Long-awaited Borscht

After my recent realization that I had never made borscht, I wondered if maybe my whole life had been leading up to the moment when I would develop "my" borscht recipe, without which I had never been a complete person, never genuinely Polish or Hungarian, never able to claim any connection to the Carpathian Mountain, and moreover could never really represent my family's history in any sense, let alone at the kitchen table. Which is to say that I was overreacting.

But so it begins--and until I retrieve my own grandmother's recipe, I'm going to begin with this one, which I adapted only slightly from the "in the spirit of more-with-less," Simply in Season.

Winter Borscht
8 cups water
2 tbsp oil (I used vegetable oil but sunflower oil might be nice)
1 big onion, chopped
2 cups potatoes, chopped
2 cups beets, chopped
1/2 head cabbage, shredded (I used green, but I suppose red would work too?)
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (or 2 tbsp dried)
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
salt + pepper (about a tsp of each)*
possible sour cream/plain yogurt for serving

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot (seriously, very large) and add the onion. Saute till it starts to brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Add everything else--except for the fresh dill, if you're using fresh--and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Add fresh dill and simmer for maybe another few-10 minutes, or until the barley is cooked.
4. Serve hot (of course: it's winter) and possibly top it with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt. Some dark bread would be good too.

*This amount of salt yields a soup that's mildly sweet, which I think I like. But add more salt if that's what you're into.