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Welcome
to Cook’s Corner at California Gardens!
Beets
Until
very recently I had only eaten beets once in my life. I was eight
years old and decided to try the salad bar in the lunch line. I'm
pretty sure the only reason for this was because there were three people
in line for salad and at least fifty in line for hot lunch and I wanted to
get my food as fast as possible so I could go to recess. I in no way
wanted anything to do with healthy food or vegetables.
So I was very excited to see what I thought was slices of canned cranberry
sauce. My mom always made cranberry sauce with whole tart berries
and what I thought was not nearly enough sugar, but I'd had canned
cranberry sauce at a friend's house and thought it was almost as good as
candy. I piled my plate high with the costumed cranberry
sauce. But when I took my first bite my mouth was not filled with
the sweet flavor of cranberry but with an unexpected bitterness.
It
wasn't until I moved to Philadelphia and started trying to eat locally
grown and seasonal fruits and vegetables (a major challenge in the winter
months) that I had the courage to try beets again. The vegetable
selection at the local farmers market was starting to get very limited:
there were greenhouse grown mixed salads and the carrots, apples, and
potatoes were starting to look tired and wilted after being stored for
months. I was dying for a little variety.
Recipe Links:
Beet
and Carrot Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Beet Chips
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