Is it generally considered a "hot" dish? I know you get cold borsch as well...but does it create heat or a cooling effect for the body? (yes I come from those places where the concept of `Heaty' and `Cooling Foods' are common)
It's a hot dish, but in hot summer days I used to eat cold borsch as well, but it is unlikely considered a cold dish, I'd call it perversion
is salo a fish or cheese? hard to tell from the picture.
Salo is salted unrendered pork fat. Quite tasty with garlic or onions.
and Varenki look like perogi - love perogi.
I guess it is the same. It can be stuffed with potato mash/cherries/mushrooms/cabbage, depends on imagination
The Borsch looks like some Polish Hunter's stew I've had. -Is it pork based?
It's more like soup but with red beet and preferably with a lot of meat (pork is the right thing), but there can be no meat at all (but then its nutritious qualities are kinda doubtful)
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LV: Didn't notice your post somehow [EDIT] No wonder, you posted right before mine [/EDIT]

Yes, I'm from Ukraine, as you can see under my avatar :wink:
Not sure about Russian government, but ours is a herd of greedy dumbasses, which already robbed/sold everything they could. Поэтому наша страна сейчас в глубокой заднице, и это закончится только тогда, когда "секция пулевой стрельбы" будет "принимать заказы от населения", цитируя неизвестного классика :lol: Or we'll wait for 2012

Where did you live BTW?