beets -- do you like 'em?

[Pool Hall Ace]

I've read quite a bit about how nutritious beets are (both the roots and the leaves), but I've only had the canned, pickled variety. I've added them that way to salads and all I can say is, well, they are not bad, but I was wondering about creative ways you prepare them.

I've heard the taste described as both "earthy" (what does that even mean?) to "sweet." So, what do you say with respect to beets?

[Codeine]

1. They are awful.

I only hate a few vegetables and beets are at the absolute top of the list. They taste like dirt to me.

[Pool Hall Ace]

2. Like dirt? I was afraid that is what "earthy" meant!

[CrispyQ]

3. I love beets.

On salad with 1000 Island dressing they are quite tasty. Vegan with a Vengeance has a good recipe, although I cook my beets longer than she suggests, as I like them soft. She uses an orange glaze that goes nicely with the beets. Beets are good for your liver. I'm not sure what the rules are for posting copyright material, so I'll pm you the recipe.

Harvard beets are good, too. Here's a link to some beet recipes. If you try any that are good, post back, ok? The balsamic vinegar one looks good!

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=442.0

:hi:

[Ignis]

4. +1. Orange + beets = yummy goodness.

The earthiness is quite a hurdle for some people, so using something like orange to add both sweet & tart flavors can help when you're first experimenting with beets. I also recommend something crunchy (almonds, perhaps?) to offset the texture.

I used to "hate" several vegetables when I was a meat-eater, but years of being vegetarian have taught me that I can eat almost any vegetable--as long as it's well prepared, fresh, and well seasoned.

Happy experimentation! :hi:

[CrispyQ]

5. I am actually coming around on Brussels sprouts -

something I NEVER thought would happen!! :9

[Ignis]

6. I did that a few years ago. Want to know my secret?

Use them as one of the ingredients in a spicy Thai veggie curry. DAMN they are good when soaked in coconut milk + red curry paste!

[Pool Hall Ace]

8. Ah yes -- Brussels sprouts are another vegetable

I've had issues with. I've managed to eat them with just a little bit of Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread, but it would be nice to jazz them up with a tasty sauce. :9

[Codeine]

9. Oh my goodness I LOVE Brussels Sprouts!

Roasted with a little olive oil and served with a mustard sauce -- nummy! :9

[Pool Hall Ace]

12. Oh yes, with mustard sauce, too!

I knew I've had them prepared another way! :9

[AlienGirl]

7. LOVE 'em!

If you like pickled beets, try cooked beets sliced and cooled, tossed in some vinegar and oil with chopped onions, salt, and pepper. Yummy salad!

Raw shredded beets with salad dressing and green onions is another good salad. (I craved this incessantly when I was about to give birth.)

Beets are great in soup. Borscht is the most well-known.

Sliced or quartered beets with a little dill sprinkled on them can be roasted, then you can put some margarine or oil and salt on them, and that's really good.

You can slice beets *really* thin, put them on a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350F until they turn into chips--like potato chips but better for you, with much lower fat.

The taste of beet root is slightly sweet and goes really well with dill, caraway, sweet nuts like almond and hazelnut, other mildly savory spices, and salt; or with contrasting somewhat sour flavors, like balsamic vinegar.

Beet greens are best just stir-fried in a little oil until they wilt and turn bright colors. They can be eaten at that point, or you can add some liquid (white wine, beer, water, broth, whatever) and herbs or spices that complement other food you're cooking for the meal, and slow-cook until really tender. They don't need to cook as long as collard, just a little longer than spinach.

Stir-fried beet greens can be cooled and added to salad, or served as a wilted salad with a little dressing and some other veggies mixed in.

Fine-chopped beet leaves make a good addition to soup.

Beets rank very highly in my estimation, because they're so nutritious, store well, are versatile, and usually are fairly cheap.

Tucker

[flvegan]

10. Now that there have been a couple positive responses...beets are uck.

Beets, carrots and bananas will never be found on any plate of mine.

[Pool Hall Ace]

11. Oh, flvegan,

the positive responses were going so well, why did you have to go and rain on my beet parade? :cry: <--- tears of beet juice

:rofl:

[flvegan]

14. I hear beet juice tears

will stain. Be careful!

[Ignis]

13. Ugh, how can you make good smoothies w/o banana?

Freak! ;)

[flvegan]

15. Surprisingly problem free, actually.

And "freak" is a compliment in these parts!

[Ignis]

16. I think we all wave that flag pretty high.

I love the way bananas help blend the chalky/chunky/powdery bits of a smoothie in with the liquid. What do you do instead--or do you just not mind the chalkiness?

[flvegan]

17. I've never had a problem with chalkiness

rather, it's usually about taste. Which almost always sucks.

That's one place where veganism falls a bit short. You can buy some of the most fantastic tasting vegetarian protein powders in the world. One I used to use was made by ProLab. I'd have a shake for dessert it was so good.

[Ignis]

18. Yeah.

I've starting trying to swap out some of the soy/rice/almond milk in my smoothies for coconut milk, and that's improved the taste. And the banana adds a certain fake-fatty mouth feel that replaces the slickness of real dairy.

IIRC, Vega makes a yummy vegan shake mix--not the powder (which I use and love), but a liquid pre-mix you add to a shake. I haven't bought it, but tried it at a friend's house, and it was damn tasty.

[LeftyMom]

19. With soy delicious.

<--- allergic to bananas

[Ignis]

20. I'm curious, like a cat.

I've never met anyone with a banana allergy. Because I'm too lazy to Google, what is it in bananas that causes the allergy? Touch or only digestion? Skin or fruit? Can you eat plantains as a substitute?

[LeftyMom]

21. I have latex-fruit syndrome.

I'm allergic to latex and react to some fruits which contain similar proteins to natural rubber latex. My doctor suggested that I avoid all of the related foods, because exposure to them may increase my sensitization to latex, as latex allergies are fairly notorious for increasing in severity over time and are fairly dangerous because of the amount of latex in medical settings. I'm fairly good about avoiding related foods except for avocados, which I eat a few times a year but don't avoid entirely because I've never reacted to them and frankly just because I really like them. I do react to bananas, but generally only with some tightness in my throat and at worst a skin rash as well if I were to, for example, eat some baked goods I didn't realize contained a small amount of mashed banana, still this is worrying enough that I'm fairly careful about not ingesting them. I can handle them, breathe around banana smells, etc with no problems.

Bananas are a rather uncommon allergen, I see them all the time on the lists of low-allergy foods to use as first foods for babies. Lucky me, I guess. But they're fairly easy to avoid, so I really can't complain too much about that one.

[Ignis]

22. That's really fascinating. Thanks for the info.

:hi:

[Chan790]

23. Love them in salads and used to make turnip pickles.

Not my recipe (that's a closely-held secret) but a good recipe for turnip pickles in the Lebanese style.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Turnip-pickles-Lebanese-style-73215

Not for frequent consumption though, there is enough sodium (28000g+ per recipe) in them to put an elephant into cardiac arrest. So so so yummy though and a great source of two root veggies that people should eat more of...crunchy-crisp, sweet and tasty.

[Pool Hall Ace]

24. And I see from the comments that rutabaga makes a good substitute

:hi:

[Codeine]

26. Turnip pickles with hummus.

Heaven. :)

[BrklynLiberal]

25. Roast 'em or eat them raw, cut up or grate into your salad. I LOVE them!!!!!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-beet-wedges/detail.aspx

http://sarahmeyerwalsh.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/how-to-roast-beets/

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/sidevegetabledishes/r/beetcasserole.htm