Pickled Beets and Eggs

I've never been a big fan of beets.  I find that they are one of those foods that you either love them or hate them.  My daughter won't touch them but The Blog Tech and his father devour them. I've made a lot of beets in my life and have always used the same recipe.  Until yesterday, when I made them this way.  I couldn't stop eating them so this is the new recipe and the way I will always prepare them now:

Recipe:

• 6 large eggs
• 4 medium beets  trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 -1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed
• 4 sprigs dill
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and sliced thin

 I used 3 large beets I bought at the Amish market.

 Cut them into 1" cubes.

 Yes, your hands will look like you just killed someone.

 I save and freeze stems from herbs so I used some frozen dill stems and removed them after the beets cooked.

 My old way of making these called for boiling the beets first.  With this recipe, you throw the raw cubed beets in the pot with the other ingredients, bring it to  boil and then simmer until the beets are fork tender, about 15 minutes.  The beets absorb a lot of the liquid as they cook which gives them great depth of flavor.

I made about 15 hard boiled eggs, peeled them and then layered them with slices of raw sweet onions and the beets in these jars.

Within 24 hours the eggs have turned red and are ready to serve.  Easter cooking has officially begun!