Beets

I went to the farmer's market this weekend where I found the golden beets to be absolutely irresistable.  Quite honestly, I had forgotten how much I like beets until I bought some for the veggie challenge.

My preferred way to cook beets is to roast them, but with summer time temperatures in the mid-90's F, I opted to steam them instead.  It took 20 minutes for them to get tender, and I tossed the green beans in for the last 5 minutes. 

After they cooled, I used a paper towel to rub the skins off the beets.

I was trying to think of a way to turn them into a salad without having the red and the gold bleed all over everything.  I diced the red beets then tossed them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and arranged them on a bed of lettuce.  After rinsing the red out of the bowl I made another batch of vinegrette for the golden beets and green beans that included rice vinegar and a little mustard.  Some leftover diced chicken finished the dish.  (I included some crumbled blue cheese on mine too. YUM!) 

This turned out to be a great Cooking-While-Quilting meal.  The veggies cooked while I was sewing away at the machine and it only took 10 minutes (of my very valuable crafting time) to chop and assemble a yummy and healthy meal.  Oh...and if you don't normally eat beets...don't be alarmed when you go to the bathroom. (Everything changes to beet colors for a day or so.)

1/2 cup of beets is only 37 calories and provides 17% Daily Value for folate, 7% potassium, 5% vitamin C as well as 2 grams of fiber. (Source:  NutritionData.com)