Often, it’s quite late when dinner is being prepared at Casa Curls and Carrots. Finally, Snu Magoo and Littlest Guy are fed, bathed and snug as bugs in their beds. The bright New Mexico sun has long since set and the iridescent, white moon has risen. With any luck, my Love will be home soon from the work at the hospital. If we eat dinner by 19:00, a true success is achieved
Though it is late, as the day was long, it is never too late to cook dinner . Otherwise, what shall we eat? With melodic, soft tunes playing; low lights and glass of wine, culinary endeavors ensue. Cooking is solace; cooking is relaxation; cooking is pleasure in a nutshell. Or, in this case, a bushel of beets.
First, easy meal of roast chicken with chimichuri and roast vegetables is popped into the oven. Oh, the wonders of roasting never cease – color, flavor and texture is achieved in lightening speed. Now, I began preparations for a beet salad. These are not the horrible, metallic-tasting canned or absurdly sweet, pickled beets of childhood nightmares. These are beets reborn – reinvigorated – given a second chance at life.
There is always room for a salad at my light wood dinner table. This morning, spotted the gorgeous burgundy and light orange beets at the Co-Op in my neighborhood; oh, how they sang out to me. Their beauty was unparalleled by the vegetables surrounding them; their colors popped: Purple! Orange! Green!
First, the beet are cleaned. Their greens are removed, ribbed, sliced and reserved for the salad. Then, the beets are gently simmered in water until the skins slipped off with the ease of the turning of a book’s page. Lovely, sweet beets can be either roasted or boiled. Tonight, I opted for the second method. The vibrant colors of the beets are unhindered by the cooking process thanks to the addition of lemon juice. No bleeding beets, please.
I could devour the morsels of root vegetable goodness now. However, I have glorious plans for these gleeful beets. They will hum harmoniously with fresh, deep green kale; soft mushrooms and avocado; crisp Spring onions; salty, crunch pistachios and creamy, pungent Roquefort cheese in a satisfying salad.
Generally, the addition of a French blue cheese to any salad can only elevate. There are so many textures and flavor notes in this dish; it shall not disappoint nor fail to delight.
Through the front door enters my Love. The table is set, the candles are lit and the drinks flows freely. The redolent smell of the roasted chicken and vegetables permeate the house. There is a bounty of alluring, salubrious vegetables before us. Every night should be this lovely – and it shall, if I have any say. The pleasure of food, companionship, along with shared tales of the day’s events, unfold before us. There is a feeling of magic and enchantment in the air tonight – and most nights. Each dinner shared with those you care for is a notable occasion – one to be reveled in.
_________________________________________________________________________
Not to be Beet Salad for Two
Take the time to prepare fresh beets – and splurge on a lovely French blue cheese
Ingredients:
1 medium bunch of kale, stalks and ribs removed, cleaned and thinly sliced
Beet greens, stalks and ribs removed, cleaned and thinly sliced (reserved from the beets)
1 each: a large orange and purple beet, cooked, cooled, peeled and sliced
4 Spring onions, thinly sliced
1/2 medium avocado, cut into small cubes
2 large baby portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 ounces Roquefort blue cheese
1/4 cup shelled, roasted pistachios
1/4 cup Your favorite white wine vinaigrette, preferably homemade
Cracked pink sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
1.) On a large platter, layer the kale and beet greens. Sprinkle all of the remaining ingredients, through the pistachios, evenly over the kale and greens.
2.) Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette and season aggressively with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
©Shanna Koenigsdorf Ward, shannaward.com (2013), unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author, Shanna Koenigsdorf Ward, and/or owner is strictly and completely prohibited.
_________________________________________________________________________
Like Curls and Carrots on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannawardcooks
Follow me on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/koenigsdorf/
Curls and carrots 
I love beets! Here I still haven´t found them fresh and until now I can only buy them already peeled and boiled… (which hey, is also handy and quick). I made beets last night too 🙂 Your menu with chicken and chimichurri sounds great! xx
Occassionally one can find beets boiled, peeled and sous-vide here in the states. They taste just fine. 🙂 And certainly are easier, no doubt.
I am a bit scarred from childhood memories of American mass-produced, salty canned foods, particularly beets – so I avoid them in this form.
Thank you for stopping by! I am looking forward to reading about what you do with your beets in Barcelona! 🙂 I had beets on my salad today with a lovely semi hard, goat cheese from Spain (Mitica). I am sure that you could put a succulent, Spanish flair on a traditional beets!
Great idea, beets with Spanish cheese! Oh the ready made beets here are fine! They actually aren’t canned, they come peeled and boiled in vacuum packs.
Yes, we have those too – they are quite delicious! And no purple fingers! 🙂 Those are the ones that I was referring to that are prepared for you and still sooooo tasty!
You are a poet! “The bright New Mexico sun has long since set and the iridescent, white moon has risen.” You got it right, Shanna. A relaxing shared meal is the way to go. AND you get extra points for using salubrious. English rocks!
The recipe looks gorgeous. Beets are one of my favorites. Perfect food for Autumn and Winter. Hmm. I wonder if the above recipe could be twisted into a type of Fusion Borscht?
Thank you, Chef Janet – for your kind words and for visiting the blog. Your writing is impeccable, so any compliment is a true honor. Yes, English rocks! I am so glad to have discovered the word “salubrious” in my thesaurus.
Beets are also a favorite for this season and winter. I had beets on my salad today with a lovely semi hard, goat cheese from Spain (Mitica, to be precise). Mitica translates to “fantastic,” which it was with the beets.
Fusion Borscht… YES. I See it. The colors and flavors would be beautiful. A swirl of green, avocado puree in the burgundy soup and a sprinkling of savory, crunchy nuts to counterbalance the sweet, creamy beet soup. Inspiration is everywhere! Have a great afternoon….
Beetroot is composed of about 90% water, protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals such as sodium, potassium, iron, calcium and phosphorus.
and very healty!!!!
Thank you: for the information and for stopping by and leaving a comment. I adore learning more about nutrition. It is amazing that so many healthy items are so flavorful and bright in color – maybe that is why I am so drawn to fruits and vegetables.
A perfect romantic dinner sounds like! Candlelight, wine, chicken and chimichurri, and then beets, too? Wow, your husband is a lucky fella to come home to such a meal! 🙂
Hubby is the first to admit he is completely spoiled when it comes to food. Guess who was up at 5:00 AM packing his lunch? 😉 We both take good care of each other… and are so lucky! Thank you for leaving a sweet comment and for coming “by to visit” Curls and Carrots. 🙂
This salad looks gorgeous! I love eating beets 😀 Although lately I’ve been juicing with beets more than eating them haha.
I love your writing style! You’re so descriptive and your words flow together with such harmony. I always enjoy reading your posts 😀
Ada – thank you, thank you, thank you! You are always so generous and encouraging in your comments. I am glad to hear that you are also a beet lover.
I have never juiced, but I imagine beets would be delicious in a juice – maybe with a little ginger, kale and a touch of honey or agave?
I appreciate your compliments on the writing – I wrote this after about four hours of sleep and was concerned that it would be indecipherable. I love that you stopped by – and enjoy your blog so much, as well!
Beets are fabulous for juicing! Definitely delicious with ginger, kale, and honey or agave! We actually never add honey…we juice apples and other fruits that add a lot of sweetness to the juice!
Only four hours of sleep?? I hope you get to sleep well tonight! I think the last time I slept for only four hours was in grad school. These days I need a minimum of 6..but preferably 9 haha.
I love the thought of an apple in the juice – lovely natural sweetness – and apples are SO great for you. New studies suggest that they decrease the risk of diabetes. Maybe I need a juicer… are they expensive?
My husband usually wakes up for work at the hospital at 4 or 5 AM – plus his pager goes off all night – so I often don’t get good sleep. *Sigh* 😉 Nine hours sounds just right to me!
Apples really do add a lot of natural sweetness–it’s great when something tastes delicious and is healthy too 😀
The juicer we have is expensive (from Williams Sonoma)–my boyfriend’s mother gave it to us as a housewarming gift. I remember buying a juicer for a friend on Amazon that was only $50 and it received plenty of good reviews. So there are definitely affordable ones, and once you get one you will put it to good use. We juice almost every single day!
Sorry to hear you don’t get much good sleep! Hopefully there are nights when both you and your husband can rest well!
Oh – thanks for the information on juicing and juicers! I love fruits and vegetables! And I am on suck a big apple kick – and kale kick – at the moment.
That juicer sounds awesome! Lucky! 🙂
Thanks for the kind thoughts – I hope that we get more sleep, too!
HAHAH! You are hearing from the “I Love Beets!” contingent. 😉
Yes! Subject to change, as every recipe should be – evolution of food. 🙂
This post was such a nice one to read, Shanna. The narrative was really special, as was the salad you prepared. I took advantage of fresh beets all Summer, roasting some and pickling others. They are soo good just like I bet this salad was. Such a great list of ingredients and sure to look fantastic in a serving bowl or platter. I wonder it there will be any beets at tomorrows farmers market. 🙂
Thank you, John. You are far too kind! I appreciate the generous comments. I hope that you find beets today on your trip to market! I am interested to hear what you do with your beets, since it seems that you are also a fan of the root vegetable! Yum, yum – love beets, too.
You are so poetic Shanna! You make your cooking time sound so romantic! Everything looks wonderful!
Oh, thank you! Your comments are so generous. I am glad that you enjoy Curls and Carrots! I appreciate the encouragement. 🙂
Oh, great title by the way!
Haha. Thank you! A little corny, but it just fit too perfectly with the storyline… 😉