Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled...Beets!

Ok, so the last few years I've tried to look up my pickled beet recipe on this blog.  The problem is, it never made it here. Why not?  Well, as with many things I cannot simply use someone else's recipe.  That would be too easy.  No, I have to take three different recipes and then come up with my own.  And sometimes those creations work better than others. Of course, I only want to keep the good recipes, so you have to eat the thing before you decide if it's a keeper. But with pickles, there's usually at least a month between when I make them and when we eat them. (An exception would be the fermented dills that I made with Christine, but that's another post.) And by then I've totally forgotten all about posting recipes. So now, as this year's beets are in the canner, I'm going to post this recipe. Then it'll be here when I look for it next year.

Pickled Beets

3 cups sugar
3 cups water
4 cups vinegar
large metal bowl full of beets (boiled and skinned)

1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground allspice (if I can find it)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp pickling salt

Bring brine and spices to a boil, add beets.  Simmer 5 min (to heat beets through), fill sterilized jars.
Process 30 min

Makes 5-6 quarts

Rub-a-dub Dub!

Nothing like getting ready for bed in the fresh outdoors.  TwinA loves the water. BroB his crazy hair.

I like toast and jam

Especially apricot jam.

No, I don't have a tree, or someone who likes to give me bushels of fruit (I wish!) but I do have kids that love to eat fresh fruit.  So last year when the grocery store had them on sale for $.99/lb my daughter and I will filling produce bags.  Another shopper asked dd if we were making jam.  "No," she replied.  The shopper eyed the several bags of fruit in our cart and inquired, "Well, what are you going to do with all those apricots?"  Dd shrugged slightly and replied, "Just eat them."

But that got me thinking.  Why not try making jam?


Apricot Jam summary
2011 - Followed the Certo light recipe.  Way too firm.
2012 - Followed the no-added-pectin old-fashioned cook-it-down approach.
     Batch one:  12 c quartered fruit, 5 c sugar. 6 apricot kernels added during cooking (cracked pits w/ nutcracker). Mix and let sit overnight (and then some - the next day was way too hot to cook up jam.)  Tried to cook it and watch a movie at the same time.  Scorched jam.  Tried to pick out all brown bits into separate dish (still tasted good - no burnt taste.  One piece of toast tasted like toasted marshmallow!)  Yield:  5 jars (3 pints, 2 quarts).
     Batch two:  10 c. fruit - cut up smaller, 4 c. sugar, approx 2 T lemon juice.  (Forgot to add the kernels.)  Let sit for a night and a day.  (Again, longer than planned.)  Brought to boil, skimmed foam (saved "syrup" from bottom of foam - girls loved it on french toast.)  Simmered for awhile (1/2 hour?).  Looked about ready (thicker) at lunch time so I turned it down.  After lunch I nursed babies, put them down for their nap, prepared to read stories to girls, remembered jam!  It was starting to catch on bottom.  Wanted to jar right away, but hadn't put jars in oven to sterilize yet, so I tried microwaving them.  Don't know if this is actually a legit way to sterilize jars, so I water-bath canned them after filling.  Yield:  5 jars (3 pints, 2 odd (larger than pint, smaller than qt)).

Hands-free blogging

Does it exist?  'Cause mine are full!

Monique's Salsa

This recipe seems to have made the rounds - I copied it down from Leslie's fridge, then Sandy and I made it (she had it too).  It sure is yummy!

Salsa

10 c. diced Roma tomatoes, skin on (3l basket)

2 lg onions, diced
2 green peppers, diced (I used red)
1 jalapeno, diced (seeded for less spicy salsa) (We kept the seeds from 1/2 - 1 pepper for Medium-hot.)
1 banana pepper, diced (same - remove seeds for less heat)
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 Tb coarse salt
13 oz can tomato paste
1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
2 Tb sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 Tb lime juice

Mix all except tomatoes in a pot.
Simmer on low 20 minutes.
Add tomatoes, mix and remove from heat.
Fill sterilized jars and put on lids.
Can 20 minutes.  (Can also freeze instead of canning.)
Makes about 12 cups.

Dill Pickles

Mom & Dad are here.  Went to St. Jacob's mkt today.  Picked up a 1/2 bushel of pickling dills (the size I like - 3-4").  It made 20 qts.  I think it was 3 batches of brine (1 c salt, 3 c vinegar and 12 c water).  Dill, a clove of garlic and cucumbers in ea. jar.  Lids are popping now!

Mama's taking us to the zoo tommorrow!

The Toronto Zoo is having a Family Day Contest. Here's our cheesy entry:




"Mom, do wolves swim?"
"What's your favourite raptor?"
"Which do you like better, caimans or alligators?"

It's questions like these,
and many beside,
that lead me to wonder
if we shouldn't reside
IN THE ZOO!

It's Lego creations
of foxes and birds,
of beavers and moose
that we've seen, smelled and heard
IN THE ZOO

It's playmobil worlds
of penguins and seals,
otters and caimans,
lizards and eels
(just like)
IN THE ZOO

It's drawings and sketches
of stingrays and sharks,
colourful barbets,
eagles and larks
IN THE ZOO

Perhaps complete habitation
is a bit much to ask
so with membership in hand
we'll continue to bask
IN THE ZOO!

With friendly volunteers
and helpful zoo keepers
we learn more of the animals;
our friendships grow deeper
IN THE ZOO


p.s.

But Mommy!

Don't forget the -

cichlids, macaws, bats and ardvarks,
the octopus, tamarin, camels, and sharks.
The turtles, racoons, elk, and sea horses;
the hippos, the leopards and rhinoceroses.

And the great horned owl! And the giraffes! And tigers and zebras and all the laughs...

As you can see
It's time that we
get back
IN THE ZOO!