"Make hay while the sun shines" I think the saying goes. Well... today I needed to make hay so to speak.
Last night, after harvesting my turnips (which were planted in a row right next to my beets) and while talking with Ed on the phone, I noticed that I had some bites taken out of my bigger beets. I lost much of our beet harvest last year to whatever mole, vole, mouse, or raccoon does this; so, I decided I needed to harvest beets as well.
Henry and a couple of friends were here last weekend and when I suggested sending some beets home with Henry (he absolutely loves beets!), he said he'd rather I wait for them to get bigger. Well, with the newly discovered varment issue, that wasn't going to work. I did hold back a small handful of beets to give to Henry; but, I needed a way to preserve my unexpected harvest.
I've always loved pickled beets (Ed doesn't care for beets regardless of preparation and Henry only likes fresh cooked beets); so, I've been eying a pickled beet recipe for a while. Now was the time. I got 8 half pint jars out of my harvest (plus a little extra for my dinner) and was able to can them via my steamer canner. It was a pretty straight forward and easy process and I must say that the steamer canner is the way to go (versus water-bath canning) if you're canning in the summer and don't want to heat up the house more than necessary.
I also needed to do something with those turnips I harvested. Because no one but me in my family really cares for turnips, I decided to pressure can them (after dicing them into small cubes). My intention is to either use them myself; or, add them to mashed potatoes (if serving Ed and or Henry).
Lastly, I noticed that the bugs were getting my cabbages; so, I picked 4 heads and fermented them (with a little garlic and caraway seeds) to make fermented sauerkraut. My 4 heads made exactly a 1 gallon jar of kraut. This is actually very delicious on a bagel with cream cheese or with / in a grilled cheese sandwich.
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