Pickled pink

One of the new things growing in my garden this year is beets. Chioggia beets, an heirloom variety that show red and white rings when sliced open. Last Wednesday, in the midst of drizzling rain, I went out to the garden and harvested most of the rosy rubies, bringing them inside for hubby and my wonderful big sis (visiting from St. Paul) to help clean and cut.


The stems and leaves were cut from the beets, and saved in a large bowl in case I get an inkling to do another southern meal this weekend. I must needs find a recipe for grits, so we can have fried chicken, greens and grits. Actually, I have no idea what grits are. Not a big demand for them up here in Minnesota. But I know what lutefisk and lefse are!


Bunches of beets boiling briskly on the burner. Beautiful!


After that, peel and dice. Chioggia beets don't have the dark red color that most beets do. But the flavor is very similar. At least, I can't tell the difference.


Because they lack the intense redness, these pickled beets ended up a lovely shade of pink. They look more like pickled peppermint than pickled beets. They are almost too pretty to eat. Almost.