Winding down another day and sitting here breathing in the lingering smell of paint drying on the walls. The green walls of the living room (the same green which once filled the entire main living space of the upper floor) have been given a first coat of Behr’s Gobi Desert. It’s hard to get an accurate impression of it at night but it definitely neutralizes the living room. Hooray!

Tomorrow I will be turning 10 pounds of beets into pickles. I’ve never made beet pickles (or pickled beets, if you prefer) before but I do love them (I can eat a jar in one sitting by myself) and one of the local grocery stores had the 10 pound bags for $1.77. The recipes I’ve found don’t look that difficult or involved either. I like this one at Domestic Reflections, which uses the reserved cooking water. Instead of throwing all those nutrients down the drain, they’re added into the canning jars. I’m not sure yet if I’ll boil them or roast them though. I did learn that if I go with the boiling route I should leave them unpeeled and with the tails and an inch or two of stem attached to minimize the bleeding. Once they’re cooked, run them under cold water and, wearing gloves to avoid staining, rub the skins off.

I have about a dozen and a half quart jars but, though I’m sure I could sit and eat a quart of pickled beets on my own, I’ve borrowed some pint jars instead (as most of mine are filled with applesauce) and I’m ready to go! I think. I have a tendency to overthink things and worry myself out of doing something or at least procrastinating on it. I think I’ll use the reserved-water idea from Domestic Reflections and the quantities from Country Home Canning. I’ll prepare the beets to see how much that gives me and go from there on figuring out the pickling part. I had planned to make my own pickling spice but we’ll see how tomorrow morning goes. I’ll have to round up the ingredients; I have a few of them but not all.

Pickling Spice (recipe from grouprecipes.com)

What are some of the health benefits of beets/beetroot? Beet juice contains betaine, which stimulates the function of liver cells and protects the liver and bile ducts. According to various sources, some recent studies indicate that betaine contributes to the prevention of coronary and cerebral artery diseases. Red Beet is unique for its high levels of anti-carcinogens and its very high carotenoid content. It is chock full of antioxidant that helps the body against heart disease, certain cancers (especially colon cancer), and birth defects. Betacyanin gives beets their red color and is absorbed into our red blood cells and can increase the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood by up to 400 per cent!! Beets can help in normalizing blood pressure and also help to maintain the elasticity of our arteries. They also are very helpful in liver, kidney, and gallbladder function as well as in the natural treatment of certain skin disorders and afflictions (scroll halfway down the page here). Not bad for a humble little root vegetable, is it?

So what do you say, Babe? Want to help me create a horror movie in my kitchen after we pick my car up in the morning? Even if I muddle through on my own I’ll give you a jar. But just one. The rest are for me.

And Oh. Holy. Crap! Typo in my header!! That’s been there a long time. I can’t breathe. Must. Fix. It. Now.