B-E-E-T-S

Hi there everyone.........well another Saturday coming to an end, where DO these days go to. Today was kind of cloudy and there was a bit of rain this morning. Glad it is not raining all day....leaky ceilings make me very frustrated and anxious.

So last night, JP stopped by real quick (between jobs) and gave me a bunch of BEETS!! My first reaction was, "I don't do beets" I have never been a beet fan, probably because I remember seeing my mother spend hours peeling and cutting beets to make borscht for my Ukrainian step-father and his mother and uncle. Uge, I hated beets. Her hands were always beet red when she was finished and I sure did not like borscht!!!! So needless to say I have always shied away from beets. No, I don't like beets!!!

So when JP showed up with beets in his hands, I was not too happy. So, I did what most "good" wives would do....looked up some recipes on the computer to use these beets up REAL QUICK!!!! I found a couple of neat sites, a Ukrainian making borscht, a girl from California, (she was hilarious) and a married couple who made borscht using a blender. That is the one I chose. One of those three "borscht makers" said, "you can use most any vegetable you want, even use meat if you like, as long as there are beets in it, it is a pot of Borscht"

So here I am peeling and slicing potatoes and beets for the borscht.....yes...my hands are beet red as is my cutting board and dish water. I also decided to make pickled beets with the smaller beets, just to see how they would taste and just incase some more beets cross my path, I am ready for the next batch.

Here is my take on the three borscht recipes: 2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced, 4 medium beets, peeled and sliced, salt and pepper to taste. Boil for 1 hour and turn down heat. Add 1 onion chopped, 1 carrot and garlic, fry in oil till cooked and add to beets. Add 1 tablespoon of dill weed.  When cooked and tender use an immersible blender to blend all the vegies together. Dish into a bowl add a dollop of sour cream and top with some dried chives.

The bowl on the left is the Borscht, on the right is the pickled beets. Here is my recipe for the pickled beets. 1 small onion sliced, 1/2 cup red-wine vinegar, 1 packet stevia, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 4 whole peppercorns, 2 whole cloves, 1/2-1 cups steamed sliced beets. Combine onion, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and cloves in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the onion is tender and crisp. Stir in beets, transfer to a large bowl and let marinate, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

So there you have it.....you can't "beet" a Friday night like I had last night. It was fun and who knows, I just might do it again. Have a great rest of the weekend. Hope you can "beet" the heat and enjoy.
Cheers ~ Louise

PS If you would like to see what I am talking about on wordpress here is my address there. http://cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com