Beet It

That’s what I say to Monday!

I needed a nutrient charge this evening after a long Monday at work.  It’s good there were some beets in the fridge!  You can just tell by their vibrant color that they are nutrient packed.  They are a good source of Vitamin C, Iron, and Magnesium.  They are a very good source of fiber, folate, potassium, and manganese!  Plus, they’re full of antioxidants.  Good for fighting cancer, strong bones, keeping your heart healthy, and preventing birth defects.

These beets were previously rubbed with olive oil and alderwood smoked salt and wrapped in a tin foil pouch.  Then they were roasted at 400 degrees for  about an hour.  After they cooled their skins could be peeled right off.  I chopped them and stored them in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge.  They were ready to be added to salads, smoothies, side dishes, or whatever you can dream up.

Tonight they served as a nutrient rich side dish.

Sweet and Sour Beets

• 3 beets, roasted, cooled, and cubed
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup honey

Simmer until beets are warm and enjoy!

30 Minutes Activity:  Heading to do a new yoga video now! 

Roast and Toast

I had high hopes for this concoction.  It was supposed to grace our thanksgiving table.  After trial number one, I’m not so sure.  Perhaps after some more tweaking it will make the cut.

It was inspired by one of my favorite turkey day dishes that my mom makes.  It’s a tasty dish that includes sweet potatoes, apples, butter, brown sugar and walnuts.  After being baked, it’s all gooey and delicious.

I took that and added more veggies and seasoning.  In my mix:

Vegetables and Fruit

• 1 head garlic, peeled
• ½  onion, roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, pealed and chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 small butternut squash (or as we call it, squish), peeled and cubed
• 3 beets, peeled and cubed
• 1 large apple, peeled and sliced

Seasoning

• ¼ teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 grinds of sea salt
• 2 grinds pepper
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed

1. Cut everything to approximately the same size
2. Toss in olive oil to coat
3. Mix seasoning and toss everything to coat
4. Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 1 hour or until golden brown and tender; toss about half way through cooking time

When I was slightly disappointed by this concoction, I realized that I really wanted it to be a sweet dish.  In fact it was quite spicy!  I plan to make some changes to bring it closer to it’s roots of our traditional thanksgiving dish.  Maybe then, if there’s room in the oven, it will make the cut.  The seasoning would change by replacing the chili flakes with a bit less chili powder to provide just a tiny kick of spice; maybe an 1/8 teaspoon?  I’d decrease the garlic to maybe just 4 cloves?  Parsnips would go.  They are too much like potato and I got enough starchiness from the sweet potato.  I’d also decrease the onion to a 1/4 an onion, again to cut down on savory-ness.  Walnuts would be tossed in, perhaps a 1/2 cup.  Most importantly I’d use butter instead of olive oil.  There is just such a deliciousness in butter that can’t be replaced, especially around the holidays!

So there you have it.  Not every dish is a picture of perfection!  Stay tuned for Roast and Toast round 2. 

What do you do with recipe flops?  Do you tweak and try again, or just forget it and move on to new dishes?