Lettuce Turnip the Beets! Get the Beets out!

Every year we try something new with our garden. Last year we even acquired a new garden. Even though the satellite garden didn't work so well (See post about grumpy land), this year it was moderately pleasing. We were able to plant some things, but we kept the treasures at home. Such as the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs.

Back to the Grumpy Garden, that is it's official name now. I was wandering through the store and running down the list of seeds they had. I like to look at the beautiful pictures on those hopeful little envelopes always searching for one that I can duplicate--which is like asking McDonalds to make the Big Mac look exactly like the picture. I always start at the beginning of the alphabet and right there, in the beginning, are beets. Yuck! I remember eating beets as a kid and not liking them one bit. They went in the same category as bars of soap as punishment, liver masqueraded as a steak, and wearing a uniform to school as a kid.

In the last decade, or so, there has been a resurgence of eating healthier. By eating locally grown and pesticide free veggies and fruits, also a whole host of buzz-worded terms to make you feel good while eating certain foods/preparations. One such hidden treasure is the beet.

Punny, yet sophiticated

On to the show:

Searching around for ideas on how to handle these little earthy balls of blood stained EVERYTHING, I came across a recipe that didn't use pickling as it's source of preservation-yay! Nope- it's just a plain old beet in water recipe. This got me thinking about how we preserve tomatoes. You can can them by themselves or you can spice them up or add new ingredients. The method of preserving is based on the Ph scale and if a food is less acidic, acid needs to be added to make it suitable for water bath canning, otherwise you MUST use a pressure cooker for low acid foods. I was using both today and knew by adding lemon I was boosting that Ph up with no problems. 

Back to the beets. I am excited and kind of squirrelly as you can read, but I promise to get on with it. I planted beets at the Grumpy Garden with low hopes of it surviving, plus it was an easy shrug away from this vegetable in which I was unsure of eating anyways. They grew! I watched their green and maroon leaves sprout up and saw the little ball reaching both in and out of the dirt. Cool, now what?

Well, I just harvested them and brought them into the kitchen to slice, dice, and hopefully come up with something nice. Another pun.

Here lies Beetster, may he always stay cool

First off, you need to cut off the ends of the plant and peel them. I've heard you can roast them and the skins come off easier, I did not do this. Next, pull out your food processor and toss those little guys in there. Chop until coarsely ground. Put the beets in a saucepan and add the sugar. It may seem like a crumbly mess, but as soon as the heat hits them it turns into a purple sauce of stickiness. Turn the stove down to low and keep stirring.

Don't splash, otherwise, it will look like a scene in Psycho in your kitchen

Next come the part that makes this a safe water bath recipe. Add chopped fresh ginger and lemon. Now I'm talking the whole lemon-Peel and all. Grind those suckers up in that nifty food processor you haven't put away yet on your table or counter. Add these beauties to your warmed beet mixture on the stove. Tun up the heat and get that pot boiling. Let it bubble for about 2 mins, it will get thicker as it cools off. Gather up your hot clean jars (I used 3 1/2pint jelly jars for this) and fill them with the sweet earthy tart madness you just whipped up. Fill to a 1/4 inch headspace and adjust two-piece lids. Put in boiling water canner for 15 minutes and carefully take out and set them up on a counter undisturbed for 12 hours. While they may look black they are really, really, rea-- you get the point.

Aren't they just the perfect substitute for Halloween make up? 

I'm guessing this chutney/relish would taste good with a cream cheese cracker, maybe even goat cheese if you are fancy and want to enhance the sour from the lemon, or some weird new ice cream flavor. I will say this though; even though I hated beets as a child I find them interesting and tasty now. But only the fresh kind. The pickled beets are still on my No-Go list.

Beet Marmalade Recipe

2 1/2 C of coarsely chopped beets, peeled

1 1/2 C of white sugar

1 lemon

2 TB of fresh chopped ginger

Wash and peel the beets. Chop them and put them in a food processor and grind them down to bits, but do not liquefy them. add beets to a saucepan and turn the stove on low heat. Add the sugar and stir until the mixture melts the sugar. Cut lemon into chunks, leaving skins on. Try to take out as many seeds as you can find, some of these may be a bit tricky. Take the fresh ginger and chop it up very thin. Place lemon and ginger in the food processor and repeat the same as the beets, chunky not liquifiedRemeber to check the seals before setting away.