The Compost Bin

Beets Rule!
Beets are another one of those hated vegetables that I'd never touch when I was young. But now that I'm an old fart, I absolutely love beets. And when I saw these cool looking Chioggia Beets in a seed catalog, I knew I had to try them.

Chioggia Beets are an Italian Heirloom beet that has red and white rings inside of them. Slices will look like a bullseye and who doesn't want a bullseye in their salad? Often when I'm eating a salad, I say to myself, "I wish that I had something to shoot this carrot at". Chioggia Beets were the answer that I was looking for. Plus as a added bonus you can add the beet greens to the salad too.

As far as taste goes, this beet has a more smooth, mild flavor to it. Besides slicing them up in a salad, my favorite way to eat beets is roasted. Cut them into bite sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, dried basil and garlic and let them roast for about an hour at 400 degrees. Yum! A lot of people like to roast them with rosemary but I'm not a big rosemary fan. But if that's your thing, then give it a try.

Handling most beets will make it look like you murdered someone. Your hands get all red and stained and then your spouse yells at you for putting red dots all over your kids and telling them they have the measles. But since these Chioogia Beets are only half red, there's only half the mess. And less yelling in my house is a good thing. Thanks Chioogia Beets!