Thursday, October 23, 2008

Dan Can Can

Dan and I finally got around to pickling those beets last night. It was A LOT of work for seemingly little return, but (I think) we're glad that we did it. The sink shot is only half the story, as we were already moving on peeling and slicing them at this point. These were fresh out of the boiling pot (it was really difficult to stop eating the slices as we went...):
The finished products. Beets are SO beautiful. I saved a huge jug of the cooking liquid for dying some beet yarn. (Can you do that? How? Yarn Lovers, please advise!)
We would have had a full batch of seven pints had this one not cracked and dropped out its bottom during the water-bath processing. I knew something was wrong when I saw beets floating in the water when I lifted the lid. (Canners, has this ever happened to you? What went wrong?)
So, six more jars to add to the cellar shelf, two very tired people and 4 beet-stained hands. We were up until 1:00 a.m. finishing these last night and both had go-go-go Thursdays. Wait for it...

...we are beet.

5 comments:

Aunt Jenny said...

Beautiful beets!!!
Yep..that has happened to us all I bet, usually a hairline crack in the jar, or a little cold going into hot water..or the other way around, or just bad Karma. I know it happens to me now and then and it stinks!! Luckily never in the pressure canner..now that would be a mess!!!

Purple Purl Girl said...

Congrats on getting your letter published in the Strib. Also read the letter regarding Al Franken making jokes about Christianity. It was written by our family pharmacist Mike from Snyders on Bloomington & 51st.

Anonymous said...

Yay, beets! I love them! I was heartbroken we only got one jar out of our crop this year. =(

You *can* dye yarn with beet juice--my aunt showed me how. How you do it depends on the kind of yarn. (Obviously, you wouldn't want to boil and agitate wool!) If you know what kind of yarn you want to use, I am sure you can surface instructions. I may even be able to get some advice from my aunt' family...

One thing that dyes beautifully with beet juice? Denim! I dyed my overalls after they were sprayed with juice and they turned out gorgeous and exotic looking. ;)

Anonymous said...

LoL.

When I first read the title, I was picturing that you posted a video of Dan dancing the cancan.

That must be an awesome feeling making your own canned goods.

Janet said...

Those beets look beautiful!

Be sure to post some photos if you do decide to dye some yarn with beet juice. Sounds interesting. I've often considered dyeing Easter eggs with beet juice. I love the purple-red color.

I've followed your blog for a while. Love it! I'm a knitter too (new at it) & recently started a blog also. Plenty of new things.