I knew it was going to have to happen someday...OR Pickled, but not tickled...

The beets needed to be pickled...today. And when I went out to harvest them, I found a few more things...

And surprisingly, I found some inspiration too.

So the day was full of slicing and grating and cooking and canning.

Of course, the beets were first as they were the original plan, so I knocked of the dirt and pulled off the tops outside. Then scrubbed them in the sink. Then put them in the pot, covered them with water, and boiled and boiled them til they were soft.

...and rinsed and cooled...

...and peeled and sliced...and cooked them up with the vinegar, sugar and spices.

Meanwhile, I had sliced the cukes and an onion and covered them with salt to sit and sweat for a few hours. And I grated up a bunch of zucchini to freeze for winter-time zucchini cake. I was surprised at how soft my zucchini was until I realized that I was running the food processor with the grating blade AND the chopping knife...Oh...that 'splains it...I will just say that this is probably not recommended by the manufacturer...

Or myself for that matter.

By that time, the beets were ready for the canner, and it was time to cook the solution for the bread and butter pickles.

I drained the sweated cukes and onions and added them to the brine...

Oh, that smelled so good!

Then loaded up those jars, and canned them as well.

And after this day of work, what do I have to show for it?

Four little pints of pickled beets, and 3 little pints of bread and butter pickles...

Not that I'm bitter that I spent all day producing enough relishes to last for about one Thanksgiving Dinner...

I'm just glad I'm not a REAL pioneer woman.

'Cause we'd get hungry during the winter...REAL hungry.