I am a weirdo, but you knew that. :-)

[chienne_folle]

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, so the beets I served at dinner last night had a festive shape:

Comments

[nocturnus33]

La cosita roja rica que sirven en el hospital, así le decía mi hijo cuando tenía 4. Estuvo un par de días hospitalizado y se enamoró de la beterraga. Le habría gustado servida con forma de corazón.

[chienne_folle]

I'm sorry to hear that your son had to be in the hospital when he was 4; I hope he's all better now!

Beets are tasty even when round, but they're definitely more fun when heart shaped. :-)

[nocturnus33]

He is 23, so it's water under the bridge. Thankfully, it was nothing permanent.

I just realized that I wrote to you in Spanish, I'm sorry, what a mindlessness on my part!

[chienne_folle]

I only speak a little Spanish - I took mostly French in school - but Google Translate to the rescue! :-)

Glad whatever took your son to the hospital wasn't lasting!

[hbartthe2nd]

Omg, those look great! I’d never be able to pull that off. Picky girl confession: I’ve never had beets.

[chienne_folle]

You might want to try beets! A lot of vegetables have a bitter or sulphury flavor that a lot of people hate, but beets taste sweet. Not candy sweet, but definitely sweet. And look at the color - it dresses up any table. :-)

[hbartthe2nd]

Thanks, I have a strong aversion to anything bitter. So, how do you buy/prepare/eat them? I’ll have to try it and report back.

[chienne_folle]

You can do fancy stuff with them, but I just buy canned beets, heat them in the microwave for a few minutes, and serve them with mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are kinda bland, in both color and flavor, and the beets perk up the plate. :-)

[grooot]

I love beetroot. And it’s quintessential in a salad! So much flavour.

[chienne_folle]

Yes! And such a gorgeous color.

[beffeysue]

I love beets. When they're in season, I like eating the leaves, too. They are very tender and delicious.

[chienne_folle]

I'll have to try that. Do you eat them raw, in salads, or cooked, like kale?

[orlando_switch]

If the leaves are small, you can definitely put them in salads. If they are larger and you slice them in thin ribbons, you can mix them raw into mashed potatoes, then they'll soften a bit.

We have them here in different colours. The red ones like you have, but also white beets (not really special) yellow ones (orange on the outside and sunflower yellow within) and the Chioggia beets with a white/red spiral within.
I cook them till they still have some bite, transfer them to an oven dish and roast them in the oven with a bit of oil, salt and thyme or rosemary. Roasting them enhances their sweetness.

And your hearts look wonderful!

[chienne_folle]

You sound like quite the beet connoisseur! I just buy boring ole canned beets, to round out a meal when I'm not feeling up to making something nifty. Sounds like I should check out fresh beets when I AM up to making something nifty!