Beets are Messy

That's my kitchen counter after a session of canning beets. Red flowing everywhere.

I got a full load in the pressure cooker though (16 pints) and got them done. Some raw pack and some hot pack. We tried the raw pack today at lunch and they were tasty. We'll try the hot packed later this week to see if there's a significant enough improvement to warrant the extra work. (I can't imagine that there is, but you never know til you try.)

Then Troy was jealous of all my fun and did a batch of pickled beets: 7 quarts.

If you'll bear with me, let me share what a revelation it has been to see how beautiful beets are. We have had ones with a lot of striking striations and beautiful shades of purple. When I would cut into the beat it would reveal patterns like wood grain. It was impossible for me to catch on a picture, but it was stunning. Beets.

The smell, however, I could do with a little less.

PS: Score one more for the wasp. (And again on the middle finger.) Troy chivalrously ran to my aid and killed the little bastard and his little friend too. They shouldn't have come back to gloat.