OMG it’s The Beets! O-E-O Killer Tofu… Ok so I may have just dated myself there but the only beets I liked as a kid were the ones I saw on Doug. Even as an adult for a long time there was nothing positive I could say about beets, but then again what I thought about beets was far from reality.

My mother’s idea of beets were those jarred, smelly, mushy, pickled atrocities. Blech! I’d rather eat a dirty gym sock. As the popularity of the culinary arts rose in the area where I live, I would start seeing roast beet salads on menus, but I just never ordered one. And when I was at a party where a friend served beets I just passed.

Now fast forward to a day when returning from the farmer’s market I notice I got my dad’s fresh beets. Seriously? What am I supposed to do with beets? So what do I do? I call up my grad school roomie the vegetarian. She always has the answer when it comes to what to do with the errant veggie. She told me just to roast them and put them on a salad. Sounds easy enough, and boy was it tasty. They are earthy and sweet and oh so tender. I’m not kidding when I say it became an instant favorite. Even my dog likes them now (but we all know she’s a closet vegetarian so are we shocked… no).

So how do you roast beets?

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Wash your beets well. The dirt really doesn’t do well in the roasting. After they are washed and dried chop off the tops and bottoms.

Put the beets in foil packets and coat with olive oil. Close the packets and put them on a foil covered cookie sheet (You can’t be too careful beet juice stains everything, including cookie sheets and fingers. If you’re not careful it will look like you murdered Barney). I’m sure you also noticed that I keep the skins on. Raw beets are incredibly hard to peel. But if you roast them with the skins on the skin comes right off when they are done.

Roast the beets for about 35 minutes or until they are tender enough that you can pierce one with a fork through the foil. Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely.

After the beets are cooled peel the skin off with your fingers. It should slide right off. Slice your beets into medallions. Place them on a bed of dark leafy greens. Add some shavings of a semi-sharp nutty cheddar, dried cranberries, and if you’re feeling saucy some lightly candied walnuts.