August, the end of Summer and the quietest month of the Summer for the Stay clan. Well, kind of. Summer camps and trips are over and the kids are preparing for a new school year. I find myself extra busy at home this time of year. The woodpile is pretty small, the pigs are getting big. Time to start blocking off every Saturday to make wood. Better call the meat locker and schedule the end of times for the pigs. The garden! Harvest is in full swing. Pull some weeds as I pick the beans and tomatoes. The garden sure looked good before we went on Vacation…. The last couple nights I worked on pickling beets. I am the only one who really likes them. They are a treat I have always enjoyed so every couple years I plant a half a row of beets. As I am cutting the fully cooked, whole beets into chunks, marketing genius strikes! Picture this, the logo is my face, or some other handsome face, with a half beet on each side of his head! BEETS BY STAY! Who wouldn’t buy a jar of pickled beets with a name like that on the jar! Now you see why I do what I do for a living. I may not be able to sell your beets or grain or milk for you with my sweet marketing skills, but I can make sure your Farm, Business and Family have the best possible protections in place. There is enough on your plate already.
PICKLED BEETS
Boil clean, whole beets until soft all the way through leaving some of the trimmed tops on. Cool, then cut off tops and peel the skin. Cut beets into chunks of your desired size. Bring beets and juice mixture to a boil in a separate pan. Add to jars and apply lids while hot so that they seal.
4 ½ cups chunked beets
1 cup beet water from boiling the whole beets
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 ¼ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon pickling spice in a cloth bag