We’ve been visiting friends who have their first garden growing on their deck in large planters. We have been watching the beets grow and were beginning to see the glorious red globes peeking out of the earth when we left. Beets have always been a favorite vegetable for me and now they seem to hold that same allure with my grandchildren – except the littlest one who hasn’t yet decided that vegetables are part of the necessary food groups.
My mother loved to make Harvard Beets which was the only way I refused to eat them. I called them slimy…. You never see them anymore and, as far as I am concerned, this is with good reason. If you’re not familiar with them Harvard Beets are diced cooked beets cooked in a very sweet, slightly vinegary cornstarch-thickened sauce. Why any cook ever decided to add sugar to an already sugary beet is a mystery to me.
I am so delighted that beets are beginning to appear at the green market. They will be on our table throughout the summer and early fall. I prefer to bake them in their skins, wrapped in foil. When done, I push off the skins, slice them and either pickle them or give them a quick sauté in butter, season with salt and pepper and toss in some fresh dill, parsley or tarragon. So, yummy.
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