Chlodnik (meat and Beet Soup)

Ingredients

2/3 c heavy cream
1/2 pound of beets, peeled and finely chopped
2 c of stock
1 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
3 TBS finely chopped chives
3 TBS finely chopped dill
2 TBS vinegar
1 c diced cooked ham
1 1/2 tsp sugar
6 hard boiled eggs
sour milk: 5 cups of milk, 1 TBS sour cream

Instructions

First make sour milk. Put the milk in a shallow glass and stir in sour cream. Cover with paper or a cotton cloth and leave for 2-3 days or until the mixture has the consistency of light jelly. Mix together the sour milk and heavy cream. Put the beets in a saucepan, add the stock and bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Cool. Stir the beets and stock into the milk mixture. Add cucumbers, Chives, dill, ham, vinegar, ham, sugar and salt to taste and mix well. Chill for 2 hours. To serve, put a halved egg in each bowl.