Can't Beat Pickled Beets

A chance conversation about pickled beets with my friend, Laura, at the farmer's market took me back to my childhood.  I was a very fussy eater as a kid.  I went through a phase from age 4 to about age 9 when I had very little interest in eating.  I'd rather play, read, even dance around the dinner table -- anything but eat, much to my poor mother's frustration.  Each winter during my elementary school years, I was prone to some bout after another of pneumonia, bronchitis or a horrible cold.  I didn't seem to have the ability to fight off those bugs, so Mom worried doubly about my eating and getting proper nutrition to nourish my little body.  Oddly, despite my pickiness, I loved our good friend, Barb's, pickled beets.  I even asked for jars of them as birthday and Christmas gifts.  To this day, I still love pickled beets and I always think of our friend, Barb, when I eat them.  I no longer dance around the table.