Cold Beet Soup for Summer

My version of a lithuanian cold beet soup. There is nothing better on a hot day. Needs to be served ICE cold (sometimes we even float a few ice cubes in it!) The color is a little unusual, but once you give it a try,the first hot day of summer you'll be thinking...It's time for that pink soup...

• Ready In: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 28  ounces  canned beets
• 1  large cucumber
• 2  tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 1⁄2 cups sour cream
• 2  teaspoons dried dill weed

Directions

1. Drain beets, reserving liquid.If using whole or sliced beets, slice into matchstick pieces.Peel and dice cucumber. (I like fairly large dice.).
2. Hold back about 3/4 cup of julianned beets in a seperate bowl.Add remaining beets and chopped cucumber to a large bowl. Add reserved beet juice,14 oz. of water and 2 tablespoons vinegar.
3. Stir about 1/2 cup of sour cream into the beets you held in the seperate bowl.(this process keeps the sour cream from "breaking up" in the soup and making lumps.)Stir until the sour cream/beet mixture is smooth. Add another 1/2 cup of sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the beet juice from the large bowl and stir until smooth.Stir in the last 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mixture should be without lumps (sour cream should be liqified.)This seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it goes quite quickly.
4. Add the beet/sourcream mix to the large bowl and stir to combine. At this point, taste to see if the level of vinegar is to your liking, if not add a little more.
5. Add the dried dill. The 2 tsp is a good place to start, but I usually add more.
6. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.Serve in chilled bowls. My mom adds chopped hard boiled eggs to this soup, so if you want to give that a try it's up to you,.