You can't beat fresh beets!

 We enjoy beets but canned ones always seem to miss the mark in taste and texture. When I found fresh ones on sale, last week,  I knew they were destined to appear on our dinner table!

Beets have to be the easiest vegetable to prepare. You crop the green leaves off the top, wash the beets, and put them in a pot of water and simmer them for about 30-45 minutes depending on how big they are. You want them just fork tender not mushy.

You drain the pot and, one at a time, place a beet under running, cold water and just rub the skin off. As you can see from the lower picture on the right, it just shred off easily and you are left with a pretty, red globe of beet!

Last night, we had hot beets served with a bit of melted butter, salt, and pepper. We had some leftover, so they got sliced thinner, today, and marinated in ground caraway, salt, pepper, a bit of dry mustard, brown sugar, and cider vinegar.

A friend also shared another way to enjoy beets - raw! If you have a good blender that can practically puree rocks, this is an easy one. Just peel the raw beet with a potato peeler and cut into chunks. Add a cored, sliced, but unpeeled red apple, a raw, peeled carrot, and a few frozen or fresh strawberries. Put into the blender and blend the vegetables/fruit until it is thick and smooth. You can add a bit of water or orange juice to help it along. Add some ice, smooth out, again, and serve.

There are a lot of health benefits to this interesting smoothie but don't over due it as there is a nutrient in it that can make calcium unable to be absorbed. This is a once a week treat. Better yet, do what I do when presented with a great idea . . . Google beet juice and read the pros and cons!