Can't be beet!

Detroit Dark Red Beets

Well, root crops are turning out to be a big part of our harvest this year! For the first time, we've tried growing beets. We just put out three rows as a tryout. We used transplants and floating row covers with lots of good home grown compost as a soil amendment. Well, this attention plus the cooler than normal temps have yielded a great return! We were able to can 12 pints of fresh beets plus have extras for fresh eating! That averages out to more than a pint per foot of row! So needless to say, we will be growing more of this vegetable. Perhaps even trying a late summer / fall crop along with the turnips.

Here's one of our favorite recipes from a great local restaurant, Meadowlark Restaurant

Beets with Horseradish, Goat Cheese and Pecans

3-4 whole fresh beets; tops removed
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup mirin; (sweet cooking sake)
1 cup pure olive oil
1/2 cup jar horseradish
salt and pepper
crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
chopped, toasted pecans

Roast the Beets:
Set the oven to 400 degrees. Lay a piece of foil in a small baking dish and
put the beets on the foil. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Gather foil
around beets and crimp to seal. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until beets
pierce easily with a paring knife.

Make the Dressing:
Place orange juice, mirin, olive oil and horseradish in a bowl and slowly
whisk in the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Or, put it all in a jar
together and shake like mad!

allow beets to cool, then gently peel and trim them. Cut them into
bite-size dice, about 3/4" square.

Arrange beets in one layer on a platter or individual plates or bowls.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon horseradish dressing liberally over
beets. Sprinkle well with crumbled cheese and pecans. Yum!

Jars of beets