We are a beet family.  I didn’t eat them growing up, but some while ago I read they were good for making your blood stronger in Eat Right 4 Your Type.  What exactly was meant by ‘stronger’ I don’t remember, but I’m a sucker for health claims.  You could tell me that eating caterpillars covered in hot sauce is good for your skin and I would likely try it.  

So I started buying canned beets at the grocery store.  Please, before you spend time sending me hate mail about how inferior canned beets are to fresh, I know and I get it.  But I’m not a foodie. For me, food is mostly functional. Rarely do I sit to enjoy a meal for the crisp crunchiness, amazing aromas or titillating textures.  I just need to get the calories and nutrients in and be on my way. My kids eat canned beets (they look like little vampires with the juices running down their faces).  I throw them on salads, sandwiches and burgers. Sidenote: ever had an Australian burger? With a fried egg, ring of pineapple and sliced beets? Sooo yummy <says the girl who just said she wasn’t a foodie>.  Cactus even makes beet salad. So the decision to try to grow beets was just a “Sure, let’s give that a try.”  

I planted beets back on April 1st.  I seeded them directly into the soil which I think is what the packet said to do. A mere 2.5 months later, these are just three of the amazing purple hearted beauties I plucked from the garden.  They were likely ready for harvest two weeks ago but I kept waiting and waiting to see how much of the bulb would continue to push itself out of the soil.  I think I didn’t plant them deep enough. Needless to say though, I am very happy with the result and still have about ten more plants I will harvest in the next couple weeks.

I’ll be honest, beets were one of the vegetables whose success I was least invested in.  Sorry beets, love you boo! I was way more interested in lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and squash because we eat those nearly every day.  And, per above, canned beets really don’t bother me.  

Perhaps it was that lack of love that made my beets say “I’ll show you.  We’re gonna be the best darn beet crop you ever saw.” And they are.

Next step was roasting them for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees and then removing the skins. Tip: I covered a pan with aluminum foil and sprayed it with cooking spray to prevent sticking and have minimal clean up. In the past I’ve also wrapped each beet individually and put a bit of olive oil in each package. If you wrap each one separately, definitely still put them on a pan and not directly on the oven rack. Similar to sweet potatoes, I believe some beet juice can drip and then you’ll have a mess to clean up in your oven.

I’ll make a beet salad and/or serve them with goat cheese.  They are also great on a bed of arugula with chunks of goat cheese and a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Final thought:  are beets always plural?  Can I say I ate a beet for dinner?  Can you add a beet to my sandwich? Sounds wrong.