Pickled Beetroot

Ingredients

Up to 2kg fresh beetroot
1½ litres vinegar – either malt vinegar or wine vinegar, depending on what you prefer
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
About 10 whole cloves
1 dried bay leaf
250g Sugar (optional)

Method

1. Chop the stalks off the beetroot, leaving 2cm (an inch) attached to the beetroot. Scrub the beetroot gently, removing any dirt, taking care not to damage the skin. Wrap them in foil and bake at 180 degrees C for up to 2 hours, until they are tender.
2. While the beetroot is baking, make the vinegar mixture:
   • Place vinegar, coriander, cloves, peppercorns & bay leaf in a large pan
   • Bring to the boil for about 1 minute.
   • Turn off the heat and cover the pan.
   • Leave the flavours to infuse for about 2 hours.
   • Strain and disgard spices before using (optional).

Note: if you prefer sweet pickled beetroot, add 250g sugar to the vinegar before heating. Stir well to make sure the sugar has dissolved.

3. If the skins are thick, you can peel the beetroot. Wear gloves if peeling, or risk your fingers and nails turning pretty, bright pink!
4. Slice the beetroot into 1/2 cm slices.
5. Place your slices into sterilised jars.
   • Wash your jars in hot, soapy water and rinse well
   • Put upside down in an oven at 100 degrees C for 20 minutes
   • Allow to cool slightly and fill while still warm
   • Use a vinegar-resistant lid (i.e. plastic-coated, so no metal comes into contact with the vinegar, or this corrodes and will ruin the pickle)

6. Bring the vinegar mixture to the boil and then fill the jars.
7. Seal the jars with an airtight, vinegar resistant lid.
8. Leave for a few weeks before eating. Gently shake the jars every week or so, to allow the flavours to infuse.

Time From Cupboard-To-Table

About an hour

Tips For Pickled Beetroot

Don’t prick the beetroot or completely remove the stalks, or the beetroot juices will leak during cooking, leaving you with a very pale vegetable.

Experiment with which spices you choose in your pickling vinegar.

If you’re really organised, you’ll get a better flavour by preparing your vinegar several months ahead of time. Put the spices in a cold vinegar bottle and leave for 2 months. You don’t need to heat.

So there you have it. I like my pickled beetroot better than the canned beetroot. It’s delicious(a very pleasant surprise actually) and I know exactly how it was grown and pickled.

Happy Organic Gardening, Healthy Living…

Julie

I’ve just made a batch of quince jam. It’s delicious. My grandma used to make it, as well as preserved quinces, which I love too. I know the humble quince isn’t any good as a fresh fruit – if you’ve even bitten into one you’d know what I’m talking about. It can make the cutest face contort with its astringent pang.

But when it’s cooked it has one of the most delicious flavors that I know. OK, here’s how I make my quince jam. Double the recipe or triple it, depending on how many quince and jars you have.

Quince Jam

6 large quinces

2.5 cups raw sugar

3 cups water

That’s it! Just peel and core your quinces. Cut them into small pieces. Add the sugar and water and cook (just boiling) for about an hour. Use a blender to sort of puree your ingredients, pour into sterilized jars and label. Too easy!

And quinces are so easy to grow once established, if you live in a cool to temperate climate. They need deep, rich soil and a good regular watering during long hot, dry spells. The trees are quite attractive and have a lovely pink blossom.

They are the last fruit the birds will come for in your organic garden and when they’re picked (before you turn them into jam or preserves) they have the most divine smell that will have you walking past them just to catch another smell.

With all those wonderful benefits, the quince tree is a great tree to consider for any organic food garden.

Happy Organic Gardening, Healthy Living…

Julie

We’ve enjoyed zucchinis in stir-frys, roasted, barbequed, raw in salads, but my favourite way is turned into a nourishing soup.

Leek & Zucchini Soup

2-3 tablespoons oil (I prefer cold pressed, extra virgin, olive oil)

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 or 2 leeks, halved and sliced

3 or 4 zucchinis, diced

3 or 4 potatoes, diced

1 – 1.5litres water or vegetable stock

herbs, salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan, then add onion, garlic & leek. Fry till starting to brown. Add your zucchinis and fry for several minutes. Then add in your potatoes, herbs (I like parsley and thyme) and water or stock. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until potato is soft. Add salt & pepper to taste and beat with a bamix or blender til smooth and creamy. Add a little chopped parsley and / or natural yoghurt for zing.

This recipe is very healthy and delicious – especially if you grow all (or most) of the ingredients yourself, like I do. It freezes well and keeps for up to six months in the freezer. If you freeze it in single serves you can quickly pull one out for lunch and even take to work (if you are able to heat it).

warmly,

Julie

here’s the pics from my sauce making. Usually I’d use bigger tomatoes, but my saucing tomatoes didn’t do so well this year. I didn’t have room to plant them in the improved raised bed, so they ended up in very sandy soil.

So I picked about 70% of my ripe Tommy Toes and turned them into a batch of sauce.

Then with a wave from my magic wand (oh, alright I’ll give you the recipe), they turned into 7 x 700ml bottles of beautiful sauce. It’s so rewarding to grow something in my organic garden well, then being able to turn it into healthy produce that will last for the rest of the year – or more (if it doesn’t get devoured in the short term).

Tomato Sauce

Place 1 cup water, 2 cups vinegar, 1 cup sugar, 1.5 Tablespoons salt in a large pan. Heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to gentle boil.

Add:-

4.5kg tomatoes, sliced

.5kg onions, diced

.5kg cooking apples, diced

2 Tablespoons fresh or dried herbs (I use a mix of oregano, thyme, parsley and basil)

Simmer for 2 hours or so, stirring ever 15 mins. Use a Bamix or blender and bottle while hot into sterilized bottles.

And then you’ll end up with…..

Great eh?

Happy Organic Gardening,

Julie