Beet It!

This week was a difficult one to get much cooking in. I was busy, busy, busy! It’s not unusual for me (and everyone else) to be busy this time of year. The weather is nice, there are plenty of outdoor activities to participant in, and cookouts are more fun than eating indoors. So, I don’t have an exciting recipe this week. But, it was still an interesting week for my food adventures; I tried my first beet!

The produce this time of year is great – besides beets, I got: radishes, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon, garlic, potatoes, and green peppers. Most of the food I got was (and is) turned into salads. But, beets don’t really fit into a summer lettuce salad! So, I had to find another way to prepare the beets.

I’ve heard that beets can be roasted, baked, and boiled. I’ve also heard that they taste great in combination with other ingredients, but they taste good solo as well. The easiest route for me to get a good taste of beets was to just throw them in some water and boil them. So, that is exactly what I did!

To prepare the beets, I filled a small pot with water and threw the cleaned beets into the pot. The website I was using for guidance suggested to boil the beets for at least 30 minutes or until tender. I ended up boiling them for at least 30 minutes (and it was probably more like 40 to 45 minutes…I wasn’t paying close attention). I stuck a fork into each beet and thought they felt tender enough, so I took them out of the boiling water. Next, I let them cool for a while and then later peeled the skin off. The skin was fairly easy to peel; it just rubs right off (but be careful, the juice turns your fingers red!). When the peeling was complete, I sliced each beet and put into a container for storage.

Of course, before I put the beets in the refrigerator, I tried several slices. I actually enjoyed the flavor of the beets quite a bit (I didn’t think I would). I thought the flavor was very familiar and similar to the flavor of another vegetable, but I could not (and still cannot) put my finger on which vegetable. I can describe the flavor as being that of a potato, carrot, and onion all rolled up into one. The onion flavor was mostly an after-taste; but not overly strong.

I will eat boiled beets again, and I will hopefully find some time to create a dish with beets and other ingredients as well! I can proudly say that I can add beets to my list of “enjoyable” vegetables.

 

Week 9, recipe 1: Boiled Beets Ingredients: Beets Water Salt/pepper (optional) Preparation: Bring a pot of water to a boil and place clean beets in water. Boil the beets for about 30 minutes or until tender. Remove beets from water and let cool. Peel the beets, slice, and serve.

Boiled Beets

Sliced after boiling