For Beet's Sake

Would it be weird if I started blogging about beets on a regular basis?  I sure hope not.  Because that's my plan!  It's beet season, so I'm going to be writing about beets left and right.

Yesterday as I was picking some beets, I said, "I just thought of something funny!  What if instead of "For Pete's Sake" the expression was "For Beet's Sake"?"  I thought it was the funniest thing on the planet, but my beet-picking partner seemed only mildly amused.

Beets are approximately my 4th favorite food.  I love them.  I feel bad that they sometimes have such a negative rap for being yucky.  They are so yum-yum!  They taste like candy, people!  Give them a whirl!

I especially love them roasted.  Today I'll share one delicious way to eat the beets themselves, and in the coming weeks I'll share how to prepare the stems and the leaves, too.  You can eat nearly every part of a beet.  JACKPOT!

Our church garden is bursting with beets, so I'm quite thrilled to have such easy access to my 4th favorite food!

I'll call today's recipe: "Roasted Beets with Quinoa"  

#1:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

#2: Cut off the stems and leaves of about 5 medium to large beets.  Keep the stems and leaves handy in a plastic bag in the fridge for future use!

#3:  Cut the beets in half and add a little salt.

#4: Peel about 4 garlic cloves and cut them in half.

#5:  Make a handy pocket out of aluminum foil, and place the beets and garlic inside the pocket.  Add about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Close the packet up, and place it on a cookie sheet in the oven.

#6:  Cook for about 90 minutes or until everything is tender.  When you take them out of the oven, let them cool about 10 minutes.  Then you'll need to take off the outer peeling on each beet.  It should pull right off without a problem.   

#7:  When the beets are almost done, prepare two servings of quinoa using the directions on the package.  It usually takes about 15 minutes.

#8:  Plate it up and gobble it down!  Special bonus:  Very few ingredients and super easy clean-up!