Harvard Beets

(image from allrecipes.com)

Tonight, as an addition to a vegetable plate that I made, I made Harvard beets for the first time ever.  In fact, it was the first time I ever cooked a beet or made any kind of beet dish.

The thing is, I live at the tail end of North Central Texas, and we have more bubbas here than Billy Bob's on a Saturday night.  Meaning we are a meat and potato population.  More than half the people here own at least one or two cows, and then there are the people that are serious breeders.  Say the word "angus" and people are firing up their grill.  And these were the adjectives I grew up with in the kitchen:  deep fried, buttery, flaky. creamed, breaded, medium rare, and sugar.  Lots of sugar.

In continuing my voyage of food discovery, I picked up a beet in the produce section.  It's ridiculous to say I felt daring, but I did, because I can't ever recall, in my entire life, a grandmother, or in-law, or my mother, cooking this vegetable.  So in a spirit of rebellion, I put it in my cart.  I felt better at the check-out when the girl said, "Ma'am, what is this called again?"  And I tried to squelch that superior feeling that rose up in me when I said, "Oh, that's a beet."

I found a recipe for Harvard Beets on allrecipes.com and it seemed simple enough.  I chose that recipe because it's a very old recipe for this vegetable; no one is even sure of its origins.  It really doesn't matter. The point is, I made it, it turned out well, and now I feel like I was missing out.  Bonus:  Logan ate all the beets I put on his plate.  I love it when he eats fresh vegetables, because then I know he's not getting any strange red dye that actually does make him go berserk.  He's in his best mood when his food is the healthiest.  I think that can be said for other people, as well.

This experience made me think of all the other neglected vegetables out there that I've not so much batted an eye at.  How do you cook a rutabaga?  What about potato-leek soup?  I heard that was good.  And what are those cacti for?  Hispanic people buy them a lot...what do they do with it?

So, because these are questions I don't have an answer to, I've decided to treat the grocery store..especially the produce section...a lot like I treat books.  Try everything.  If it's bad or boring, don't finish it. Throw it out and don't waste time on it.  Keep the good stuff.

And then there's also that feeling you get when show up at check out and your cart is laden when fruits and veggies.  You want to say, Look At ME.  I am BEING HEALTHY.  What they don't see is the chocolate and cookies hidden underneath the Romaine.  Hey, lettuce has to be good for something.  ;)