Last Beets, New Brew

I pulled the final beet crop yesterday at the garden. After snapping their portrait, I removed all the greens for salads and sauteing and bagged the beets. Since they've been in the ground for months, I'm not sure how they'll taste. Maybe it's time to learn how to make borscht?

The marigolds are still doing their thing and I'm a little reluctant to remove the garden's final splendor. The pepper plant is still flowering so I didn't have the heart to pull that either. I have one bunch of escarole that's survived the frosts and harvestable. I pulled some leaves for yesterday's salad. Everything else was relaxing under a blanket of fig leaves, including some little lettuce sprouts.

In the kitchen we have a new batch of beer that we're drinking: Hopp'd Chipotle Ale. After tasting it for the first time last night, I think we're all impressed with our efforts. It has an up-front smokey pepper flavor, it's clean on the palette, and it has a warm-on-the-back-of-your-throat finish. A chocolate and coffee stout or porter is next.

We're gearing up for the holiday season here. We'll be kicking it off this weekend with a craft show at a friend's apartment in Brooklyn where I'll be selling some Mao Mao Kitty jewelry. Then it's Christmas shopping on Sunday (guess we'll miss Eagles vs Giants) and holiday baking next week for Thanksgiving. I've already seen Charlie Brown trees for sale at the grocery store and I'm thinking about locating our box of decorations. I love this time of year!