Beet flavor is hard to beat
My love of beets did not happen quickly. In fact, it was quite
painful to find the strength to lift a slimy slice of one to my
lips when I was not older than 10, my parents would happily
enjoying one with each bite of their salads. These particular beets
lost points with me before they even landed on my tongue so blood
red and drippy were they that one had already stained my white
shirt with its juice as I scooped it from the can.
Beet flavor is hard to beat
My love of beets did not happen quickly. In fact, it was quite painful to find the strength to lift a slimy slice of one to my lips when I was not older than 10, my parents would happily enjoying one with each bite of their salads. These particular beets lost points with me before they even landed on my tongue so blood red and drippy were they that one had already stained my white shirt with its juice as I scooped it from the can.
A dirt flavor coated with a foul hint of aluminum – no doubt from the can they came in – filled my mouth and sent waves up through my nostrils.
Though I enjoyed making mud pies when I played house outside with my sisters, I would never actually eat one of them.
But I felt like I just had.
Gross!
There was nothing left to do but get that slippery thing down my throat and replace the taste with a bite of something else on my plate. I gulped milk down to wash away the dirt taste but it lingered.
Yuck.
I fluttered my hands like a chicken, unable to hide my repulsion. A bite of spaghetti did the trick. As I settled down, I decided from now on, my salads would consist of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and occasionally red onion if I were in the mood. My parents could enjoy their dirt this way. I would enjoy mine in the front yard.
When I came back to the farm to work a few years ago – before I had realized the difference in taste between produce taken right out of the ground directly to the kitchen for use and store-bought produce – I learned my parents were growing red beets for their customers.
Again, I thought, ‘Gross.’
Mom spoke of this wonderful beet cake recipe she had made and I chalked it up to her version of the mud pie and moved on.
Weeks later, when we were planning the display for our booth at a local farm day, mom suggested she cook up a beet cake for customers to sample.
During the first few weeks of my new job, I had made a habit of reluctant agreement to try unusual vegetables like red deer tongue and red Swiss chard, and so I found myself doing the same at the cake suggestion. The possibility of my trying it, though, was slim to none.
When the morning of the farm day came, I awoke to the seductive smell of cinnamon in the air. I made my way to the kitchen anticipating a warm loaf of pumpkin bread or even coffee cake ready for breakfast. As I neared the room, the faint odor of dirt fell on my nose. Still hoping for that breakfast pastry, I peeked in and saw mom sliding a pan with pinkish batter into the oven. How was I supposed to persuade people to try that I wondered?
“What’s for breakfast?” I asked, searching the countertops.
“Whatever you want,” Mom replied.
My eyes rested on a baking sheet with a large thin cake.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“The beet cake for your customers,” she said. “I just put another one in the oven for us for dessert tonight.”
There was no way I was going to be eating dessert with them, I thought. Never in a million years.
But as she slathered the cake with a citrus cream cheese frosting and I moved towards her, my curiosity peeked at the site of this topping. The cinnamon smelled delicious. Mom suggested I try a bite so I knew what I was offering people.
I backed away. No way.
“I really think you will like this,” she said. She was as determined as I was. So far I had liked every new thing I tried so I thought, what harm could it do? Besides, wouldn’t anything taste good topped with cream cheese?
She cut a small square for me and I gave in. I sunk my teeth in to the cake. First, the pungent flavor of the walnuts filled my mouth. I chewed the cake slowly. Moist. Cinnamony. There’s that beet flavor, and before it took over, the orange cream cheese frosting sent me into oblivion. It was delicious. Mom had done it again. This cake is very similar to a carrot cake, only better. It is a must-try for anyone who enjoys spice cakes.
Excited over my discovery that beets may, in fact, be better than I remembered, I decided to bake some for a salad. As quickly as I hated the ones when I was 10 did I love my new absolute favorite spring salad: butter lettuce, shredded carrots, shrimp, chopped walnuts, a bit of feta cheese, and plenty of beets for every bite! The sweetness of the beets cannot be, well, beat. This salad topped with vinaigrette dressing made of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a minced garlic clove, and some fresh Italian parsley (also minced), is a simple meal, and also one of the best.
I now crave beets when they are not around. In the winter months when salad greens are not readily available from local farms, I rely on a mix of red and gold beets as a base for a satisfying citrus salad. This allows me to get my fill of one of my favorite vegetables, and it is also the perfect way to enjoy the citrus that is in season this time of year. Blood oranges are particularly good in this salad.
Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
From Cooking Light
Cake:
1 lb beets (about 2 medium)
Cooking spray
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. packed dark brown sugar
½ c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ c. 1% low-fat milk
Frosting:
2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, chilled
4 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. finely chopped walnuts, toasted
1. Preheat oven to 350o.
2. To prepare cake, peel beets using a vegetable peeler. Grate beets using large holes of a grater, to measure two cups.
3. Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray.
4. Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add beets; beat well. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next five ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.
5. Bake at 350o for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire rack; remove pans. Carefully peel off wax paper, and cool cake completely on wire racks.
6. To prepare frosting, beat orange rind, vanilla and cream cheese with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add the honey; beat at low speed just until blended (do not over beat).
7. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with ½ cup frosting; top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.
How to Bake Beets
Preheat oven to 350. Cut greens off of beets and save for salad if you like. Scrub excess dirt off of them, and wrap each in foil. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for an hour. Beets are done when they are tender when you stick a knife in them. Let cool.
Once cool, remove skin using a paper towel. Slice thinly and toss with red or balsamic vinegar. Refrigerate until you want to use them.
Roasted Beet and Citrus Salad
From Cooking Light
½ lb beets
¼ c. orange juice
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ½ c. tangerine or orange sections
2 tbsp. feta cheese or shaved fresh parmesan
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
7 c. mixed green salad (if available)
Combine orange juice and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add beets, tossing gently to coat. Remove beets with a slotted spoon and set aside; reserving orange juice mixture in a bowl. Add salad greens and beet greens to bowl; toss well. Place 1 cup greens on each of the 6 salad plates; top each with 1 ½ cups beets, ¼ cup tangerine sections, 1 tsp. cheese, ½ tsp. nuts. Serve immediately.
