A Beet by Any Name Would Taste as Sweet

Listen,I dig beets...no pun intended...for some reason, I just really love them. It hasn't always been so...My first contact with beets as a child was some weird pickled beet that looked like the cranberry sauce you buy in the can and eat at Thanksgiving. I actually really like cranberry in the can at Thanksgiving...but it has to be the one that stays solid and you cut it into these crancircles and add it to the mass on your plate...but I digress...

And while I like crancircles, I DO NOT like beet circles (not to be confused with crop circles), So, it was a real surprise to me when, as an adult, I tried beets again...this time fresh beets...Wow! It was wonderful! An earthy, semi-sweet, sometimes crunchy, sometimes velvety texture...great cold or hot...are you kidding me? What's not to love? Here are the first beet seedlings in the garden...

And here they are just a few days later...the ground is finally warming up enough for the garden to start growing in a major way...
Aren't they beautiful? I can't imagine what could be better than a dish with tender, young beets...I like to think of myself as a tender, young beet...although I am sure others think of me as a somewhat toughened veggie with a tendency to stain things...nice.

Anyhoo, I am ending this post with a new feature...I am going to start including my favorite methods for preparing the veggies and fruits I feature in my blog. Sometimes it will be a recipe, other times, as in this case, it will be a method.

I love roasted beets. Now some people will just put the beet in some foil, add olive oil, salt and pepper and roast whole. When the beet is cooked through, you can rub the skin off with the foil and viola, ready to eat beet!

I prefer to peel and cube the beets, place them on a cooking sheet, add olive oil, salt and pepper (sometimes thyme) and roast at about 375...how long depends on the tenderness of the beet. Don't over cook!

Many people complain about the staining properties of beets. If you use a plastic cutting board and don't wear good clothes, you will be fine. It comes off of your hands in a couple of washes...a small price to pay for such fabulousness...you can also use the golden beets, which don't really stain and are mild and sweet...

Are there any other beet lovers out there? Tell me I am not alone in my devotion to this unassuming root vegetable...