Pickled Beets...and Eggs...and a Tie Dye

You can take a girl outta Pennsylvania, but you can NOT take the Pennsylvania out of the girl!  While my home state of PA has some really strange delicacies -- scrapple, anyone? -- pickled eggs done in beet brine are one of my faves. What’s great about this recipe, is that it all starts with beets and you don’t waste anything (don’t forget to throw those beet greens in your smoothies or salads!).  

I realized I still had my beets hanging around my veggie drawer the other day so I decided to -- you guessed it -- use ‘em up!  The pickled egg thing came to me as a revelation; my daughter loves eggs, and anything purple, so I thought it’d be a nice girly (but healthy!) little snack at a play date.  Who needs Goldfish (and Yellow 7)? Color always seems to entice kids to eat, so why not serve a nice, protein rich snack?

While I was boiling my beets, I got a little overzealous and wondered what it’d be like to do a tie dye with the brine.  So I threw in a shirt.It came out...well, not so great. BUT, I may try this again and just let it soak...I don’t think a ten minute bath in the beet juice was enough time to fully dye the shirt.  And maybe using more than three rubber bands (hair bands, actually) would be helpful.

Pickled Beets...and Eggs

1 bunch beets, stems cut off, peeled and halved
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup Bragg’s vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
12 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
water

First, boil your beets.  I usually do mine for about 10-15 minutes.  They should be fork tender. Nothing worse than a mushy beet! Once they are done, drain about half the water from the beets.  Reserve the other half in a separate glass container.  Then stir in onions, vinegar, salt, and sugar.  Drop your beets back in, cover, and stick in your fridge for a few days.  Then, take out, and serve cold!

Now...to the eggs.  Once you’ve scarfed down every last beet, throw your hard-boiled eggs into the leftover beet brine.  Let them soak for a day or so...then, enjoy!  How pretty are these, and it’s all natural dye!  Who needs PAAS Easter egg dye when you have beets sitting around?!  This picture doesn't even do the vibrant color justice. Isn't nature amazing?!