Summer Time, and the Livin' is Easy

Yes, it's summer and easy liven' what with fresh produce exploding out of the garden. However, I didn't plant enough beets so we said "yes!" when friends offered us some. 

Uh--some turned out to be two bushels full. So Bill washed and cut off the tops. I kept my biggest pan full and gently boiling batch after batch like the story of the pot that wouldn't stop making porridge.  After I'd filled many pint freezer bags, we tackled the beets. 

I took several and quartered them, then threw them in with my cubed sweet potatoes, yellow onion and peppers. Add a little olive oil and fresh herbs, bake about an hour at 400 degrees. They were fantastic! 

The rest we boiled, blanched and skinned with a couple of easy swipes. They got bagged and frozen too. Except for a few I kept to make "Don't Knock It Until You Try It beet cake." (Note to Bob, our beet benefactor: Did you like it?) The recipe called for grated fresh beets, I grated cooked ones--worked fine.

It's as tasty as zucchini bread, but much more healthful. I added a cream cheese butter frosting dyed pink from 1 Tbsp of mashed cooked beet. Aren't they pretty? 

Just don't tell the kids what the surprise ingredient is!