Friday, August 3, 2012

Sue’s Pickled Beets

My Grandmothers, both of them, made the best pickled beets.  The whole ritual of going down into the musty basement and over to the shelves of canned food, selecting just the right jar(s) for supper, cracking the seal once back up in the kitchen and spilling the contents into a waiting dish or pan. It brings back so many sweet memories of summer-time at their elbows, watching and learning.  Helping them prepare the fruits and vegetables for canning may take some effort and time to prepare, but the results are delicious.  Pickled Beets in particular are my favorite and a welcome tart-sweet counterpoint to any meal.  My recipe adds a little southern spice to their mid-west wholesomeness.  
Ingredients
25 lbs of medium Red Beet (one box), trim root tip and tops.
6 large Yellow Onion, sliced thin
6 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
3 cups Water
24 packets of Stevia (or other Sugar substitute) (or more to taste)
12 – 2 ½ “ Cinnamon Stick
12 medium Bay Leaf  (combine 2 small to equal 1 medium)
48 whole Cloves
6 teaspoon Orange Peel
12 Jalapeno Peppers, quarter lengthwise, remove seeds
12 Cayenne Peppers, whole (optional)
Directions
The Beets
Boil Red Beets like you would potatoes.  They are “done” when a fork pierces the flesh easily.  Dump in sink to cool.  Put on rubber or latex glove unless you want red skin. When the Beets are cool enough to handle, peel the Beets.  This is easily done.  When cooked and still a little warm, the skin of the beet will literally rub off.  Trim any rough spots left.  Dice or slice beets into large-ish pieces.  For ease in the next step, put all prepared beets in large container before assembly in next step.
The Juice
Mix Apple Cider Vinegar and Water into large pitcher.  You can do this in smaller batches if your pitcher wont hold the 9 cups.  Just mix in 2 parts Vinegar 1 part Water ratio.
Per quart Jar
See Note below about Canning
Add 2 packets of Stevia, 1 Cinnamon Stick, 1 Bay Leaf, 2 whole Cloves, ½ teaspoon Orange Peel, 1 quartered Jalapeno Pepper, 1 Cayenne Peppers.  Add ½ - ¾ cup Juice (Vinegar/Water) to the Jar and swish around until it’s mixed.  Imagine enough sliced Onion to equal ½ of the original Onion, this is the amount per Quart Jar.  Alternately add Beets and Onion, gently pressing and packing them into the jar until they reach the “bottom of the neck of the jar.”  Fill jar with Juice, to cover the beets.  Add the Juice SLOWLY, jiggling and shaking the jar to encourage any trapped air bubble to rise to the top.  Put on your lid and screw the ring on very tightly.
Process the Jars
Quart Jars should process in boiling water for 35 minutes. See Note below.  Remove and let cool completely.  Label jars with contents and date. 
Serving
Place Jar in refrigerator, chilling completely before serving. 
Abstinent Measuring
1 cup Beets = 1 vegetable
Note
1.        This recipes aims at 12 quarts of pickled beets. 
If you want few quarts, prepare the quantity of beet desired, then follow the “per quart jar” directions for spices.  Process quart jar for 35 minutes.  If you want pint jars, half the “per quart jar” directions.  Process pints jars in boiling water for 30 minutes.
2.       Canning is becoming a lost art.  Please spend a few minutes on the internet and look up general canning advice, tools and processing times. 
a.        Generally you want very very clean jars and lids.  One trick is to run them thru the dish washer just before use. 
b.       You want the water boiling in the huge, multi gallon processing pan before you add the filled jars.  And then you don’t start the “processing time” until the water starts to boil again.  Processing time for pints is 30 minutes and for quarts is 35 minutes.  Don’t cut the time short. Remember that you are sterilizing and killing microbes and you are using heat to do it.  

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Chicken Livers Sauté

Ingredients
6 oz raw Chicken Livers
4 oz diced fresh Onion
1 teaspoon Butter
½ teaspoon Sage
½ teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper (amount to your preference)
1 cup shredded Lettuce
Directions
Fry Liver quickly in ½ of the melted Butter.  Set aside.  Fry diced Onion in the other half of the melted Butter over medium heat until Onion becomes translucent in appearance. Add all Seasonings and Liver stirring mixture well.  Total cooking time approximately fifteen minutes.  Serve over lettuce.
Abstinent Measuring
1 recipe = 1 protein, 1 vegetable
*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Monday, July 23, 2012

Dressing Du Jour

This is called “du jour” because you can create an almost infinite number of new dressings every day. 
Ingredients
1 teaspoon Oil
1 TBLspoon Water
2 teaspoon Vinegar
1 teaspoon Spices
Optional
1 teaspoon Fat-free Sugar-free dressing
A portion of protein
A liberal dose of imagination is always a good ingredient!
Directions
Whisk together a choice of Oil, Vinegar, Spices and Water, adding a portion of protein or fat-free dressing as you like.  Experiment and enjoy.  There’s no reason to become bored with your salad or its dressing!
Abstinent Measuring
2  TBLSpoon = 1 Salad Dressing.  Include protein if used.
Note
OIL: Monday use olive oil, Tuesday use mayonnaise, Wednesday use sesame oil, Thursday use safflower oil, Friday use peanut oil, Saturday use hazelnut oil, Sunday use walnut oil
VINEGAR: cider vinegar, brown rice vinegar, white vinegar, red wine vinegar, tarragon vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar…
SPICES: blends of Italian, Chinese, Cajun, Garden mix, pepper mix, Creole mix, sweetened (artificial sweetener) blends with ginger and orange rind… try adding a fresh herb like cilantro, basil, dill, oregano or grating in a vegetable you don’t usually put in your salads like celery root, beets, turnips or rutabaga.
INCORPORATING PART OF THE PROTEIN: buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, feta, blue cheese, Parmesan, Romano, other shredded cheeses are all fair game in small doses.
*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004