Monthly Mingle - A Taste of Yellow for Barbara

Pickled Golden Beets, Cucumber and Zucchini Salad

Cancer is indiscriminate, the deadly tendrils snake it's way into the fabric of our lives without care. Those stricken are left to suffer and decide how to live the rest of their lives. That is, if they are fortunate enough to have a choice. Loved ones are heart struck and numb in their efforts to be supportive and desperate make it all better, easier. As if will power alone could make it so.

I lost my grandfather, "Smokey Joe" before I got to know him. What a loss to never know his love and feel that special connection. There are vague memories of visiting him in the Sister's Hospital, facing the ocean. I can't say now if they are real or imagined. I was so small. Mom says he carried a lock of my red hair in his wallet. My heart says he loved me.

Cancer, so pervasive, it has touched all of us. A grandfather, uncle, aunt, sister, mother, or friend or even pet. There is no escape. With outreached heart I have witnessed dear friends struggle to get through the treatments. Each with a bravery and spirit I don't know if I could muster given the same circumstances. Helpless on the sidelines. Whether a world away or next door we wait, praying and hoping it will all get better. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't.

We have learned much about cancer through research and science. Treatments have improved and in some areas the survival rate has increased. But the heartache of the journey is never made easy. That is why the true courage and personal fortitude of someone like Barbara Harris of winosandfoodies.com provides inspiration and awe as a life well lived. Diagnosed in 2004, she fought the good fight with honesty, grace, humor and compassion as a human, and blogger.  She inaugurated a Taste of Yellow across the blog-o-sphere in 2007 to raise cancer awareness in conjunction with Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong Foundation. Regardless how you might feel about Lance, the ubiquitous yellow bracelets urge us all to LiveStrong. Year after year bloggers joined in with inspiring memories, recipes and images. Dear Barbara lost her battle this June.

To honor her memory, this month friends Meeta (What's for Lunch Honey) and Jeanne (Cooksister) have rallied for an ultimate Taste of Yellow, Monthly Mingle as a tribute. You still have time to participate if you want to!

Make or bake something yellow (sweet or savory), or something using yellow ingredients. Let your imagination run wild: lemons, yellow peppers, yellow plums, yellow carrots, yellow squash - the possibilities are endless! Participant directions at the above link to Cooksister.

Whether you blog or not why not celebrate and participate in the remaining days of the month? Take a moment and have a taste of yellow, say their names aloud. Barbara, Beth, Andrea, Mimi, Fawn, John, Frank, David and Christopher.

A call to remember, raise awareness and honor those we've lost but to also cheer on our loves that are fighting through it, and a celebration for survivors who have won a reprieve.

My Taste of Yellow tribute starts with golden beets, fresh from the earth.

Farmer's Market Fresh Golden Beets

They almost look orange don't they? But wait for their transformation. Pickled Beets were a favorite my Dad whipped up from time to time. Only enough for a quart jar in the 'fridge, but oh, so tasty. Spoiled me forevermore. At the salad bars or grocery store, my disappointment finds mushy, spice challenged and bland offerings. Bleh, really? Granted, Dad prepared the traditional red beets, but the cloves, cinnamon pickling spice flavors were embedded in my taste buds. Why not with golden beets? Something yellow.

Spiced and pickled golden beets

Once pickled, what better compliment to your salad?
The one below is simple napa cabbage leaves, zucchini wrapped in wafer thin cucumber, pecans and dried cranberries. A drizzle of white balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Wouldn't a sprinkle of goat cheese be lovely too?

Recipe for Pickled Beets
Makes about one 8 oz Jar.

4 whole fresh golden beets, tops trimmed, roots on
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup reserved beet juice
1/3 cup white vinegar, plus 1 tablespoon
Pickling Spices
4 whole Cloves
2 whole Allspice
1 Star Anise
1 stick Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon whole Mustard Seeds
6 Tasmanian Peppercorns (or black peppercorns)
2 Lemon Zest strips (1/2" x 4")


Directions

1. Wrap pickling spices in cheesecloth, tie with butcher's string to make a bundle.
2. Scrub and trim tops of beets, but leave roots and peels on (they will peel very easily once cooked.)
3. Cook beets covered in water with 1 tablespoon white vinegar (which will help retain the color) and spice bundle. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium. Cook for 30-40 minutes until tender. 
4. Drain liquid, reserving at least 1/3 cup. Cool beets so you can peel and cut in quarters or smaller wedges.
5. Put sugar, beet juice and vinegar in a medium saucepan with the cut beets and I reused my spice bundle. Bring liquid up to a boil then turn off. Cool, remove bundle and place in a sterile jar. 
6. I added more spices to my jar because I like intense flavors. That is up to you. Keep pickled beets in the refrigerator for several weeks (if you don't eat them up right away!)

Links

www.whatsforlunchhoney.net/2012/07/monthly-mingle-taste-of-yellow-for.html

www.whatsforlunchhoney.net/2006/04/my-monthly-mingle.html

pinterest.com/meetawflh/a-taste-of-yellow-for-barbara-monthly-mingle/?timeline=1

http://www.cooksister.com/2012/07/july-monthly-mingle-a-taste-of-yellow-for-barbara.html

In Barbara's Words: www.winosandfoodies.com/livestrong_day

A Taste of Yellow - LiveStrong