Today I picked beets out of the garden, ripped the tops off and fed them to the chickens, washed the beets, cut them up, boiled them and ended up with this beautiful bowl.
Now, even if you aren’t a fan of the flavour of beets, you can’t deny their gorgeous colour. In hindsight, I should have chosen a different bowl, as the colours seem to fight with each other.
I love cooked beets, served hot with butter, salt, and pepper. Husband prefers pickled beets, served cold. Son despises beets but will sometimes eat one piece to make me happy.
Today’s efforts had to do with pickling beets. It’s a bit of a job, but not a difficult one. Here is the end result.
Please note the use of Joanne’s tea towel, an ever present favourite in my kitchen and something that has been in many blog photos over the years! Still love the colour choice!
Again- look at the colour with the sun shining through the jars. The lowly beet is a thing of beauty. ( The rabbit plate was a gift from daughter who always knows what to give people- and who also likes beets but prefers them roasted).
Have you tried saute'ing beet greens with a little olive oil and then a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper? Chop the stems and leaves a little to make them easier to eat. When I grew beets I loved to thin them and then cook them this way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendation, but I have tried and really don't like the greens.
DeleteYES!!
ReplyDeleteWhen the main course is meat/chicken/rice/potato/pasta, the taste is always great but the filled pot looks a bit ordinary and usually one coloured. A bowl of pickled beets on the table adds colour and freshness, much like a bowl of pickled cucumbers.
When I was little, at my grandmother's house, there would always be some form of 'pickles' on the table with a meal.
DeleteI like my beets too . I prefer them boiled and dressed with olive oil and vinegar. And garlic sauce. Garlic, bread, and lots of olive oil welled smashed together. It's the traditional way to eat them here.
ReplyDeleteAnd they always eat the green leaves too, But then your chooks would miss out
DeleteNow I'm wondering what garlic sauce is. I honestly don't like beet greens. I have tried to like them, but no.
DeleteIn England we call them beetroot. I preserve them in vinegar and eat with salad and that is the only way I eat them. I slice thinly and not in chunks. I boil one small bunch of a Sunday and they last me all week and then on a Sunday I do it all again. I buy them in the supermarket from the fresh vegetable counter. I only do this in the summer. You can buy them ready to eat in a pack but I don't think they ever taste the same as ones I boil myself so I don't buy them.
ReplyDeleteSo, it's like a quick pickle that is kept in the fridge, rather than preserving and sealing for later. This uses a brine made of vinegar, water, sugar and a little bit of salt. Maybe they taste similar to yours.
DeleteYes, a quick, weekly pickle.
DeleteLove those photos! I'm a beet fan too. Last week someone gave me some fresh garden beets and I made borscht. Mmm, mmm, good!
ReplyDeleteI am a big time beet fan. I love, love, love beets. So many fun ways to use them.
ReplyDeleteI always loved beets as a child but seldom eat them as an adult. 😢My husband, a Southener, never ate them as a child nor developed a taste for them. Maybe I'll do a quick pickle and see if he likes them on salads. Your jars look so pretty, and I love the tea towel.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a beet fan -- not since childhood, when I'm told I turned a light-colored bib pink after spitting them out! But pickled MIGHT be a different story!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a thing a beauty! Love beets and hubby loves beet pickles.
ReplyDeleteMy mom loved beets, like you, cooked with butter and salt and pepper. I could eat a couple pieces but I preferred the pickled version too.
ReplyDeleteAnother fave of mom's was borscht, but I don't recall her making it, instead we'd stop at a restaurant mid-way between home and the nearest city so she could have a bowl.
Quite delicious - and VERY good for you!
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, prefer fresh beets cooked with butter and salt... but mom did make beet salad with vinegar and onions years ago. DH likes them too, but I hardly ever make them. Perhaps I'll pick some up next time we shop.
ReplyDeleteI love beets and cannot remember having them since I moved here. I must take that up with the kitchen. Glad the towel continues to serve.
ReplyDeleteI love beets! My spouse does not. Whenever we are served some I quote Harold and Maude to eat up your beets. Unlike Harold he doesn't .
ReplyDeleteYes, beets are definitely a bit of work, but so worth it. Yours look lovely. I also prefer mine cooked, with salt and pepper, but no butter. Hubby likes them pickled, so I put them up both ways. And I usually freeze some of the tops, as we really like beet greens.
ReplyDeleteI no longer grow beets as I really don't like them (I will occasionally eat a couple of slices). Hubby loves pickled beets and perhaps I will purchase a few and make him some this year.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I adore beets. Seeing them made me miss my mother terribly. She made the most delicious beet salad ever.
ReplyDeleteOne of my students made pickled beets and I loved them. I was unaware of what happens when you pee after eating beets. I never ate them growing up.
ReplyDelete