Beautiful Beets

It was a few weeks back that I purchased my first bundle of fresh beets. I was standing at a favorite Farmers Market booth buying lovely lettuce, when the rows of beets caught my eye. I walked over to take a peek and the gal assisting me pointed out her favorite and shared with me her personal preferred way to enjoy them. Between her passion and the amazing color I was sold. I had never tried to cook beets, and was previously prone to pulling the round, cookie-cutter pieces from a restaurant's house salad. Ashamed of my former beet-plucking self, I decided to give this little jewel of a vegetable a whirl.

I tried the suggested method of halving and steaming, then peeling once cool. I sliced into chucks then topped with a little S+P and parmesan cheese (my Market friend recommended goat's cheese, but I did not have that on hand, and was so excited to try the beets, I just couldn't wait for all the ingredients to fall into place). Was it a success? Well, for my palate, not exactly. The taste was very earthy and I think that with a lack of accompanying flavors, I was a little overloaded with the beetiness. The color, though! Wow! Such an amazing deep reddish-purple hue. I truly want to enjoy beets, figuring that something so aesthetically pleasurable must be equally as tasty given the right preparation. Thus, I am not deterred! The search is on for some great beet recipes. A good friend told me she loves beets and developed a good beet risotto... need to give that a try! Below I have compiled a few more recipes that I would like to attempt as well. If you try any of these or have a favorite of your own, please share!

Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Spicy Greens

Crunchy Raw Beetroot Salad with Feta and Pear

Beet Chocolate Cupcakes

Beet Cake

Roasted Beet-Tofu Burgers

ABC Juice (Apple, Beetroot, Carrot)

Sweet Potato and Beet Chips with Garlic Rosemary Salt (I couldn't help myself)