Beets Recipes

Steps:

• [If you can, buy beets with the stems and greens still attached, as they come out of the ground.
• Ask the produce manager at your grocery or health food store to buy organic beets with the nourishing leaves attached!]].
• Cut off all but 2 inches of the green stems.
• Save the leaves because they are very nutritious and can be steamed, sauteed or shredded in salads!
• Leave the beets whole with 2 inches of stems at the top and root ends at the bottom. This prevents the red color from seeping out into the water [and all over the place too!].
• Place in a saucepan covered with salted water to taste (with at least 1 tsp of vinegar).
• Boil until tender [usually, 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the beets]. Boiling can take up to 60 minutes for larger beets.
• Drain and run cold water over beets. The skins will slip right off with the root ends, but make sure you wear kitchen gloves so your hands don't turn red.
• To serve, you can add melted butter, salt and pepper, basil, savory, caraway seeds or sprinkle with minced chives or parsley.
• NOTE: i prefer to steam my vegetables in an OSTER mechanical food steamer available cheap with free shipping from amazon.com - so i peel and slice mine for faster cooking as i do for all potatoes.
• But you can steam this in a covered pot with a steamer insert also - just make sure the water doesn't evaporate: bring the salted water with more vinegar added to a boil and add the steamer insert and beets. Cover and steam on medium or medium low heat until they are your desired tenderness.
• One thing is for sure - never peel or cut the stems or roots if steaming or boiling whole - it's SO much easier not to have red dye and red water dripping everywhere - and the skins come right off easily once cooked. Peeling is a waste of time and makes a mess!

Steps:

• Baked Beets: Preheat oven to 400°.
• Trim roots and stems to 1/2", do not cut beets further!
• ;do not wash beets!
• ,if there is dirt that bothers you, wipe it off with a paper towel; moisture will cause the beets to steam and that is not what you want.
• Place beets in a casserole, cover with the lid and seal the entire casserole tightly with foil; bake at 400° for 60-90 minutes.
• When beets are cool enough to handle, remove the roots and skins; if you're using the beets whole leave the tails on, otherwise remove them; the skin can be easily slipped off with your fingers.
• Beets are ready to be used in any recipe calling for cooked beets or try one of the two listed here.
• Dressed Baked Beets: Put the skinned beets, whole, diced or sliced in a saucepan or skillet; add the butter, sugar, salt and pepper; heat and serve.
• Baked Beets in Cream: Thinly slice skinned baked beets; heat in saucepan or skillet with cream, add salt and pepper; just before serving add lemon juice.