Week 9: The Dark Beet Rises

Picked up our produce this week, and then went straight to the iMax movie presentation of the Dark Knight Rises. It was great.  Loud, large, and very menacing, with Anne Hathaway providing some visual and comic relief.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  We got home late so the result is our own dark night pic.

Cool huh? 
The produce this week was:
Bok choy, Green leaf and Romaine lettuces, Fennel bulb, Beets, and summer squashes.  The new addition to the mix was green beans.

I took the growing number of beets in the cooler as an opportunity to show Maddi how to make pickled beets. We love pickled beets.  Crimson and spicy, sweet and tangy.  They are great right out of the jar or mixed into a salad.  Here's my simple recipe adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Quick Pickled Beets
6 medium Beets cooked like this, (or steamed until just tender) peeled and sliced
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 TB kosher salt
1/2 tsp allspice berries
4 cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2-3 slices of fresh ginger (optional)
1 small onion peeled and sliced

  

Bring the vinegar, sugar, salt and spices to a boil.

Add the beets and the onion and cook for about a minute.

 

Put into jars.

Cool and then refrigerate.  Eat within two weeks (if they last that long).

The produce is starting to win the battle.  More veggies and less space in the fridge.  We need to figure out a way to use a whole lot of veggies in one huge batch of cool, refreshing, greens and zucchini gazpacho.  We are trying very hard to keep up.  I will keep you posted on our progress.

Take care.