Mommy's Eating Beasts

I was talking to my friend Sarah about how excited I was about the beets I got at the Farmer's Market this morning (yes, it really is that easy to make me happy). She gets all the credit for turning this into Veggie of the Week, because frankly, I was on the verge of forgetting about it again...

So, beets are awesome!!! Davis likes to say I would have made a good Russian peasant because I love root vegetables (and come to think of it, I secretly would love to be a farmer, and I do speak some Russian...) But anyway, beets are beautiful and they also happen to be an excellent source of folate. Davis doesn't like beets, so I don't make them often, which is why my kids don't remember the last time we had them (they did eat them as babies - I roasted veggies and mushed them up and called it "baby food.") - when I told them what I was eating tonight, they ran around yelling "Mommy's eating beasts!!"

In Veggie of the Week style, I'll give you my simple method for preparing beets. I take fresh, raw beets and brush the dirt off them and then put them in an oven-proof bowl, then wrap the whole thing tightly in tin foil. I place this is a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for about an hour. Half of my dinner tonight consisted of roasted beets, straight out of the oven, with a little kosher salt. When I got home from visiting Baby T at the hospital a few hours later, the second half of my dinner consisted of slicing the remaining, now cooled, beets and drizzling balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and kosher salt on them. (My family ate a pork chop dinner from the crock pot, since I was at the hospital during dinnertime)

One of my favorite side dishes is just a collection of root vegetables roasted this way. This recipe is delicious, although I have to confess I can't cook it anymore, because it's what I ate the night I had a massive gallbladder attack resulting in removal of my gallbladder (I don't actually blame this relative low fat dish, it's just the association of that meal and the most painful experience of my life...) I'm obviously easily distracted tonight, here's the recipe:

Roasted Root Vegetables
1 2 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds beets trimmed but not peeled, scrubbed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium-size red onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large turnip, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 head of garlic, cloves separated, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat oven to 425°F. Oil 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Combine all ingredients in very large bowl; toss to coat. Divide vegetables between prepared baking sheets; spread evenly. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

If I ever get my mom's borscht recipe, I'll post that... because it's my favorite beet recipe. But you know those things that your parents make that you don't even really want the recipe for, because you know it won't be the same if you make it? That's how I am about my mom's borscht and my dad's sloppy joes.

Beets are so lovely, I'm just kicking myself for not snapping a picture before devouring them all... but it was a busy day (busy with a trip to the farmer's market, the library, prolonged snuggling and tickling, reading books, baking a pound cake, drawing pictures of princesses in different colored dresses...)