oops. I bought beet seeds thinking they were radishes

[NMDemDist2]

hubby likes beets, I don't think I ever tried em (the color freaked me out having only seen the pickled variety) but if I grow em, I want to eat em!!

suggestions on what to do with them for a squeamish beet newbie??

[The empressof all]

1. Wrap them in Aluminum Foil and Roast them

They are wonderful served with a little sour cream on the side.

I also had a terrific creamed beet dish once at a dinner party but wouldn't have a clue how to do it.

I also love them roasted and chilled with a light rice vinegar or raspberry vinaigrette.

You can also shred them raw and use them on top of a salad or make a slaw with beet, apple and fennel in an orange vinaigrette. Yummers.

[NMDemDist2]

2. i need to plant some fennel too

that slaw sounds great

thanks TEoA!!

:pals:

[Warpy]

4. Those were my suggestions. The greens are also useful

Just treat them like any other greens. Plus, you can juice them (if you have a juicer) and mix the juice with strong flavored fruit juice for a vitamin and mineral heavy but sweet and pleasant smoothie with a wild color.

[NMDemDist2]

6. i figured if all else failed, I'd use the greens

but it seems a shame not to at least TRY to use the beet itself.

wonder if I can pickle them? Mr. K would love me forever if I could......

[Warpy]

7. You bet you can!

382 recipes here, alone: http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,pickled_beets,FF.html

[NMDemDist2]

9. this one looks do-able

PICKLED BEETS AND ONIONS

4 lb. (3 qt.) sm. beets
3 med. onions, sliced
3 c. cider vinegar (5 to 6% acidity)
2 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 c. packed light brown sugar
2 sticks cinnamon (no powder)
2 tbsp. whole mixed pickling spice
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. salt

Prepare quart jars. Cut off all but 2 inches of beet tops. Wash beets and leave whole with roots attached. Cook beets in enough boiling water to cover until tender, about 20 minutes; drain. Quickly plunge beets into cold water; slip off skins and remove root ends. Cut beef into 1/4 inch slices.

Mix onions, vinegar, 2 cups water and the sugars. Tie cinnamon, pickling spice and bay leaf in cheesecloth bag. Stir salt and spice bag into vinegar mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove spice bag. Divide beet slices among hot jars. Pour boiling syrup to within 1/2 inch of tops of jars; seal. Process in boiling water bath 30 minutes. 3 quarts.

[kestrel91316]

3. You can mail all your beets to me here in SoCal and I will be happy to

dispatch them posthaste. They're awful, you know. Don't waste time and energy messing with them.

:evilgrin:

[NMDemDist2]

5. ROFL

it's gonna be a couple months before I have to 'mess' with them, but you offer of 'help' is noted

:rofl:

[Rhiannon12866]

8. I'm not fond of beets, but my SO is, so I'd consider making them if I knew how, as well.

The only thing I know is that working with them can stain your hands...:shrug:

[NMDemDist2]

10. cook em like potatoes is all I've figured out so far.....

I'll let you know if I come up with anything though....

:rofl:

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Okay, thanks!

My SO really likes peas, too, which is the one vegetable that absolutely makes me ill, but if I can stand peas, I should be able to deal with beets...:D

[wildeyed]

12. If you pull them early, you can saute them with other spring veggies.

Wait until they get big and they will be too strong tasting.

[NMDemDist2]

13. good plan! have the greens one night and stir fry the next eh?

:hi:

hey, my garden has sprouted :bounce:

i have about a dozen carrots, 6 radishi and around 8 broccoli with one yellow pear mater that just popped up this morning!!

:woohoo:

[wildeyed]

14. woohoo!!!!!!

:woohoo:

I am completely garden mad this year. So far, I have radish, carrot, lettuce, kale and beets growing, although slowly since it is still pretty cold out.

I have tons of mater and eggplant seedlings under the grow lights ready for the first hint of warm weather. My kids picked out some pumpkin seeds that claim to produce 400 lb pumpkins :scared: I read the seed packet and it says space plants every 14 feet :crazy: I am going to put those way far in the back of the yard away from the rest of the garden since it sound like the vine will completely engulf it if I am not careful. Bet I could make a really large pumpkin pie out of that :o

[NMDemDist2]

15. a 400 pound pumpkin???

:wow:

good plan to throw it out back :rofl:

my lettuce didn't sprout :cry: I think I buried it too deep... I replanted that today and more radishi too

i figure we only need 2 or 3 tomato plants so I'm trying not to go nutz on those....

i really need to get the camera out and take some pics of my setup here

:hi:

[wildeyed]

17. Are the seeds old?

Lettuce can be picky like that.

I get greedy about the different varieties of tomato. There are so many that I like and so many new varieties that sound so appealing, especially in January when I order the seeds. Sigh. It is hard to pick only two or three. This year I will have six. I can either freeze the extras, or pass them over the fence to the neighbors.

:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

18. they might be, but the ones I planted today aren't

so hopefully I'll see some little heads peeking through in a few days

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Congrats!!! You're very fortunate. I just took my dog out and we're having sleet here in NY.

Tiny balls of ice, anyway. *sigh* x(

I thought that tomorrow was supposed to be Spring... :-(

[murphymom]

19. barszcz (Polish beet soup)

My grandma used to make this. Hers was pretty simple, peeled and sliced beets cooked in broth. Mix some sour cream with a couple of spoons of cornstarch, stir some of the hot broth in to temper it, then mix it into the soup. Add sauteed sliced mushrooms and just before serving, add a few slices of hard-cooked egg to each bowl. It's got a very earthy flavor with the egg and mushrooms. Grandma's used to be a bright pink, I guess I must use less sour cream because mine comes out a rather flamboyant magenta, which might be off-putting if you're not used to eating something that color that isn't from the candy aisle.

There are all kinds of beet soup recipes out there from the various slavic countries from clear semi-fermented soups to hearty vegetable soups. Kinda like spaghetti sauce - everybody's grandma has a different recipe and simultaneously, everyone's grandma has the only real authentic version. :)

[NMDemDist2]

20. yup, i'm gonna have to try a borsch type soup at least once

the good news is hubby says "just steam those babies up, I'll eat em!" so that's a place to start

:rofl:

[eleny]

34. I like that version, too

Although my family doesn't put egg or cornstarch in it - what I like about it is that it has no sugar added.

The color of these soups sure is outstanding. Mom never had to encourage us to the table.

[hippywife]

21. We're going to try

growing these beets. Aren't they pretty?

http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.asp?item_no=PS14859

[NMDemDist2]

22. those *are* pretty!!

:hi:

[eleny]

23. Use the greens for soup

The tops are really good, so I look for them to put in a soup with beef broth. I haven't tried steaming them to toss with olive oil and garlic but that might be good, too.

[eleny]

24. One more - Chilled beet soup

I think you can use about 4 cooked beets for this. They don't have to be julienned. Diced is good, too, and easier to spoon up. This is really great to eat outdoors on a hot summer day.

Mix together:
2 cans julienned beets with their juices
1 quart water
2 cucumbers, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
salt to taste
Mix a small container of sour cream with some water to thin it a little and mix it into the soup

Chill in the fridge before eating.

[NMDemDist2]

27. thanks friend!

I really hope I like em, I sure willing to give them a try and a cold soup is a perfect thing to send in Mr. K's lunch!

:hi:

[eleny]

31. Let me tell you what happened once with this soup

I took some to work with me one day. I shared an office with another gal who asked to try it when she saw it. It's pretty since it has the color of a raspberry ice cream soda. :D She had a spoon and was going to take one taste. But after she tasted it she wanted more. It was so funny because she said she couldn't help herself. So I just let her have it since I also brought other lunch goodies to work for myself. We had a laugh about her instant obsession. But it's very refreshing. I just never saw anyone take to it so fast.

Btw, keep the water from when you cook the beets for this soup. Just eyeball the amount of beets and the water in about two cans of beets. This recipe is very forgiving. I don't use pepper in it, just some salt which seems to give it a lot of oomph.

Btw Part 2 - Here's another recipe my aunt always made for summer salads. She'd get one large can of Veg-All mixed veggies and a regular can of diced beets. Pour off the water from the canned veggies and your cooked beets. Mix a little bit of sour cream and some mayonnaise together and then mix it in with all the veggies to coat them lightly. Chill it well before serving. It sounds odd but it's nice in the summertime.

I've baked beets in the oven and then put butter and s&p to taste. Pretty good with New England boiled dinner. But then I already like beets.

Last but not least - pickled beets. How I love them on the side with a sandwich made on rye bread.

[NMDemDist2]

35. LOL!!

I'd have been :blush: if I stole my co-workers lunch like that :rofl:

[eleny]

36. And she was!

There must have been something in that soup that her body craved. We laughed about the whole thing for months.

[grasswire]

25. roasted beet salad...

...on greens with toasted hazelnuts and a nice vinaigrette. That's just delicious!

I'm sure you will love beets. The flavor is very mild and sweet.

[NMDemDist2]

26. if I can use pecans instead that sounds like a winner!

I have a freezer full of pecans :evilgrin:

[grasswire]

28. I would toast them...

...to bring out the real nuttiness.

Oh wait. That salad also has blue cheese crumbles in it.

[NMDemDist2]

29. will eating the greens kill the beet though?? n/t

[grasswire]

30. you don't think you are going to like beets?

I think you will.

[NMDemDist2]

32. I dunno

I didn't like the bright red pickled ones a million years ago :shrug:

[eleny]

33. What do you mean?

Are you thinking of cutting the tops to use first and leave the beets in the ground to keep growing? I don't grow them so I don't know how that might affect the beet root. I suggest waiting and get them out of the ground together and then use them in separate dishes.

The only time I use them together is for a *hot* soup with meat. For that I use beef or lamb. Then the greens are really great. And if the grocery has no leaves I get a bunch of swiss chard. They taste the same to me.

Hth! :hi:

[eleny]

37. From your-healing.com

"Beets -- attacks floating body fat and fatty deposits"

http://www.your-healing.com/naturaldiuretics.html