Tag: beets

Gardening

Beta vulgaris (beets) ready for winter

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beets in a blue pottery bowl setting on a wood counter

There are those individuals who just naturally like beets – like Richard and Momma.  Then, there are those for whom beets are an acquired taste – and that would be me.  For years, I avoided this nutritious root vegetable complaining it “tasted like dirt.”  It was not until a local farmer shared a salad recipe with red wine vinaigrette, capers, and feta cheese that I decided to give this vegetable another try.  (It was the red wine that really convinced me!)

Since that long ago Saturday at the farmers’ market, I have evolved from buying 1-2 bunches a summer to growing beets in our small, raised bed garden.  While we have already enjoyed several side dishes fresh from the ground, this morning was harvesting day for this year’s crop.  These have been boiled until just barely tender enough to easily remove the rough peeling.  Once frozen, I can pull them out for year-round culinary enjoyment, whether roasted or dressed in herbal marinade.

Bon Appétit!

Baking · Gardening

Tasty Rhubarb Scones

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five rhubarb scones on a blue plate

Fresh rhubarb pecan scones arrive hot from the oven in honor of this first day of meteorological summer.  Our lush rhubarb patch with five plants on the south side of the garage sprouted early and produced crisps in April, bread and cakes in May, and dozens of scones baked each month.

Moving from the alley to our raised bed, nearly all the planting is complete thanks to the healthy selections at Sargent’s on 2nd and Annie’s in Madison: beets, cucumbers, nasturtiums, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini, as well as garlic that survived a dry, nearly snowless winter.  We revel in the wonder that is summer in Minnesota, where we experience frigid short winter days only to enjoy, just months later, long fertile growing hours.