Beet It

Beets are a cool weather crop, so it's unlikely they'd do well in this man's country; however, as a kid growing up in Northern Ontario, Canada they seemed to be one of the first rows to show life in the garden. My Mother had a huge garden, I mean HUGE. As kids we were each given rows to weed, and other than carrots, beans, peas, squash, cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes, I hated weeding these little suckers the most....actually to be completely honest, I hated the darn garden.

You see I have a phobia about bugs, which is rather ironic considering the name of this blog. Bugs, crawling or flying, caterpillars, army worms, bees, shad flies (look that one up...those things are stinkers) there always seemed to be something that came between me and God's earth. I spent more time hollering and running than I ever did weeding - and that's the truth. I'm not proud of it. In fact I still run screaming from anything that flies or crawls, and wouldn't you know it bugs are even BIGGER here in the desert plus they're everywhere.

While I might have hated the garden as a kid, I love what comes out of it. Who doesn't - we all like to eat, never mind the satisfaction that comes from growing something yourself though of course I can't claim these beets as home grown. Last night's dinner included a warm beet salad, served on steamed beet greens rather than lettuce. Beets are really "heart healthy" and even the greens are an excellent source of vitamin A and calcium. They're tastie little morsels too. Getting the big guy to eat greens is always a challenge, and while he balks at cooked spinach there weren't any complaints last night over the beet greens. 

This recipe for Roasted Beets with Orange Vinaigrette is courtsy of Sunset Magazine  http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=682779  It's a calorie counter's dream, though I've got to say it beats me how they can call the dressing a vinaigrette, when there's not a speck of oil in it. Per the directions, I roasted the beets in a 375 oven for 50 minutes, then peeled them when they were cool enough to handle. The greens were steamed in a covered saute pan for 5 minutes, along with a little of the dressing. Easy as pie.

The flavor was wonderful. The orange in the dressing really brings out the sweetness of the beets - so much so that I could easily have given up the accompanying rib eye and mushrooms and just gone for more beets. The trouble was the big guy finished his plate so fast I didn't get a chance to make the offer.

Comments

[Mags]

This took me back to when I was a kid, June. Mom and Dad had a huge garden too and our summers (as their kids) were spent doing just what you described. We'd (weed) put in probably 10-15 hours a week in that garden and our "allowance" was a Popsicle on Friday evening. Good times. Character building...lol (That's probably when I learned to swear!)

I'm not a huge beet eater, but since my daughter loves them (dipped in ketchup, no less) we have them from time to time for her.

[JBug]

I'm with you on the swearing - ha. Beets and ketchup? Wow, that's a new one. Have you ever tried chocolate cake with beets in it? That might get you to love, love, love 'em.