Focus: BEETS (Beta Vulgaris)

Sweet.  Versatile.  Colorful.  Earthy.  Firm.  Not mushy.  Wouldn't you want a friend with these attributes?  I would.

That is why I love beets.  Plus beets store well, are nutritious, and are a good value  - you can eat the tops and the roots.   They can be enjoyed as small or baby beets in late spring or early summer and as mature beets later in the growing season.  They are a great winter storage crop, too.
Featherstone Farm grows the beautiful and tasty Chioggia variety (the one with the red and white concentric circles inside when raw) and the classic Detroit Red.  I love beets in salads, soups and as a side vegetable.  Sometimes I make a whole meal of steamed baby beets, beet greens and new potatoes, with creme fraiche and some chopped fresh dill on top.

Nutrition
Beet greens are high in calcium, iron and vitamin C.  The beet roots are very high in folates and manganese, vitamins A and C.  The Featherstone Farm Cookbook tells us that the pigment beta cyanin in beets "is a powerful cancer fighting agent and antioxidant".  There are 74 calories in a cup of cooked beets, which have one of the highest sugar contents of all vegetables.  That is why they taste so great roasted - the cooking process caramelizes all those sugars.  Smaller beets are usually sweeter.

Beet Greens
Wash well to remove all sand and grit.  Shake dry - it is ok if some water clings to the leaves.  Leaves can be steamed or boiled about 5 minutes and served as a side vegetable - either warm or at room temperature.   Dress cooked greens with a little olive oil and vinegar or just add a little butter.    The raw or cooked leaves can be added to soups or stews.  Beet greens are also wonderful just sauteed in olive oil with some garlic.  Serve with a splash of balsamic vinegar.   Note that more mature beet greens can become a little bitter - but they still have good flavor.  It is a matter of personal taste as to when beet greens get too bitter or strong to eat and need to end up in the compost.

Here is what I did with my beet greens this week:

Beet Preparation


One pound of beets, trimmed, should yield about 2 cups sliced or chopped and 1 3/4 cups shredded or grated.


Boil

Cook whole.  Trim leaves, leaving one to two inches of stem.  Don't trim root end.  Wash - but don't break the skin if possible - you want to avoid "bleeding" of too much beet color.   (you might need a brush to get dirt off the crown area) Cover beets with cold water in a cooking pot, bring to a boil.  Turn down, partly cover the pot and simmer until tender.  About 20 minutes for baby beets and up to an hour (or maybe more) for large or more mature beets.  Cool in cooking water.  Rub off peels and stems under running water - they should come off easily.  At this point the beets can be refrigerated for up to a week until you are ready to use them.

Roast or Bake
Wash, trim leaves, leaving one to two inches of stem.  Leave whole.  Wrap in foil or put into a heavy dish (with just a spoon or two of water) and cover.  Bake at 375 degrees until tender - about 30-40 minutes for small beets.  Cool and rub off peels.  As with boiled beets, roasted beets can be refrigerated until you need them - about a week.

You can also cut up beets (peeled or not),  mix with a very small amount of oil and roast spread out on a baking sheet at 375 degrees. 

Raw
Beets are excellent raw in salads - if grated or julienned (cut into matchsticks).  Wash.  Leave on a few inches of stem to use as a "handle" if you plan to grate the raw beets by hand.

Beet Recipes

Buttered baby beets
Boil beets whole.  Remove skins.  Serve with melted butter, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.

Beet Composed Salads
Boil or roast beets, peel and slice or dice.  Prepare bed of lettuce or cooked beet greens and dress with a little oil and vinegar or favorite vinaigrette.  (Beets have an affinity for citrus - so a dressing with a little fresh lemon, lime or orange juice would be great.)
Arrange on top of the greens:  sliced or diced beets, other vegetables such as cucumber, steamed green beans, thinly sliced onion,  carrots (raw or cooked, shredded or diced) and cooked diced potatoes.
If desired, add herbs (dill is nice); cheese (goat or blue is good); nuts;  or fruit (citrus or berries, sliced apples.)
Add some more dressing on top of these additions or serve on the side so eaters can add their own.

When making composed salads, avoid the kitchen sink approach.  Go slowly.  Pay attention to flavors, colors and textures. You are the artist.  Proceed accordingly.  Here is one I made with raspberries, goat cheese, diced beets and toasted black walnuts.





Vinaigrette for beet salads(From the Featherstone Farm cookbook)
1 T. minced shallot
1 T. fresh lemon juice
3 T. fresh orange juice
1/2 t. Dijon (I might use 1 t.)
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

 Raw beet and kohlrabi salad
Grate equal parts raw beets and kohlrabi (peel vegetables first.)  Add a little grated onion if desired.  Add olive oil and red wine vinegar, a bit of sugar, salt and pepper to taste.
Optional - chopped parsley or other fresh herb, toasted sunflower seeds.





Tomorrow:  Tried and True - Cornbread

Inspiration - Week #5

 Week 5 - leaf lettuce, snow peas, kohlrabi, cauliflower, new Norland potatoes, basil, baby white onions, bunch of beets  (Chioggia and red)

I am different from Martha Stewart.  For one thing, I have never served time in a federal prison.  For another, sometimes my kitchen is a mess and I do not have minions to clean it up.  It is not dirty, mind you.  Just occupied with concurrent projects.  I live in the real world, just like you do.

When I arrived home with my box Monday, I had already put in a long day.   I was sorely tempted to fall back onto the sofa and have a bowl of granola and milk for supper.  I did not have the choice of ordering a pizza because there is no such thing as pizza delivery service in Fillmore County - imagine that!  So I soldiered on.

First I bagged the leaf lettuce - to wash and dry later.  Then I filled the sink with water.  In went the beet greens (I cut off the stems) and the greens from the kohlrabi..  Swished those around, lifted them out, shook a few times (the greens, that is) piled 'em up, sliced in one inch strips and bagged those up to use within a day or two.  You can see them on the cutting board.  Swished the basil in the water, dried in the salad spinner and picked off the leaves to use for pesto.  Whacked off the onion tops, trimmed the beets and bagged up beets, onions and kohlrabi.  Trimmed the cauliflower and bagged it (after I gave 1/3 of the head to a friend).   Left the snow peas in their bag. Put all the trimmings in the compost pan (you can barely see it - just to the left of the cauliflower.)

Now everything - including a jar of pesto - is in the refrigerator, even the new potatoes.   (If you wonder why I put the spuds in the refrigerator - read this piece by Jack archived on the web site.  http://featherstonefarm.com/the-crops/root-vegetables/potatoes.html  I'm glad I resisted the sofa's siren call.  Now I can relax and conjure up some meal ideas for this week. 

As usual, an asterisk appears for dishes with recipes included.

Steamed chopped cauliflower with basil pesto sauce* on pasta; bread, fresh cherries - Fresh cherries are coming into season.  They are still a little spendy, but with a meatless dinner you can probably afford them.  (Note - See my June 23 post for a recipe for basil pesto.)

Steamed or boiled new potatoes; steamed kohlrabi - peeled, cut into small strips (julienne) or diced ; good quality boiled, steamed or grilled smoked sausage or even a pork chop with a spicy grainy mustard; applesauce- homemade if possible   The first fresh potatoes of the season deserve to be eaten pretty much plain. Don't overcook the kohlrabi - you want it a little crunchy.  Consider making a sauce for the meat and vegetables:  some spicy mustard, yogurt, sour cream or cream fraiche and some minced fresh parsley or dill if you have it.  A good dark rye bread would complement this meal.  If I were eating it, I would enjoy it with a beer.

You could also cook some extra potatoes for homemade potato salad.  Add some vinaigrette and chopped parsley and thinly sliced onion to warm potatoes - just enough to coat.  You could also add snow peas to potato salad. Boil about 30 seconds first- then drain, cut in half and add to the potatoes.

Stir fried chicken with snow peas and brown rice;  Fruit sorbet  Add snow peas at the very last minute - they cook very fast.  Probably less than a minute.  If you still have broccoli around use it up in this stir fry.

Beans and greens*; corn bread (see Tried and True this Saturday for a corn bread recipe); a nice piece of chocolate

Beet soup* garnished with potatoes and hard boiled eggs; leaf lettuce salad with grapes,  goat or blue cheese and a few toasted walnuts or hazelnuts if you have some; bread

Recipes

Beans and greens  (about 4 servings)
Ingredients
4 cups cooked white navy or cannellini beans
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion - or more, to taste
2 cups diced potatoes, uncooked
1 cup chopped carrots (optional)
1/2 cup diced red pepper (optional)
3 cups packed fresh greens (such as beet and a few kohlrabi greens.  You could also use kale, chard, collards, mustard greens or escarole.)
Fresh or dried herbs to taste - use fresh parsley and basil if you have these.   If you have pesto, use a spoon or two of that.   Dried sage and thyme would also work.
Olive oil
About 1 t. salt, red or black pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic lightly in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.  Add potatoes and saute another 5-6 minutes.  Add all other vegetables except fresh greens and 2 cups water or broth.  (You could substitute some red or white wine for up to half the liquid.)  Cover and simmer about 30 minutes.  Add greens.  Cover and simmer another 15 minutes or so.  Serve in bowls with a drizzle of olive oil.

Beet Soup (  About 4 servings)
Ingredients
1 T cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
about 5 medium raw beets (1 1/2 pounds) peeled and grated
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
3 cups stock or water
Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with the soup: Diced boiled potatoes and sliced hard boiled eggs to add as desired.  Chopped fresh dill or chives too if you have this on hand.  Excellent served with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.  I might add a few drops of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice too.  This could be served hot or cold.

Saute onion in oil 4-6 minutes or until soft.  Add grated beets and carrots and continue to saute - about 10 minutes, medium heat.  Add stock or water and cover - simmer about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  If desired, cool and puree in a blender or food mill.

Tomorrow:  Dig In - Broth

Broccoli is not a punishment

David Brooks is a vegot and I am sad about that.  Vegot is my word for vegetable bigot.  Let me explain.  In one of his recent columns in the New York Times he stated: "Second, the whole deficit hawk brand needs a makeover.  Those people are a bunch of schoolmarms: "You've been bad.  Eat your broccoli.  Accept a lower standard of living".

"You've been bad"?  "Eat your broccoli"?  Did he think about what he was saying?  Probably not.  He was blithely unaware of the damage he was doing, undermining a perfectly respectable and quite tasty vegetable.  Vegotry is a serious problem. It is a killer of good meals.

I like David Brooks.  I even agree with him about a third of the time.  He is cute in a nerdy kind of way.  He probably even enjoys eating broccoli in the privacy of his own home.   But his offhand remark tells me that it is time for us all to confront a threat to the health and security of our nation that might just be a bigger threat than the deficit.  We need to start talking about the insidious scourge of vegetable hate.

This problem has been with us for a long time.  Remember the famous New Yorker cartoon which shows a young boy sitting at a table with his plate in front of him?  He declares to his hovering parents: "I say it's spinach and I say to hell with it!"  Now I like humor as much and maybe more than the next person, but this kind of thing hurts us all.  Why do people who won't tell Polish jokes anymore think that defenseless turnips are fair game?

Vegetable hate is non partisan.  David Brooks is only the tip of the iceberg.  Vegots can be found everywhere.  President Barack Obama has publicly admitted that he hates beets.  (Well, maybe he didn't use the hate word but the message was clear.  He isn't going to eat those babies even if Michelle grows them in the White House garden.)

I have no magic solutions for this problem.  But the national conversation must begin.  We can change.  Yes we can.  We can move from vegetable hate to vegetable love.  We can have new sayings like "Life is short.  Eat your brussels sprouts first".   This will not happen overnight.  It will happen one meal at a time.  One family at a time.  One community supported agriculture membership at a time.  One Mom at a time saying to her family:  "Guess who's coming to dinner?  Beets."