Beets

So, I bought a great hall at the Farmer's Market today and I thought that I'd give beets another try. My camera is still missing, but I did try to take a picture via my new cell phone, which I'll upload latter to show what I got at the Farmer's Market. But I wanna take a second to review my history with beets. I vaguely remember seeing them on salad bars, I had them roasted once (along with some other root veggies by my minister at a potluck once--it was a great combo of assorted root veggies we never ate at home), and I tried to do a root veggie roast myself a few months back, which wasn't very good at all. So apparently, the trick (according to the farmer I spoke with and a helpful older lady buying produce at the same stand) is to NOT PEEL THEM PRIOR TO BOILING/ROASTING. You peel them afterwards. Well, I roasted some and I've peeled them and they are delish! I'm roasting separately some red potatoes form the FM, a huge zucchini from my garden, and some carrots from the store (Whole Foods actually, but still, corporate carrots). I'll add the peeled (already cooked) beets at the end. Then I think I'll need to parcel these out and freeze some because I already have a gumbo over rice planned for lunch Monday/Tuesday, so I'll need to have salad or protein/non-starchy veggies those days, Wednesday I'll probably pick up sushi after my doctor's appointment and head into work, Thursday we're going out to lunch because its a colleagues birthday (and I'm bringing the cake). Okay, at this point I'm thinking via blog, not blogging about a thought out menu--but the point is: these types of mixed veggies often freeze well after roasting and re-heating isn't a bit deal. I'll save out a serving for tonight and Sunday night, but otherwise, I'll bag and freeze my beet/red potato/zucchini/carrot veggie experiment for future meals. Have I mentioned that I need more people to cook for?

Oh, back to beets: by peeling afterwards they stay sweet. When I pre-peeled before, somehow they went to starch and lost that sweetness. So now I know--and so do you, dear reader.

peace