BEETS.

"The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings.
Let food be your medicine."

- Hippocrates

MmMmMm...I love Beets! And this is why I have a hard time understanding everyone's fear of the fabulous, bright and delicious vegetable! So, I figured that if I perhaps educated everyone a little about it that maybe they wouldn't look at 'beet' as such a scary thing...

Brief history: Beets are part of the Amaranth family (most species being herbs or subshrubs). The most familiar and common beet is the garden beet, a red rooted vegetable. Beets have been cultivated forever, as far back as the 8th century BC. Their popularity exploded in Europe around the 19th century after the discovery that sucrose could be extracted from the sugar beet. (Sugar beets are now the main source for table sugar).

The Garden Beet. Also known as the table beet, beetroot, red beet...or simply, beet. They can be eaten boiled, pickled, cooked like a vegetable, or raw and cold. In Europe, beet soup (called "borscht") is a very popular dish. In addition to their bright red coloring, there are also yellow-colored beets {though grown on a much smaller scale}.

"He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician."
- Chinese Proverb

Beet's for your Health! Beets are rich in Betaine. Betaine is very important for our cardiovascular health, and therefore adding more beets to your diet helps prevent heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. It also helps protect against liver disease, so for all you drinkers out there, eat up! Because beets are also rich in nitrates, they are great for lowering the blood pressure. After drinking a glass of beetjuice, your blood pressure will drop within the hour!

Beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac since the time of the Romans! Boron, which is a major element in the production of human sex hormones, is plentiful in beets! woo-wooo!

Here are some of my favorite beet recipes. Don't be afraid.
Boiled Beets: Boiled beets are great for a salad. Trinity Pub in Atlantic City makes a kick ass Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. Here's a great recipe that I've used to make my own:

• 4 medium beets - scrubbed, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby salad greens
• 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces goat cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Place beets into a saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut in to cubes.
2. While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make the dressing.
4. Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates, divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.

Pickled Beets: I love pickled beets just the way they are! But, other delicious ways to eat them are with some crumbled blue cheese on top...add maybe a splash of balsamic vinegar on top. To make it into a salad, just add lettuce!

Raw Beets: MmMm Raw is my favorite way to eat them. I eat em just like I would a carrot, dipping them in dressing or better yet, in HUMMUS. Another great way to eat them is to just slice them thin, dress with a Asian Sesame dressing, and sprinkle a bit of cayenne pepper on top for some zing. Here is my Hummus recipe,great for dipping:

1 can chick peas
1/4 can of olive oil (use the chick pea can for measuring)
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons sesame seeds or 1 large tablespoon of tahini
red pepper flakes (season to taste)
2 cloves chopped garlic
salt and pepper (to taste)
*and if you have any of the following throw them in: fresh cilantro, parsley, cumin, turmeric...get creative.

Put all of it in a food processor and blend to a consistency you like!

And here is a BORSCHT recipe. Though I have never had it, you can't "google" a beet without this coming up. So give it a try. The Europeans love it, and THEY know food...

Ingredients

• 8 cups beef broth
• 1 pound slice of meaty bone-in beef shank
• 1 large onion, peeled, quartered
• 4 large beets, peeled, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1 Bring 4 cups of the beef broth, the beef shank, and onion to boil in large pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

2 Transfer meat to work surface; trim fat, sinew and bone and discard. Chop meat; cover and chill. Cool broth slightly. Chill in pot until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

3 Spoon fat from top of chilled broth and discard. Add remaining 4 cups broth, beets, carrots, and potato; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

4 Stir in meat, cabbage and 1/2 cup dill; cook until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup dill. Serves 6.

Don't ya know it, don't ya know it...it just so happens that one of my favorite writers, Tom Robbins, has a quote about BEETS....

"The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious." --Tom Robbins