PICKLED BEETS
Beets, ready to be cooked,
sliced, pickled and eaten!
Serves 2-4 as a side dish:
4 or 5 beets
¼ C. cider vinegar
1 T. sugar
1 T. olive oil
½ tsp. dry mustard
Salt and pepper
You will need a knife (and adult
supervision!), a cutting board,
a cooking pot, a steamer if you have
one,
a fork, a drainer or strainer, ice
water or cold water, and mixing bowl.
Pickled beets make a nice side
dish with grilled meat, or a colorful addition to a summer salad buffet or
relish tray. Watch out that the beet juice doesn't stain your hands or clothes,
though! It's strong stuff, and the best way to prevent stains is to handle
beets under running water in a clean sink.
First, get a pot of water
boiling. Over the sink, cut off all but the closest inch or two of stems and
leaves from the beet itself, and discard or compost. Either leave the root as
is, or cut it to within an inch of the bottom of the beet.
Scrub the beets with your hands
under running water to remove all dirt. Don't worry if they are not a pretty
color. They will be!
If you have a steamer, place the
prepared beets in it and lower it over the water. If not, just plunk the beets
into the boiling water.
After 20-30 minutes, check to
see if a fork will go easily into a beet. If not, keep boiling for a few more
minutes and try again.
Drain. Plunge into ice water or
cold water. When the beets have cooled enough to handle, pick them up one by
one over the sink, under running water, and push away the peel with your
fingers. Discard or compost the peel. You will be left with a smooth, shiny,
slippery, dark red beet.
Now you can slice each beat or
cut them into bite-sized chunks.
Make a pickling juice with the
other ingredients listed above, and marinate (let stand) the beets in the juice
for a half-hour at room temperature.
Then eat your beets!
-- www.KidsGardenClub.org