Here's another awesome guest-post from my mom!It's that time of year for harvesting, freezing, and of course, canning! Every fall I like to make pickled beets, they remind me of my grandmother. We called her Mere. And no, she wasn't French- she was born in England. She just thought a French name was very romantic. She was a wonderful Grandmother; she always told me that I was her favorite grand daughter. And, yes, I was her
only grand daughter! Anyway, back to the beets...they are so delicious: a bit sweet and a bit tangy. Mere taught me that they need to be a little bit sweeter than tangy. I listened and my family is so glad that I did.
The ingredients are simple- lots of beets, lots of sugar and vinegar, and a tiny bit of salt.
I usually fill my sink with cold water and dump the beets in to wash them. Since these are a root vegetables, they need a bit of scrubbing with a brush.
Make sure to leave the long root in place and only cut the stems back to 2-3 inches. This will keep the beet "juice" in the beet while it is cooked.
Place the cleaned and trimmed beets in a large pot to boil. Boil the beets until they are knife tender.
I hope you like the smell of boiling beets, it smells like fall to me. Yum!
Pour the beets into a colander.
And, yes these beets were from different sources and had quite a variety of shapes.
Again, pour the beets into a clean kitchen sink and fill the sink with cold water.
While the beets are cooling down enough to handle (in the sink), you can begin making the "sauce". I usually double or triple the recipe so I know I will have enough to cover the beets in the jars. It is hard to judge how many pints of beets you will have because of the variety of shapes of the beets. So, have plenty of "sauce" ready. For
one recipe: Add 3 C of vinegar, 5 C of sugar, 1 C of water, and 1/2 tsp. of salt to a large pot. You will be adding the sliced beets to the pot, so leave plenty of room. (For the above batch of beets, I tripled the recipe) Bring the sauce to a boil. By the way the "hairy" arm isn't mine...my son helped!
When the sauce is clear and boiling, add the sliced beets.
Peeling the beets is amazingly easy. Just pull off the stem, then pull off the root and the beet skin will slide right off with a little pressure. If there is a blemish on the skin, you may need to slice that part off with a knife. After peeling the beets, place them in a bowl ready to slice.
Try to slice the beets uniformly.
Once the beets are peeled and sliced, add them to the boiling sauce. Be careful not to splash yourself. (This "hairy" arm belongs to my husband!)
Heat the beet mixture until boiling.
While the beets are heating up, place your clean pint jars in a very large pot. Add water to the pot and also fill each jar halfway. Place the lid on the pot and boil, sterilizing the jars. It is very important to keep the jars piping hot until the canning is completed.
Place the new canning lids in a small pan filled with water and bring to a boil. Place the pan on a trivet near where you plan to fill the jars.
When the jars are very hot and the beets are ready, you can begin to "can." Remove a pint jar from the large pot and pour out the water. Place the jar on a trivet or cutting board.
Place a canning funnel on the jar and begin to ladle the beets and sauce into the jar.
Leave about a 1/2 inch space at the top of the jar.
Wipe the top of each jar with a clean cloth. Again, "hairy" arms not mine!
Add a lid and ring and tighten.
Place the jar on towels or a trivet to cool. Make sure that the jars are not spaced close together.
Pickled beets...mmmm! Do not touch the jars as they cool. They will "pop" as they seal. Wait for 12 hours before checking to see if they have sealed. To check, just push on the lids and if they do not move, they are sealed. If they move or "pop" they have not sealed and should be refrigerated.
I have used the "Open Kettle" method for canning pickled beets for over 30 years without problems. But, some recipes recommend that you place the jars in a water bath to assure that they are sealed. For a water bath, place the jars in a large pot filled with lukewarm water. The water should cover the jars. Place a lid on the pot and boil for approximately 20-30 minutes.
When finished, remove to a towel to cool.
Now it's finally time for a delicious Greek salad...lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives, Feta cheese, and of course, PICKLED BEETS!
It is so nice to have a shelf full of home-made canned goods, especially enough pickled beets for the year.
Pickled Beets- "Sauce"
(for approximately 6-8 pints)
5 C sugar
3 C vinegar
1 C water
1/2 tsp. salt
Enjoy and have a nice day!
That's right- this cute little treat was perched among my gourds and pumpkins!
You see, there's a Farmer's market on the Upper West Side some days...
And they sell all sorts of produce and baked goods.
My colleague knows how much I love these little ghosties, and surprised me with one!
It was the perfect way to enter Halloween weekend- so tasty!
I hope you have a spook-tacular weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
Once we walked into that incredible store, I knew I was going to walk out with a shopping bag... or two... and boy, was I right!
Lucky for my wallet, my parents bought me these beautiful earrings.
They're amazing light and delicate- and I just adore that modern shape!
But the best part? This pair was made of recycled silver!
And with cold weather just around the corner, I couldn't resist taking home a pair of these fingerless mittens by BaaBaaZuZu.
I love this Michigan-made company, and these mittens are just perfect for city living...
They'll keep me warm, but I'll also be able to fumble around in my purse to grab my Metrocard when I need it!
And like the earrings, these mittens are made of recycled wool!
As you can see, I had a very productive shopping experience at Helen Winnemore's! If you ever find yourself in Columbus, I highly recommend stopping by!
I had fun photographing some of the details of the reception...
Like my drink...
The hor d'oeuvres...
My brother's empty drink...
The table number...
And a boutonniere.
It was a lovely wedding- made even more so by the wonderful people involved like my cousin TSMT.
KMM (TSMT's sister) was the maid of honor...
And here's the happy couple with my grandma!
This is a shot of the bride and I before the wedding...
And here's my pretty Aunt P, the bride's mother.
This shot (of my Uncle D and brother) is one of my favorite pictures of the night!
Although I really like this one of my dad and I...
And this one with my mom!
As you can tell it was a beautiful wedding- congratulations again to Mr. and Mrs. T!
Thank you for visiting- I hope you have a great weekend!
