Pickled Pink Eggs & Beets

My Mom used to grow beets in the garden and then pickle and can them. Our basement was full of pickle jars, and I used to pretend that I was the shop owner and purveyor of the cellar pickles - such good memories! (what a strange kid! - ed) And this post on A Chicken in Every Granny Cart brought all of those memories back to me! In honor of Easter, I decided to follow her cue and pickle some eggs with beets to give the eggs a pinkish, purplish Spring-time hue and pickled flavor.



I simmered one can of whole small beets (I threw in some of their juice too) in equal parts water and cider vinegar. I threw in at least a half cup brown sugar, a couple shakes of cinnamon and a couple shakes of allspice. Cinnamon sticks and cloves would have been a better choice, but I was without. After simmering, I removed from the heat and added the already hard-boiled and deshelled eggs to the pan. I let them sit at room temp all day before putting them in the fridge. After 24hrs, the pink color hadn't penetrated to the yolk yet, but after a few days, it certainly did. The beets were lovely too, but beware of the beet juice -- it likes to leave stains everywhere!

For breakfast yesterday, I put some mayo on some whole wheat toast, 1 sliced pickled pink egg with some S&P, and a bit of baby romaine. Tasty... and pink!