I have had a fruitful two days. I started late Sunday Morning with the preparation of the pickling onions. I had bought just shy of 4kg. That is a lot of onions to peel. I mentally prepared myself for crying and stinging eyes that I was going to undergo, it would be worth it. As I was starting we were talking about old wives tales about how to avoid onion eyes. I remembered the one about cutting the bottom off first. I thought I would give it a go. I did and it worked! I flew through the pile of onions like a peeler possessed and had the job lot done in 45 minutes and hardly a tear in sight - once I started cutting the bottom end first. I was quite chuffed with myself for a few hours, I can tell you. I put the onions in two large mixing bowls with a salt water solution and left them till this morning. I got eight jars of large pickled onions sat in the cellar now, and a HobbitKeeper who is counting down the days till they are ready to eat.
I have also been playing with the Lakeland Apple Master and peeled, cored and sliced all the apples that Mary-Jane and I picked a few days ago. I cooked them up to a roughish pulp, let them cool, then bagged them up in half pound bags and froze them. I now have a grand total of 3lb 10oz of apple pulp. Not bad going at all!
Then this afternoon, on went the pinny. Mary-Jane wanted hers on as well when she saw me in mine. She was as much interested in running around as helping me weigh things out. I made American Style Beetroot Pie. I took the recipe from Baking Heaven Magazine. It's a lovely simple recipe using beetroot, double cream, soft brown sugar, allspice, mixed spice and ginger. The colour is gorgeous. After it cooled, I put it in the fridge to chill. When I was ready to eat it, I dusted it with icing sugar, and sat down in the front with a cuppa and put my feet up.
I don't like American Style Beetroot pie. I managed half a slice and couldn't bring myself to eat any more. In the bin it went. The first mouthful was okay, it went downhill after that. I just don't like the taste of it. It was good that I could taste the beetroot then the spices.
I shall not be eating or making American Style Beetroot Pie again.
