Here's my recipe, porkster. It's a whole lot better than store-bought relish. You can double this. I did all the chopping by pulsing roughly chopped vegetables in the food processor. You might substitute hot peppers for some of the bells. Sweet Pickle Relish 4 cups chopped seeded, unpeeled cucumbers (about 4) 1 cup chopped green bell peppers (about 2) 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers (about 1) 3 cups chopped onions 3 cups finely diced celery 1 tablespoon celery seeds 1/4 cup salt (I use pickling salt) 3 1/2 cups sugar 2 cups white vinegar 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds Combine all vegetables in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with cold water, let stand 4 hours. Drain thoroughly in colander, press out all excess liquid. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, and mustard seed. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in drained vegetables, simmer 10 minutes. Pack into jars to within 1/2 inch of the top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. Yield 5-6 pints.

Oh, you are going to like this -- I don't make much beet borscht, but I do like to roast beets. I used to pitch the leaves. Then one day I was at a friend's house, and she had a platter of the most wonderful long featherlight crispy things. It turned out they were the tops from beets; they cooked down so crispy I didn't recognize what they were. I asked her how to make them, and she looked at me in surprise: "But -- I got that recipe from you! Isn't that how you make your Brussels sprouts?" And she was right; I make lots and lots of vegetables that way: tossed with olive oil and kosher salt, then roasted for a while (temp. varies with what else is in the oven; time varies with vegetable; toss about every 10 minutes or so). But even though I roast beets that way, I never thought to do the greens. I sure do now. What a revelation! A crispy, heavenly nosh you can tell yourself is good for you. Fattier and saltier than sauteed, but a lot more fun. Keep them and the beets on a separate pan if you are making lots of different vegetables, or everything will turn pink -- like a red sock in the laundry.

Jess: Remember the puzzle over what cause our cravings for sweets ?? I still take Brewer's yeast (high in chromium, B vitamins, selenium) for my sweets-craving. I consumed Brewer's yeast for my immune when I was sick with flu-shot reaction, it took away my craving for sugar (despite drinking just lemons, no sugar). Now I cut down to 1/4 dose (only twice a week), just to supply chromium to stabilize my blood sugar. It does help with craving for sweets, see below excerpt: http://www.livestrong.com/article/101523-herbs-lose-weight/ "Chromium: This trace mineral helps metabolize carbohydrates. Some diabetics take it to help stabilize their blood sugar. It also can be used to curb cravings for sweets. Susan Brown, a certified clinical nutritionist in East Syracuse, New York. She recommended 200 micrograms of chromium four times per day to a woman who craved sweets. The woman was amazed at how quickly her cravings were tamed." *** From Straw: Months ago, I reported that eating eggs daily helped with my craving for sweets ... found that eggs are good sources of chromium: Foods High in Natural Chromium Beef Brewer’s Yeast Dark Chocolate Chicken Eggs Oysters Potatoes with the skin on Whole Grains Apples Read more: http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/sugar-cravings-how-to-control/#ixzz44hqTBlAK WebMD also reported that chromium helps with craving for sweets, see below: " June 3, 2004 -- A popular nutritional supplement may reduce serious carb cravings in people with depression. The supplement is chromium picolinate. John P. Docherty, MD, president of Comprehensive Neuroscience Inc., White Plains, N.Y., and adjunct professor of psychiatry at Cornell University, penned the report. Docherty's study enrolled 113 people with atypical depression. Two-thirds took chromium picolinate supplements for eight weeks, and one-third got a placebo. Researchers found that atypical depression patients who also had carb cravings improved with chromium compared to placebo. "In that group with high carb craving -- a third of the patients -- we had a very significant benefit from chromium picolinate," Docherty says. "Compared with placebo, it had a 2-to-1 advantage in reducing depression overall." http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20040603/chromium-may-cut-carb-craving-in-depression?page=2 **** From Straw: I used to buy chromium supplement but threw that away, after studies linked that to liver-damage. Brewer's yeast is much better, since it has all B vitamins, along with chromium and selenium. Will have to find the amount of chromium and selenium in the dosage.

I can't remember who it was who turned me on to Love Beets. My first reaction was why would I buy cooked beets imported from England when we have great beets here, mostly year round, though with variations in size and quality. The answer, of course, is that they're an alternative to cookies and really yummy. I kept hoping someone would have a similar recipe, and maybe I read wrong but I don't think so. They say they "cook them in mild vinegar". That sounds like boiled in vinegar to me, but I'm not sure. They're very different from roasted with vinegar, or seasoned with vinegar after cooking. I'm not a huge vinegar fan, but the sweet beets, plain, with the vinegar taste are fabulous. They also have a honey/ginger one, which is a total standout. Replicating them is on my to-do list. They're one of those things that are nearly impossible not to gobble up.