Putting food by: Baled and Canned

 Earlier this week, Dad baled 2 of our fields. We got 33 bales off about 18-20 acres. According to Dad this is a little low; he usually gets closer to 40 bales from these fields. But it's been VERY dry this year.

Last night we canned the beets I harvested yesterday morning. We used a recipe out of an old church cookbook. The recipe was submitted by Alice Birk, a family member. (I think the wife of my paternal Grandpa's brother, Glenn.) The recipe was for 6 pints, but we cut the recipe in half. For three pints we used:

1-1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1 c water
1/2 c sugar (we actually used closer to 3/4 c)
a sprinkle of canning salt (not in the recipe, but will help the beets stay firm)
2 tsp pickling spice (I still had some from Penzey's spices)

Grandma already boiled and peeled the beets, so we simmered them for a few more minutes in the vinegar mixture to dissolve the sugar. Then we boiled the jars in a water bath for 20 minutes. Since they are high acid, they don't have to be pressure canned.

This was half a row of beets, or just one package. Grandma said when she was growing up they planted two rows across the garden about a foot wide, so about twice what I planted. I'm not sure how many pints they put away, but it was enough to last the whole year!

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