Beetroot Pickle

One of my garden staples is always Beetroot. It may not be a particularly fashionable vegetable but I adore it's earthy sweetness and wouldn't be without it in my kitchen.
This year I've grown three varieties of the red root; Perfect 3, Cylindra & the candy stripped Chioggia. I sow in modules and then plant out when the beets have outgrown the module. Most seasons I plant a very early crop in the polytunnel too...see, I told you, I love the stuff!
Three of my favourite ways to cook with Beetroot are to use it in a fabulous bright pink Hummus along with Walnuts and Tahini ( There's a great recipe in the River Cottage Veg book), to make a traditional Borscht or to pickle it. This is my recipe for Beetroot pickle.
This pickle is great with strong cheddar & crusty bread

3lbs Beetroot
1lb   Eating apples
1      Large red onion
1lb   Soft brown sugar
1pt   Pickling vinegar
2tsp Maldon Salt
Spice bag containing Bay leaf, mustard seeds,allspice berries, peppercorns

It couldn't be easier...
Peel the beet, apples & onion & finely chop so they're all a similar size. Add to a large preserving pan and add the sugar, salt & vinegar. Place spices to your personal taste in a muslin bag and hang in the pan.
Slowly bring it all to the boil & then allow to simmer for approximately an hour or until most of the liquid has gone. Remove the spice bag and bottle in sterilised jars. Try to leave the pickle for a month before eating to allow the flavours to develop.
Happy pickling x

And the award for the laziest blogger goes to...

When I started my blog late last year I was full of optimism that I would blog weekly ( well, maybe fortnightly ) and really embrace the format.
It's now eight months later and I've written the sum total of six posts...
I could use the age old excuse of too  much to do and too little time to do it but to be honest the truth is far less complicated...
There are sooooo many blogs about gardening, smallholding & Urban Homesteading ( as they call it in the US ) out there that I'm not really sure where I fit in or if I've anything worth adding...in short I've suffered a crisis of confidence. 
Lack of confidence already stops me doing so much in life from not leaving a job I hate ( I worry that people will think I'm a quitter ) to not wearing what I want for fear of what other people might think...hell, I only jog after dark incase someone laughs at my bum! 
I'm not alone though; lots of fabulous women I know are their own worst critics. Madness! 
Having been quite poorly for a while now I've had a lot more time on my hands to think about my confidence issues and how to address them. I don't have a magic wand; ( if I did I'd be writing a self help blog and not tweeting about Broad Beans ) but I do know that the best way to beat your demons is to face them head on...so watch this space I'm going to give it another go. Please be gentle with me x