Pickled beets

Mom taught me how to make these from memory but I'm sharing the recipe from the Melting Pot of Mennonite Cookery, p. 44.

Cut off the beet stalks.
Boil red beets until tender (editor's note:  I also used golden beets but if you mix red and golden, it's a waste of effort because the red beet juice colors the golden ones so you can't tell any difference)

Slip skins off (editor's note:  easy!  much better than pealing prior to boiling)

Boil together:   (editor's note:  for the amount below I had 4 batches of beets, 4 in each batch, each about the size of a baseball.  Adjust the amounts so you have enough liquid to just cover the beets while they simmer. )

1 quart vinegar
1 pint sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. allspice
1 t. mustard seed (but I've used dry mustard instead of mustard seed)
1 t. cloves
1 t. salt

Add the beets to the spiced vinegar mix.  Simmer 15 minutes.

Seal in clean hot jars.  (editor's note:  but I just store these in the refrigerator. )

One challenge is to be careful about the beet juice; it sure does make a good stain if it spills.

What to do about those beet stalks?
This time around, I made
1) vegetable soup (onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, diced tomatoes) and at the last 5 minutes I added  beet greens cut into slivers plus brown sugar)  Mmmmm-mmmmm!  I had a mixing bowl full of sliced beet greens and I used 5 cubes of brown sugar.
2) sauteed bacon with onion and then added beet greens cut into slivers.  As the greens are warmed they take up a lot less space.  Then I added wine while they simmered.  Cooked up penne pasta and served the pasta tossed with the bacon/beet greens and grated parmsan cheese.  Very tasty!  But then what isn't when it includes bacon?

Another word of wisdom from Dorothea:  when one stores pickled beets, they are stored in the spiced vinegar mixture, but when one serves beets, the vinegar mixture is left in the jar.  Mom saved the juice and reused it.