Saturday

beet greens ~

Tis the season ... the garden harvesting is finally upon us.  Yesterday I was putting up beet greens.  Did you know that you can cut off the leaves of the beet plant and get two harvests of greens before you actually have to dig up the beets for harvest?

My outside washing station... a pair of saw horses with a board across ...  four tubs ... three with water ... one for the clean greens.


The leaves get put into the first tub for sorting out the withered or dried undesirables.  A swish and a swirl to get off the dirt ... into the next tub ... for another scrub ... into the third tub of water for a final washing ... just in case there's a little more dirt ... nobody wants to eat gritty greens :)

After the final washing ...


   Now it's off to the boiling pot of salt water sitting out on the deck.   I don't like doing this in the house because it makes too much heat and steam.  I use my turkey cooker for this process.

A five minute blanch in boiling water ...


Then into a tub of ice water to stop the cooking ...


Drain in the colanders ....
Pack into freezer bags ...
One more thing off the checklist of many.  In a few days I'll be doing the same with some swiss chard and with the bok choy.   I love eating them just as is ... or with a little pat of butter and salt and pepper.  Dear Hubby likes them with a splash of vinegar.   mmm... healthy eats.  I can't wait until it's 40 below and I'm cooking these up in a big ol' kettle of Italian wedding soup... my favorite way of eating them.

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

6 comments:

  1. That's interesting and clever. Your outside setup to get the job done. Don't you LOVE sawhorses? I'm not a big fan of beets, myself. And was recently exposed to Swiss Chard for the first time. But I'm crazy about Bok Choy. YUM. We eat kale with vinegar. That's how my mom always made it. ENJOY your harvest.

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  2. i'd rather eat the greens than the pickled beets. :)

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  3. That's quite a harvest you've got there!

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  4. Dadgummit, I hate to be ignorant. I never knew you could eat beet greens. Of course I never lived where beets were grown. I thought God created beets, pickled and in jars in the store. LOL

    I was thinking about canning yesterday. Mama always canned and I wondered how she knew how much to put up to know it would last us thru the winter until the next harvest. I know there were times we ran a little short, but usually she had a few jars with last years dates on them.
    Anyway, my continuing education, CONTINUES!!!!
    Love from Pennsylvania.

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  5. Mmm ~ yummy! Looking good Sis. We had summer squash on the grill tonight alongside lemon-rosemary chicken. My fresh rosemary really punched some great flavors into the marinade. OMG is all I can say!
    'love & hugs from afar'

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  6. I hate when you get so domestic on me...and here I thought you spent the day at Little Girl's Point with Sara and Hubby Don. The beet greens are the best, so naturally sweet. Nothin' finer. I put up green beans, peas and got the first of the summer squash and zuchinni picked. Do you want some basil? I have tons. 2nd drying already. Chard tomorrow.
    Busy time, isn't it~
    LoveYaSis

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