Life is still a bit busy around here but 93-year old Rob is out of hospital and on the road to recovery. He’s a bit tender in the boy area and he wears out more quickly but he loves his new room at Arcare with it’s ‘music room’ alcove complete with sofa, TV and a cabinet complete with little fridge. You never know when a quiet glass of single malt scotch with one ice cube might come in handy while you listen to the opera.
Joan still loves her room but she’s not happy there. She realized yesterday that she can’t get out on her own and refused to get up. I went over at 9am and waited until 10:30 for her to get ready for our walk. After dinner she exploded when Rob wanted to go back to his room because he said she couldn’t go with him. Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease. I know it will make me sound awful but her tantrums don’t do a thing to me. They used to but then I realized in 5 minutes she was fine and I was still fretting an hour later. No more.
Back in the olden days when nobody knew I existed I posted my recipe for pickled beets or beetroot, depending upon what you call these globes of goodness. Let’s have a little recipe redux so I can share it again because these are truly good. I love roasting the little beets and then letting them cool until I can slip the peel off without losing my fingerprints. I can never do this without eating one.
I also have a secret. It’s possible to make pickled beets or pickled beetroot without much effort at all. In most large supermarkets you can buy a commercial sized can of baby beets and it’s job nearly done. You will sacrifice only a little bit of flavor plus the knowledge that you didn’t do everything from scratch.
Hoo ha, that has never bothered me at all. It’s the pickling liquid that makes the pickles and that’s where I spend my time.
I put the jars in the dishwasher and make the pickling liquid. When the jars are nearly done I put the canned beets in a big pot and bring just to the boil so I can put hot beets in a hot jar and cover with hot liquid. No glass breaking in my kitchen allowed.
Place the covers on the jars and process in a hot water bath for 30 minutes and then place the jars on layers of newspaper to cool overnight. Any that don’t seal properly, put them in the refrigerator to eat first and the rest can go nicely in the pantry but refrigerate after opening.
I love a spinach salad with slices of fresh orange, feta cheese and pickled beets including the onions. The dressing I like to use is some leftover orange juice from the slices mixed with a bit of the pickled beet juice and I’m a happy woman.
- 8 pints beets (beetroot)
- 2 onions sliced thinly (you can leave these out but seriously, don't)
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 2 Cups Water
- 2 Cups White Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 Teaspoon Allspice
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- Place all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Strain to remove the floaty stuff on top.
- Pour into a large measuring cup to make it easier to fill the jars.
- When the liquid has cooled just a little, fill the jars to ½ inch from the top.
- Wipe rims clean
- Place covers and rings on jars
- Place in a water bath for 30 minutes
- Remove from hot water and place on layers of newspaper and leave for 24 hours to cool