Pickled Beets - Summertime Pleasure!

Pickled Beets are amazing. Last year I became obsessed with beets. It's sad that I let so much time go without beets in my life. I say that because my mom used to make beets but until last year I haven't had them since childhood. That is time wasted.

But, no worries. I am making up for lost time.

Pickled beets have the most amazing texture - smooth and firm. It's hard to believe they're not candy. We've already canned a big batch of beets this year and I made sure to include a lot of onions. The Hub and I were always fighting over the onions in the batch from last year so I had to make sure we had a bunch. Plopping a few hard boiled eggs into each jar won't hurt either - until you've eaten the 2 eggs and there's none left. ;)

If you forgot to grow beets this year, don't fret. Run over to your local farmer's market (or grocery store if you're really desperate) and buy some.

15-20 medium sized beets
1 pound of onions
3 1/2 cups of white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups of beet water (cooking liquid)
1 tbsp kosher salt
a dozen hard boiled eggs

Prep your beets. Cut the stems off about 1 inch from the top. Trim the root off. The reason why you want to cut the stem an inch from the top is to ensure the glorious beet color doesn't leach out during cooking. Place the beets in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about an hour.

Once tender when pricked with a fork remove from heat by using a slotted spoon to pull the beets out of the hot water. Save 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid Let cool until they are cool enough that you can handle them. Now cut off the top and peel the skin. Slice the beets into about 1/4 inch thick slices.

Slice the onions.

Prepare your lids and jars (about 6). Do this by running them through a scalding hot water bath.

Bring a large canning pot filled with water to a boil.

In a separate pot bring the beet cooking liquid, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil.

Carefully pack the jars by layering the onions and beets. Be careful not to touch the edge of the jar. Fill to about 3/4 inch from the top. This can be accomplished most easily with a canning funnel.

Pour the liquid over the tops, covering the beets completely until the liquid comes to about 1/2 inch from the top. Cover with the sealing lid and screw on the top. Carefully lift the jars with canning tongs into the boiling water and boil for about 5 minutes. Remove and let sit on a towel covered area on your counter. Allow to sit until the seal is made. You can tell the jar has a seal when the center of the lid is impressed and not 'clickable'.

Serve as a wonderful snack, breakfast treat or as part of your antipasta tray during your next football party.

Beet Green Lasagna with a Bechemal Sauce

We recently made a batch of pickled beets. I was really surprised at our harvest this year as last year was a little disappointing. Well, when you harvest beets, we're also harvesting beet greens. Nobody in our house is too disappointed with that since it's one of The Hub's favs.

To give you an idea of exactly how many beet greens we had to use up, the greens filled 4 (FOUR!!!) plastic grocery bags that were packed. I'm pretty proud of myself because none went to waste. This recipe was one of my more creative uses since mostly we just wilted the greens as I did in this recipe and ate them plain.

For a little more decadence and elegance I highly recommend trying this instead of wilted greens alone.



Beet Green Lasagna with a Bechemal Sauce

10 ounces of lasagna noodles
2 pounds of beet greens
1 tbsp olive oil
3 anchovies
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
8 ounces Gruyere cheese
4 ounces provolone cheese
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook lasagna noodles in a pot of salty water for 4 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Cut the greens in batches to create ribbons of beet greens. Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add the crushed red peppers and the anchovies mixing with a wooden spoon until the anchovies have dissolved into the oil. Add the greens in batches depending on how much the pan can hold until all the greens are wilted. Remove from the heat.

Make the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saute pan and slowly stir in the flour. Allow the butter and flour mixture to gently cook for about a minute. Slowly stir in the cream and stock until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Create an assembly line with the ingredients - cheese, lasagna noodles, beet greens and bechamel sauce.

In a baking dish begin assembling the lasagna. To avoid sticking on the bottom start with a spoon full of bechamel sauce spread over the baking sheet. Next layer the noodles to cover the bottom of the pan. With your fingers, spread 1/3 of the beet greens evenly over the lasagna noodles. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the beet greens and then spoon more bechamel sauce over the cheese. Continue layering the lasagna, beet greens, cheese and bechamel for 2 more layers. The lasagna should be topped with a layer of noodles, bechamel and cheese.

Cook at 375 degrees until bubbly and golden, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes to allow to set.

Flatbread with Anchovies and Basil

Looking for that quick and easy dinner idea that is full of flavor but EASY?

Well, I came up with this little treat one evening when I wasn’t in the mood to cook. We had recently gotten home from vacation, the garden needed weeding, the carpet (which was really dog hair) needed removed and in general life was really overwhelming trying to keep up. I did eventually get caught up on getting my life back under control. (Theoretically. ;) Even though this recipe was an afterthought, I’d definitely make it again.

The recipe here calls for Greek style pitas which are thicker and softer than the pocket style pitas. They are great for pita wraps and pizzas. Very tasty indeed!

Flatbread with Anchovies and Basil
4 Greek style pitas
1 large handful of fresh basil leaves - chopped
1 can of anchovies
2 cups provolone cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil to make cleaning super easy. Brush each side of each pita with the olive oil. Bake for 4-5 minutes until the bottom is slightly crispy.

Flip the pitas and top the crispy side with the chopped basil leaves. Top with the cheese and divide the anchovies among the four pitas. Bake for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese is warm and bubbly.

Place each pita on a cutting board and cut into eights. Serve with a light salad topped with a simple vinaigrette for a more rounded meal.