Sunday, May 8, 2011

A Tisket a Tasket~

Beets FILLED MY BASKET! 

I spent the better part of my Saturday researching beets. 
I probably should have been doing more of this all along; but now it is CRUNCH TIME!  
Check out this first crop of beets I got out of my garden yesterday. 
This basket is filled and some of these beets are so LARGE! 



I looked up recipes and tips for harvesting, storing, cooking, freezing and drying beets. One of the favorite links I found was Tipnut.com -- I went to this page 
Honey says-- he doesn't care what I do with them; as long as I pickle some. So tomorrow, that is what I hope to be doing! 

All I've ever had in the way of beets is pickled-- Him too. So I was at a loss of what to do with these vegetables.  
I didn't know that they can cooked and mashed like potatoes-- and eaten with butter and salt and pepper. 
I didn't know that they are part of the CHARD family and can be eaten in soups! 

The beets can be cleaned, peeled and grated and eaten on salads for a delicious crunchy flavor. 
Beets can be boiled, baked, oven-roasted , steamed and microwaved.  WHO KNEW?  

The tops are to be cut off, leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of stem before cooking the beets to keep them from "bleeding" and you must NOT cut the roots off either.  The tops may also be blanched and dipped in ICY COLD water and frozen... to be used later in soups. 

I'm so excited about our beets and I'm looking forward to using them in some different dishes other than PICKLED.  Although PICKLED beets from our own garden sound so delicious!  To think that I've only ever had beets from a can!  What was I missing?  I don't know.  I tell you when I've sampled them. 
The true test will be Honey.  The TRUE TEST TASTER! 


I'm linking here at The Prairie Homestead 


God Bless you and Thanks for Reading!

5 comments:

Gail said...

What a pretty display of beets. I love beets! I like to boil them and eat them with melted butter.....yummy!

Have a wonderful day,
Gail

Granny said...

I love pickled beets. I also like to chop them and eat them in salads. Yummm

Lisa said...

I am planting mine today, can't wait! YUM! Yours look wonderful!

Unknown said...

I LOVE BEETS! My favorite way is from my Russian/Ukrainian heritage: Borsch! You use ALL of the beet (except the very top of the shoulder) and it makes a surprisingly sweet, hearty, and brilliant red soup!!!!!!! If you're ever interested, I'll pass the recipe on to you!

SparingChange said...

Never tried to grow beets. Maybe next year! Yours look great!