Spiced Pickled Beets - Monthly theme

 As promised earlier this month, here is the spiced pickled beets recipe.  The hardest thing about the recipe is cooking the beets and peeling them.  Beets will color your fingers, so grab a pair of gloves.  We have so many gloves around the house these days it was easier than usual this year to keep the purple at bay.

Spiced Pickled Beets (makes 4 pint jars)

3 pounds small fresh beets

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

2 cups cider vinegar

2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice

Directions

Scrub beets and trim tops to 1 in. Place in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender, 25-35 minutes. Remove from water; cool. Peel beets and cut into fourths.

Place beets in a Dutch oven. Add sugar, water and vinegar. Place spices on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag. Add to beet mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard spice bag.

Carefully pack beets into 4 hot 1-pint jars to within 1/2 in. of the top. Carefully ladle hot liquid over beets, leaving 1/2-in. head space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head space, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.

Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 35 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

If you want to make your own pickles in the refrigerator, try our new DIY Refrigerator Pickle Kits

Mexican Refrigerator Pickled Vegetables - Pickled Things Recipe Theme

This is a Mexican pickled vegetable recipe which is much different from a traditional pickled vegetable recipe.  The secret ingredient is Mexican Oregano. Mexican Oregano (Poliomintha longiflora), not to be confused with Cuban Oregano or Cuban Thyme which is a succulent, this is a leafy herb the looks more like tarragon than oregano. Although not a true oregano, Mexican oregano is native to Mexico, Guatemala and parts of South America. Lavender flowers bloom from summer to fall. The leaves have a spicy flavor that many gourmet chefs prefer. Placing whole branches over hot charcoal impart incredible flavor to grilled foods. We have a Secret Recipe DIY Refrigerator Pickles, but it has our special pickling spice, not Mexican Oregano. 

From this seasoning, which is a great companion to hot and spicy, you can make great pickled vegetables.

Mexican Refrigerator Pickled Vegetables  (Verduras en Escabeche)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

12 cloves garlic

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup small cauliflower sections

8 jalapenos and 4 serranos, slit vertically down one side

1 large onion, sliced vertically

1 cup mild vinegar: cider, white wine, or herb-flavored

1 cup water

2 bay leaves

2 whole cloves

3 Tablespoons dried Mexican oregano

6 peppercorns

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions:

Heat oil and add garlic. Sauté until garlic turns golden and remove from oil. Add carrots to hot oil; cook two minutes then add cauliflower, chiles and onion. Continue to cook & stir for about two more minutes - keep veggies crisp.

Add cooked garlic back in along with vinegar, water, and spices. Bring to boil then remove from heat. Transfer veggies and liquid to a clean, hot jar. Let cool and cover. Let develop overnight in the fridge. The oil will cloud up, so let sit for 10 minutes at room temp before serving.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

August in the Backyard Patch Garden

The weather has been a bit weird.  We had a Derecho and a Tornado in our neighborhood this past Monday, causing lost electricity for 21 hours.  I have been picking up sticks and branches for days.  We were out at the herb garden and found that branches from the forest preserve ended up breaking off the tops of a few plants, but no major damage.  The joy of herbs, they are very resilient.  

At home we were blocks from the Tornado that came from Wheaton into Lombard and ended in Villa Park.  The park at Grace and St. Charles lost the tops out of every tree.  The tornado jogged across the railroad tracks and ended up in Villa Park where it took out every tree in a baseball field and decimated the trees in the neighborhood.  I am pretty sure my neighbors in that area do not have electricity yet. We were very lucky, because if that powerful wind ended up in our yard, the old elm in our backyard might not have survived. If you want to get some info, read the Patch article 

My hops were the most injured, with a branch falling on the arbor and side branches being blown off the arbor.  The hops are just maturing, so I do not want to move the branches back into place and risk breaking them and loosing the hops that are almost ready for picking.  But you can see that the arbor is no longer thickly covered with branches like it was earlier this summer.

Don't the hops look wonderful?  I think the harvest this year will be twice that of last year. I might be able to make a ferment this year.  I am going to prune the hops this year because I do not ant them to overwhelm the arbor which cannot support a huge amount of weight.

The herb harvest is a bit delayed this year, but the fruits of the garden are abundant.  This week I cut lemon balm, lemon verbena, stevia, scented geranium, lavender buds, apple mint, chamomile, which to my surprise bloomed a second time, tarragon, basil and others.

I made some honey and flavored sugar, and will be working on herb vinegar in the next day or two.

My tarragon at home has flowered, so I harvested it to make into wreaths.  Some are formed on wire, others are only herb.  Those on wire will  be ornaments and those with no wire will become soup wreaths and used with my soup mixes this fall and winter.

I learned that a spot at home I thought got enough sun did not actually get that much.  This purple basil you can see is dark purple on the top which grew after I moved it and the green leaves at bottom are what grew in it former location.  Purple basil will turn greenish purple if not given enough sun.  So now it is going back the the rich purple I like to see!  And it should do so just in time for me to make herb vinegar with it!

The most exciting thing I did this week was make flower arrangements.  The zinnias are great for cutting and the cosmos, phlox and coxcomb are all ready and the sunflowers are getting there, being a bit behind the rest.  I made more arrangements than my hose is used to.  Here are examples.

Yes, my desk is a mess.  It keeps the cats off, allowing me to actually work!

Happy Gardening!

Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs - Recipe Theme for August

Today I have a unique pickled recipe to try. In this recipe you pickle eggs in beet brine and then make deviled eggs from the pickled eggs.  It is a different recipe and fun to make for a labor day picnic.

Pickled Beets are my husbands favorite pickled item and later this month I will share a wonderful spiced beet pickling recipe for you to try.

Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs
1 16-ounce can or jar pickled beets
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh rosemary for garnish

Directions:

Hard boil your eggs and remove the shells. Set the eggs aside.

To prepare the brine, pour the liquid from a can of pickled beets into a large mason jar or bowl. Add cider vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, and salt. Stir mixture. Carefully (that beet juice will stain!) lower the peeled eggs into the brine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 3 days. The longer you leave them in the brine, the more sour and pink they'll end up. I like just the rim of pink and slight pickled flavor, so I let mine sit about 16 hours.

When brining time is finished, cut each egg in half and scoop out yolks. Place yolks in a medium-sized bowl, along with the mustard, mayonnaise, curry, vinegar, and olive oil. Mix and mash until smooth. Add a little bit of water to the mixture if too stiff. Salt and pepper to taste.

Using a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off, pipe the yolk mixture back into the pink eggs. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and season with salt and pepper.

If you want to pickle beets or other vegetables in your own refrigerator, try our DIY Refrigerator Pickle Kits.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

Spicy Quick Refrigerator Pickled Red Onions - Monthly Recipe Theme

This month the recipe theme is "pickled." One of the best ways to preserve fresh veggies is to brine, ferment or pickle them.  The act of placing veggies in vinegar or salt saves the attributes and makes a great snacking or condiment item.  Many folks shy away from pickling because they see it as too difficult, but I have recipes for easy refrigerator or quick pickles as well as canned pickles too.

And this month we will launch our new DIY Refrigerator Pickle Kits.  They come with everything you need to make quick pickles including seasonings, instructions and the jar to make them in.

Spicy Quick Refrigerator Pickled Red Onions

1 Tbls. Sea salt

1 large organic red onion, thickly sliced

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp red chili flakes

1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar

Directions: 

Toss salt and sliced onions together in a bowl.  Allow to sit for 30 minutes or until the onion begins to release juice.  In a sterilized pint jar, mix together the peppercorns, oregano, cumin, bay leaf chili flakes and garlic.  Add the onion, salt and juice to the jar and pour vinegar to the top.  Be sure to cover the onion completely.  Seal with a lid and refrigerate overnight before using.  Enjoy on salad, sandwiches, tacos, pizza and wraps.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)