Eat Beets! (Tara says so)

Beets are great because they are two-two-two foods in one! Well, sort of. They are one veggie, but the roots and the leaves can be used separately to different effect. The leaves (especially if picked early, and tender) can be used in salads, and just need to be washed. If you don’t feel like a salad, then go right ahead and cook them! This is especially useful if the leaves are larger and maybe tougher. Just sautee with some oil and garlic and maybe some chopped onion. You can treat it much like spinach. It can also be added to a stirfry, and I think it might be yummy in a pasta. Perhaps with some goat cheese and toasted pine nuts?

The roots (the beets themselves) are wonderful roasted. No need to peel, just wash, coat with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and wrap in some tin foil. Bake at about 400 for about an hour. The skin should come right off. Be warned though, they will stain, especially the red beets. Last time I roasted beets I waited until they were coolish, and then peeled them wearing (clean) dishwashing gloves. The gloves were stained pink, but my hands were A-Ok. Word on the street is that you can also steam beets, but I have never done this myself.

And here is a very yummy sounding recipe for a roasted beet salad:

Romaine and Roasted-Beet Salad with Creamy Roquefort Dressing

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Romaine-and-Roasted-Beet-Salad-with-Creamy-Roquefort-Dressing-4270

Beets!

Beets

Beet Facts

Beets are from the Chenopodiaceae Family and are called Beta vulgaris subsp. Esculenta in Latin.

Beets, like carrots and some other root veggies, prefer soil that has not been recently manured or composted. Forked roots can result.

Beets are compound seeds: if you look closely at a beet seed you will see a number of seedlets fastened together into one “seed.” (Chard is the same.) This means you will often get more than one beet from a seed.

How to Grow Beets

1. I like to soak the seed in hot water (bath temperature) for about an hour before planting.

2. Choose a site in full sun and sow when the soil has warmed a little. Space seeds a little farther apart than you’d think—2 inches is fine—because you will usually get two to four (or even more) “seedlings” from each seed. They should be planted in rows that are spaced thirty to forty-six centimeters apart

3. Cover with about 1 centimetre (0.5") of soil, then tamp down very lightly with your palm.

4. Seeds will germinate in 5-12 days depending on soil temperature (sun and warmth).

5. When beets are about 1.5 inches high, carefully thin them out. This is best done in the morning or in the early evening, when the sun is not shining brightly. Thinned beets can still be eaten for the greens!

6. Beet seeds can be planted as soon as the soil is able to be worked at the start of the growing season. Planting them every two or three weeks would provide a continuous harvest into the fall.

7. The ideal pH is between 6.5 and 7

8. Once the seeds are planted, it is suggested to cover the soil with a little mulch to protect it during rains and dry periods.