Monster Beets!

Just had to post an amusing picture from last fall at work. Kelly and I are posing with some beets from Jane's Garden. I've been thinking a lot about those crazy super-sized beets because this year's beets have been just normal ones.
Thanks to Jackie Pope-Ganser for the photo.

When you get monster beets, it's time to use just one to make a big salad. Here's a recipe I use at home. I'm changing the title to commemorate the beets.

Monster Beet and Apple Salad

One monstrously-large beet, peeled and ends cut off
3 to 4 crunchy eating apples (examples: Fuji, Jonathan), peeled and cored
1 bulb fennel (optional), save the feathery fronds
balsamic vinegar
sugar
salt
fresh-ground black pepper
walnut oil (tastes the best, but olive oil will also serve)
walnut pieces (optional)

Grate the beet into a bowl, using the large holes on your grater. You may need to cut it into smaller pieces to hold onto it while you grate. Grate the apples into the bowl. If you are using the fennel, cut off the stalks, cut the bulb in quarters and cut out the cores. Then slice very thinly.
In another bowl, pour in a few tablespoons of vinegar and add pinches of sugar and salt until it has a taste you find pleasantly tart and lightly sweetened. Season with pepper and then whisk in oil in small batches until the dressing emulsifies. Mix the dressing with the beets and apples and walnut pieces (if using). Use the fennel fronds for a garnish or mix them in with the whole salad.

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Quiet Thanksgiving dinner for two

Thanksgiving Day was not a large celebration this year, just me and my husband. Since we both had the day off work, I slept in and spent the rest of the morning cooking up a special small feast with lots of local items.

Here's our feast table just before we dig in:

The menu

Main dish:
a locally-raised organic chicken, roasted with rosemary sprigs (from my own backyard) stuffed in the cavity

Side dishes:
golden beets from the special Thanksgiving farmer's market, roasted in the pan with the chicken
spaghetti squash from a friend's backyard, roasted and seasoned with salt and pepper, butter and brown sugar
rose heart radishes from the CSA, boiled and then sauced with a roux-based white sauce with chicken bouillon base and lactose-free milk

Dessert:
pumpkin custard in pie form, with prosciutto bits rolled into the crust

To drink:
a California Chardonnay

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Magenta-colored love in a bowl

The simplest summer soup, made with new beets that arrived in our CSA box. Lotsa beets, not much else going on. Andrew and I make certain soups for each other that end up being code for "I love you," such as his curried squash winter stew, because I told him the first time he made it that it made me fall in love with him all over again. If reading that last sentence hasn't made you ill, try making this soup for someone you adore.

Be sure to keep the beet greens. They are edible, too, and they taste just like beets.

Beets, borscht-ish
serves 3-4

About 1 pound beets with greens
chicken stock (or water w/chicken broth powder)
a handful of fresh dill
sour cream (soy sour cream is what I used)
salt and pepper to taste

After washing the beets and their greens, cut off and keep the greens. Then slice the tops and the root ends off the beets and peel. Cut beets into bite-sized chunks and place in a pot. Chop the greens finely and add to the pot. Pour over enough chicken stock to cover the beets and greens and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until the greens are softening and the roots are becoming tender. Chop up the dill finely and cook it in the soup until it wilts and the rest of the veggies are done. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream as garnish for each bowl.

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