I am in mourning today for the lovely, lush squash, zucchini, bell pepper and cucumber plants that I found mangled and ruined in my garden today. HATE voles. HATE them. So this weekend, I will be digging out my raised beds and putting gravel and/or weed mat in the bottom to stop those things from destroying anymore plants. UGH!!! Thankfully, two of my raised beds are new and I was smart enough to put weed mat down before filling them. So sad to see all that promising food go bye bye. Sad and maddening.
This afternoon I managed to get my beets cooked and sliced and ready for pickling. We have the remnants of tropical storm Beryl outside, so it’s a good time for an indoor activity. This is a promising recipe–I love beets and dill. I added some mustard seed as an experiment–I love what mustard seed adds to homemade pickles!
Pickled Beets with Dill and Mustard (makes 3 pints)
- 2 pounds beets (roasted or boiled, peeled and sliced)
- 1 c. distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 c. water
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp. salt
- 1/4 c. fresh dillweed
- 1 Tbsp. mustard seed
- Set aside your prepared beets.
- Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove from heat.
- Pack the beets into clean, hot pint jars and leave enough room for the dill and for the brine to circulate.
- Divide the fresh dill and mustard seed among the jars. Pour the hot brine over the beets to cover by 1/2″. Leav 1/2″ of headspace in the jar. Release any trapped air in the jars.
- Put clean lids and bands on the jars. Either refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or process in a hot water bath for 30 minutes and leave in the canning pot with heat off for another 5 minutes.
- Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours. Check the jar seals and store for up to 1 year.
yearofhealthierliving 
food4five
/ May 30, 2012Varmints are frustrating aren’t they? Our battles tend to start later in the season – squirrels and chipmunks versus tomatoes…. On the up side, your pickle recipe looks great!
Year Of Healthier Living
/ May 31, 2012Yes, they are! And voles are underground so I can’t even see where they are until it’s too late. Grrrrrrr!!!!
The Scrumptious Pumpkin
/ May 31, 2012This sounds wonderful. I just love pickled beets and the addition of mustard seed and dill sounds perfect! There is nothing better than fresh-from-the-garden beets 🙂
Year Of Healthier Living
/ June 1, 2012They are good! I love cold, pickled beets in the summer!
Heather @ SugarDish(Me)
/ June 1, 2012I’m so sorry about your ruined veggies. I had to Sevin dust Evan’s little cabbage he’s been growing. It was gorgeous and the worms stripped it bare in 24 hours. I think it might recover, but for a couple days it wasn’t looking good!
Year Of Healthier Living
/ June 2, 2012Thanks! Makes me glad yet again for our produce box each week!