The beets go on and on and on
Posted on June 24, 2007 - Filed Under beets, cooking, vegetables
So 10 days ago, I pulled the beets from the ground (I enjoy that part…so Peter Rabbit), cut off the greens leaving 2″ as recommended, bagged them and stored them in our pantry. Today, when I opened the pantry a waft of soily, spoily green smell hit my nose. The beets were fine, but the 2″ buzz cut of stems were rotting. I guess my pantry isn’t quite cool enough for root storage.
Panicking, I started cutting off the tops and getting out my beet recipes. For dinner I (neither Jett nor John will eat beets, something about the texture, so this is a solo adventure) had roasted beets with lemon and garlic. Pretty good, and definitely delicious with a nice red wine as the recipe suggested. I think the recipe called for too much garlic though. It asked for 4 cloves; I think 2 is a safer bet. I love garlic, so I don’t really mind, but the garlic burned going down and my stomach may mind later. Mosquitos will definitely be avoiding me. The lemon mixed with the beets is a good combination. Next time, I’ll definitely do more lemon, less garlic and maybe a pinch of ginger.
Then I decided to try beet muffins. I picked a zucchini bread recipe for the base then modified by using grated fresh beets, fresh squeezed orange juice instead of water, and added ginger to the mix. The batter looked like something created by Willy Wonka. It was this beautiful deep pink and tasted deliciously sweet. I’m sure the 3 cups (!) of sugar helped. Jett was immediately attracted to the batter and couldn’t keep his fingers (and arms) out of it which I’m sure added extra flavor. The finished beet-orange-ginger muffins got the Jett seal of approval. I neglected to tell him they contained beets. If I’m going to pump him up with sugar, at least I’m getting some good stuff in there too.
I still have about 10 beets left which are now residing in our very packed refrigerator alongside the garlic and blue potatoes waiting for August planting, and the zucchini and squash from the garden waiting to be eaten. We really need to build a root cellar. I’m hoping they’ll stay for the next week or two so I can bring them down to south Florida and my mom can concoct something delicious. Otherwise, tomorrow I’ll be eating grated beet salad or borscht all by myself.
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