A little update on beets.

Got some beets. Three biguns for just 99cents. I was about to get a can of beets, but thought the checker up front would call me Crazy Beet Lady. I microwaved them (boiling beets takes 45 mintues but nuking beets takes 15 minutes). Despite the speedy cooking, they're still a bit of a hassle. They're insanely messy. Handle them like you had to maintain sterile conditions. I should have brought gloves from work. Otherwise, it'll look like a massacre occured in the kitchen.

They taste good. Not fantastic. But good.

First I had it plain. I thought it would be sweeter, like a cooked carrot or a sweet potato, so I was disappointed. I reminded myself not to expect so much from a vegetable. But maybe if I roasted it...?

Then I added some of that fancy salt I got for my birthday. That salt is really good for adding after the food has cooled down, so it doesn't just melt away. Nice little salty crunchies on warm tender beet. Quite nice.

Then I added some 10year old balsamic vinegar. As Jack O'lantern, I mean, Rachel Ray would say, "YUM!" No wonder pickling beets is such a good idea. The sour really brings out the sweet. Very nice. I need to get a cheap bottle of balsamic and reduce with honey and herbs to syrup consistency for a drizzling glaze. I bet that would rock. But then again, I bet that would make just about anything rock.

Then I ate the beets along with some goat cheese. It's a common pairing. I think I just like goat cheese with just about any vegetable. Ohh like grilled/roasted veggies (peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash) and goat cheese bruchetta. Mmmmmmmm...drool. Although, that's really good with havarti, too.

Then I added some navel orange segments. I've been eating bags and bags of oranges lately. They are also another common pairing in a salad (beets, oranges, arugula, goat cheese). They made the beets seem less sweet, so I didn't really think much of that pairing. But if they were in a salad together, that'd be fine with me.

So, yeah, beets are nothing to be scared of. They're cheap and pretty easy and pretty to look at, even if they are a bit messy. They taste good too.