beet muffins

There are/were two jars of canned beets in my cupboard, from March when my storage beets were starting to turn faster than I could borscht.  Beets canned in just water are not exciting to eat, so I looked around for some other ideas and found this recipe for beet muffins.  It checks my boxes: whole grains, vegetable and fruit heavy, nuts, no refined sugars.  

Ingredients

•    2 medium-sized beets, cooked and pureed (about 1 cup) (I drained a pint jar of beets and ran it through the nutribullet)
•     1⁄2 cup unsweetened applesauce
•     1⁄3 cup honey or maple syrup (I used about 1/4 cup date paste)
•     1⁄3 cup coconut oil, melted (I used avocado oil)
•     2 large eggs
•     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•     1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
•     1⁄2 cup rolled oats
•     1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•     1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
•     1⁄4 teaspoon salt
•     1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•     1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•     1⁄2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional) (I used soaked walnuts)
•     1⁄2 cup raisins or chocolate chips (optional) 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it lightly.
2. In a large bowl, combine the beet puree, applesauce, honey or maple syrup/date paste, and oil. Mix well until smooth.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the wet mixture and whisk until fully combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
6. If using, fold in the chopped nuts and raisins or chocolate chips to the batter.
7. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
9. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

millet beet salad

 Idea taken from here.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry millet - cooking instructions from here
• 1 cup water or broth 
• 1 large beet or 1 jar of canned beets
• 1/2 lemon, juiced or 2 T lemon juice
• 2 T olive oil
• salt, pepper
• large garlic clove, pressed
• 2 T coarsely chopped almonds
• arugula or other salad green
  

Lightly toast millet for 4-5 minutes in pot, then add 1 cup water or broth and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit for 10 minutes, then fluff.

Make dressing: mix together lemon juice, oil, salt & pepper, garlic.  Stir into millet.  Add drained beet, almonds, serve with arugula.

red flannel hash

From a Facebook group, which I plan to try:

Boiled potatoes, beets, and carrots leftovers from a boiled dinner perhaps. Just a bit of turnip if you please, and a diced raw onion.

Grease a cast iron skillet with several pieces of salt pork. Drop the vegetables into the hot pan and with a biscuit cutter or a soup can (top and bottom removed) cut, dice the vegetables until all that's left is this uniform rich red panful of tiny pieces of unidentifiable stuff.

Serve it like home fries with eggs and such. Or make a side dish for a meat and greens meal.

Spectacular, sweet and bold adventure.

beet greens and white beans

I made this dish one day this week based on what I had lying around, and it was very good.  I am especially enjoying it with toasted sourdough bread.  I even brought over a visitor to eat the leftovers of it with me. 

Saute:
-shallots, garlic

Add in:
-coarsely chopped beet greens (or swiss chard)

When it's beginning to wilt, add in:
-pint jar of white beans (no draining, no rinsing)
-dash of vinegar (I used apple cider)
-a little bit of honey
 -pine nuts

Did I forget anything?  I wish I'd written it down sooner.  It was really good!  


 

beet farro feta greens salad

This salad is FANTASTIC and I've made it a number of times.  Recipe for Farro Salad With Beets, Beet Greens and Feta found here.  Below with my modifications.

Ingredients

• 2-3 beets (any color), roasted  
• Beet greens or chard or kale, de-stemmed and washed well 
• 1 cup farro, cooked
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
•  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil (may substitute walnut oil for up to 2 T of it)
• ½ cup broken pecan or walnut pieces 
•  4 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled
• Herbs if you like (I don't generally add because no need) 

Preparation

1. Roast the beets, cool, chop.
2. Blanch beet greens/kale for 2 minutes or saute until slightly tender.
3. Cook farro to package directions. 
4. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegars, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil(s). Add to the farro. Peel and dice the beets and add, along with the beet greens, feta or goat cheese, herbs and walnuts. Toss together, and serve warm or room temperature with a little more cheese sprinkled over the top if you wish.

borscht

This recipe helped me remember the bits, and then I made it my own. Super, super yummy!

First, turn on Rebirth Brass Band. Loud. Everything tastes better when cooked to Rebirth.

Saute together:
2 chopped onions (or more!)
6 cloves chopped garlic
1 bunch chopped dill (or more)
1/2 - 1 pound stew meat*

Once it's seared and browned, add water (I usually fill the pot about halfway full) and cook at low heat an hour or so. (If using fatty cut, skim off fat.)

When the beef is tender, add the following:

4 beets, peeled and chopped (add this before the other things and wait 15 minutes or so, if possible - beets take the longest to cook)
half medium head cabbage, chopped
2 small potatoes, chopped (but they don't freeze well)
2 medium carrots, chopped (I'm not a big fan of this in borscht - leave out next time and see)
3 small-medium tomatoes, chopped (can of tomatoes works great)
1 lemon, squeezed (or a bit of vinegar)
salt
pepper

Cook about 1/2 - 1 hour, until vegetables are tender.

Serve with sour cream and more dill, if desired.


*Note: Meat intimidates me, especially in a completely different culture where I don't speak the language. If I could chat up the butcher, I'd get a good cut of bone-in meat and make a rich stock and use that. Um, I can't. But I still put in beef to add protein and richness of taste. Just a bit over a pound was too much for me, though.

beet greens, pasta, and pancetta

*pancetta or bacon (I used 5 very thin slices of pancetta, chopped into pieces, because that's what I had - would be better with thicker slices of pancetta)
*garlic, chopped (depends on how much you like it - I used 3 medium cloves)
*onion, chopped (not much - I used two slices of a red onion)
*beet greens, coarsely chopped (I used from about six medium beets), but if you use the stems (I definitely do), chop them more finely because they take longer to cook
*sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped (maybe 2 T)
*pasta (about 2 c cooked)

Fry the pancetta. It has enough fat that you need not add other oil.

Fry until it's crispy and remove if you can (I couldn't), then add onion and garlic and saute until it softens. Then add the sundried tomatoes if you like (they have oil clinging which is a good thing now) and stir it all up and let it saute over medium-low heat until the greens are cooked enough to no longer be bitter (unless you're like me, and you like them a little bitter when combined with the sweetness of the sundried tomatoes) and the stalks aren't too tough.

Add pepper and salt to taste (and a dash of balsamic vinegar if you like).

Stir in the pasta and eat. Top with freshly grated parmesan or other similar cheese.

***
Substituting beans for pasta would be a healthy choice, but I'm about beaned out right now and I was craving the heartiness of some pasta. I used whole wheat pasta elbows because that's what I had, but any such shape would be good.

I LOVE beet greens - they're like chard with a special treat - and I always feel like I've gotten a super good deal because I can use the beets AND the greens. And with sun-dried tomatoes, a flavor combination I stumbled upon this year, they are phenomenal.

I wouldn't make this every week, but it was a great taste treat!

roasted beets and sweet potatoes

from here ... so good!!

• 4-6 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 (or so) cloves of garlic
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1/2 - 1 large (sweet) onion, chopped (needn't be sweet)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, toss the beets with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar into the sweet potatoes and onion, coating well.
   
4. Bake beets 15-30 minutes in the preheated oven (20 minutes was insufficient). Mix sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.

***
This is super yummy and really hit the spot. The trick is to get fresh, local produce and let it stand on its own.

By the time the beets were no longer too crunchy, the sweet potatoes were too soft - so I'd cook the beets longer alone or chop even smaller.

Also, I cooked this in an oven that was 425 for 1/2 hour and then 350 degrees - I don't think temperature really matters and you can roast them at any temperature.

Russian-style beet potato salad

From Laurel's kitchen

2 (or so) medium beets, boiled and then skinned and diced
2 (or so) potatoes, chopped and boiled
1/2 c peas

Cook and chill all.

Then add sauce:
1-2 T mayonnaise
4-6 T yogurt
1-2 T vinegar
salt & pepper & sugar to taste
fresh dill if you have it
****
This craves my root vegetable cravings! I flash back to memories in Russia, where this was common summer fare. I like to let it sit for a bit before consuming to let the flavors meld.

It makes a very pretty pink salad that is oh so tasty!

borscht

This was long a stand-by for me - I love me some root vegetables, and then learned how to make it for real when I lived in Russia. But somehow it fell by the wayside. Yesterday when I went to the farmers' market, though, the beets called out to me provocatively. "Hey baby, you know you want to take us home." And there they were, so beautiful, so robust, so vibrant, so beety. And now they are in my fridge (and don't get me started on how upset I am that 2009 is The Worst Gardening Year Ever). So, back to borscht I go (though, there's there AMAZING beet/potato cold salad we used to eat in Russia that was to die for - that may be next).

****

Beef (or goat) meaty bones (make broth from them in slow cooker, drain fat, then add):

3 medium beets, peeled and diced

1 diced carrot

3 medium potatoes, cubed

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded

can diced tomatoes and/or small can tomato paste

1 T lemon juice or vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dried dill (if don't have fresh - which is really far superior)
salt and pepper to taste

Toss it all in the slow cooker, give it a good stir and cover with water if necessary (and maybe a little beef bouillon if the broth doesn't look rich enough). Don't cook it too long or it'll all get mushy (I've never slow cookered it before, though I like not having to stir regularly).

[That's the easy & quick way; better to saute onion & garlic first and then toss it all in.]

Serve with sour cream or yogurt (сметана would be best but I've never seen it for sale here) and dark, grainy Russian bread.