Beet It

I must have been about seven years old, but I can clearly remember sitting at the dining room table crying over a helping of beets.  We were required to ask permission to be excused from the table and any food left on the plate was reason for denial of the request.  My brother, having already choked down his beets, was laughing at something on TV in the living room.  I thought my torture had ended at bedtime when I was finally dismissed from my uneaten beets.   

They reappeared on my plate the next night. 

I've never much eaten them since.

But watching the national news the other night, Lester Holt interviewed Yoko Ono about her new film project called #SmilesFilm.  You can tweet a photo of you smiling and the collection of smiles will be assembled and the confluence of smiles will change the world.  Lester asked her what John Lennon would think of the Smiles Project.  They cut to a video of John and Yoko singing and John's words spoke to me.  

"All we are saying is give beets a chance."

Having been "called" by John Lennon, I went to the farmer's market

last weekend and picked up a little purple bundle.

I have to admit they're quite beautiful.

I always loved the greens.

They were boiled, as I recall it, and served with vinegar.

I thought I would do them two ways.  If I hated one, I'd still have the other.

Way 1:  I spiralized about 1/3 of a vidalia onion.

I peeled two beets with a vegetable peeler and used a spiralizer attachment

that made wide, flat strips of beet kind of like fettucini.  

I sauteed the onion for a few minutes, added the beets and sauteed about five minutes.  Add a little salt, pepper, butter (or Earth Balance) and I called them done.

Way 2:  I prewashed the greens really well and cut them in about thirds and set aside.

When the beets were about done, in another pan, I fried one sliced clove of garlic in about a tablespoon of oil and added the greens, tossing them around a few minutes until they're wilted but still a little crunchy.  Splashed on a little vinegar and I was ready to eat.

Beets two ways:  Beet "fettucini" with sauteed beet greens, garlic and vinegar.

Beets two ways.

Beet fettucini with wilted beet greens, garlic and vinegar served with a little dill sour cream.

I have to admit.  I really loved the beets.  They're really sweet.  And alongside the greens with vinegar, there was a sweet-sour thing going on that was really nice.

Beet "fettucini" with chicken apple sausage

I had the remaining beet for lunch the next day with a chicken-apple sausage and a peppered little sour cream.  Again, really enjoyable.

So if you think you hate beets, send Yoko a smile and give beets a chance.