beet soup over them, and eat. Smacznego!! (Polish for bon appetit.)

EARS:

Fry 1/4 pound ground beef. Fry 1 onion in butter. Mix onion, beef, salt, and pepper (and mushrooms are optional) in a bowl. Everything should be finely chopped.

DOUGH:

3 c. flour
1 egg
1/2 c. water

Mix and knead until soft. Roll out thinly. Cut into 1 inch squares. Put a little of the meat mixture in middle of square. Fold dough in half diagonally, so you have a triangle. Then fold 2 corners of triangle in towards middle, wrapping one around the other, around your finger. Seal all edges. Drop ears in pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes; drain. Put in soup bowl, 5-8 per bowl, and eat with soup.

This soup is traditionally eaten as the first course on Christmas Eve in Poland.