Grandma Shirley's Pickled Beets

Holidays have a special way of capturing memories. Family, and food are two things that are completely inseparable for our family. It seems like more than most, our family seems to bond over food. This particular recipe, my Grandma and I are a few of the family members that love.

When I was a kid, I always was afraid to eat the beets during Thanksgiving and Christmas and it wasn't until I was 22 or 23 that I really started to appreciate the pickled beats my Grandma made. Now, nothing makes me genuinely laugh more than the amount of satisfaction my Grandpa and I get enjoying my Grandma's pickled beats. The face my Grandpa makes when he eats them or even just talks about them, makes me know I'm related to him. They are delicious!

This recipe is from an old cook book my Grandma has been using

Begin by boiling small sized beets until tender. (This was 5 bundles of beets)

Bring the following to a simmer:

2 cups of Sugar

2 cups of Water

2 cups of strong Vinegar

1 teaspoon of Cloves (fresh if possible)

1 teaspoon of Allspice

1 thinly sliced Lemon

1 tablespoon of Cinnamon

A bit of fresh horseradish is recommended too

Pic of Grandma and Gramps

Smell the sweet smell of the beets and the stringent smell from the warming brine.

Combine freshly cut beets with the brine

Let simmer for 15 minutes

During this time you can prepare the pickling jars

Take as many as necessary pickling jars and boil the jars, lids and caps together.

Pour simmered brine and beets into piping hot pickling jars.

Seal them off tight and see how long until the desire comes to eat them.

I've loved eating pickled beets with spinach salads, white rice, and just grabbing some out of the jar for a snack. Also, the leftover brine can be used to pickle hardboiled eggs or it also taste good as a salad dressing.

Mom's Homemade Baked Brown Beans

Recipe from Grandma Shirley to Mom

Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved my Ma's Baked Brown Beans.

They were always super thick, sweet and delicious. Decided to ask my mom how to make them one day when we made two batches of them. This is kind of a rough version of the recipe since she added more of the Molasses/Sugar and water throughout the cooking process but I'm sure with this recipe below, they will still be more than sweet enough for most peoples pallets.


Ingredients:
1 1lb bag Navy Beans
1/2 large onion
1 lb of Bacon
1/4 cup Blackstrap Molasses
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
Honey
Baking Soda

Recipe:

Soak beans overnight

Rinse and put 7 cups of water in w/ the beans

Simmer beans 1.5 hours
Add 2 table spoons of baking soda at beginning and scoop out gassy bubbles and throw away

Add 1/2 chopped larged Onion
1lb Thick Cut Bacon
1/4 cup of Blackstrap Molasses
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar
Some honey

Cook at 350' for 3 hours mixing every half hour

ENJOY