Beauty and the Beets

I realized I haven't posted any recipes in a while and I was thinking about it and thought I would share with you how to cook beets. Every week at the market people ask us how to cook them and how we eat them.  It is very easy to cook beets and you have options! 

Roasting
Pre-heat your oven to 375 F. Cut the tops off the beets (save them for later) and put the beets in an oven-safe pan, put a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan, and cover with a lid or with foil.  If your beets are very different sizes, you can cut them up into even pieces. Depending on the size of the beets, it might take over 45 minutes to cook them. Check with a fork and if the fork goes in easily to the center, you know they are done. Rinse in cool water and then peel with a knife. The skins will peel right off like a boiled potato.

Boiling
Cut off the tops of the beets and cover with water in a pan. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until tested with a fork. Again, the skins will be very easy to peel off.

Beet Greens
Rich in Vitamin A, the greens should not be composted! Cook them like you would swiss chard or kale. You can sautee them with garlic, onions, and olive oil and they cook down a lot and make a great side dish. They are also great raw served in a salad!

I used to hate beets but now love them.  I love to cook them, slice them, and serve them on a plate drizzled with olive oil, vinegar, s + p, and a little bit of chopped basil.  On top of a salad with arugula and goat cheese and candied walnuts is also a killer combination.  If you are really into beets, you can also make borscht - a hearty beet soup!

Now for the beauty part. This week our tables at the market were bountiful and looked fantastic. We even had a few flower arrangements that we made from our perennial garden. 

I took some time on Friday night to walk around and take some close ups of some veggies because it is easy to forget how beautiful they are and what they turn into from tiny little seeds!

Green Cabbage

 

Savoy Cabbage