Pickled Beet Stems

When I made them I envisioned a tangy but sweet little bit to nibble on, kind of like sweet relish. Good for hotdogs or salads or possibly just my spoon.

I had no recipe to speak of, just a hunch. And a craving for something sweet'n'sour. And of course, I had beet stems and nothing to do with them.

So I used the following:

• 1.5 cups water
• 0.5 cups cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• a dash of salt.
• approximately 1 cup coarsely chopped beet stems (ish)

Put everything but the stems in a pot and gently warm to a simmer. I say gently because hot vinegar is a special kind of hell on your nose; the last thing you want is a rolling boil. Add the stems when the sugar is dissolved, and simmer for oh... I dunno... It was something like 5 minutes. Ish.

I turned the heat off, let everything cool in the pot, and then transferred the stems and enough juice to cover them to a glass container.

Upon my first taste test I could tell didn't add quite enough sugar. Now sugar is a personal thing and I'm a bigger fan of sweet and sour than some (think bread and butter pickles). These were almost all sour and no sweet. Hrm...

What to do. They're made, they're good for me, and it's rather wasteful to not eat them.

So, I paired them with carrots in a napa cabbage wrap with some chicken. Sweet carrots, tangy beet stem relish, and salty roasted chicken.

Ohhhh yeah.....