What I’m not into: Beets

Beet smoothie: A little sweet, but more tolerable than the average beet.

How do you get yourself to eat a veggie you don’t like? Beeeets me! (See what I did there? Eh? Sorry.)

I get my veggies delivered to me, not fully knowing what I’ll get. It’s based on what’s ready at the time (part of the deal when signing up for my CSA. Sometimes I’m stuck with something I don’t like, or an abundance of something that is just ok.

It’s the time of year for beets, something I cannot figure out how to prepare or enjoy. I’m at a total loss. I’ve had beets at restaurants prepared well, but my beets never turn out anything like that, they are just a red, runny, mushy mess. I’m determined to find a way to prepare palatable beets. I usually end up roasting them and tolerating them in salads or sandwiches or something. I have pickled them (similar to this), but I have never met a pickled food I didn’t like. I know they are ok grated on raw on a salad, mainly because they don’t have a lot of taste. Heck, I like the greens sauteed into pasta better than the root part of the beets, and I’m picky about sauteed greens, so that goes to show how not into beets I am!

I honestly think part of what I don’t like about beets (besides not having them growing up, from what I remember, which is rare since my parents wanted me to try “a few bites” of everything) is that they are sweet. I don’t like a lot of root vegetables that tend to be sweet.

Anyway, so I have these beets. I know they are high in iron and help with endurance and oxygen intake, so I knew when I saw this beet smoothie it would be perfect for my last post-run smoothie before the Race for the Cure tomorrow.

And this NPR article I got the recipe from is all about  preparing beets in a way the beet-averse will enjoy. So next time I get beets I may try another recipe. Next up i think i’m going to make a raw salad. And if that doesn’t work, here is 50 ways to prepare beets. I have to like at least one way. Right???

Beet Smoothie

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

•  1 small roasted beet, chopped
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 to 1 1/4 cup milk of your choice, such as almond, soy or low-fat milk, depending on how thick you prefer it
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour and enjoy.

How do you prepare beets? Annnny advice will be much appreciated.

Working with endive and papaya

I’m getting terrible taking pictures of my CSA food. Halfway through cleaning and preparing food every week, I remember I didn’t take a picture of my food. Sorry!

Last week I got two foods I had never used in my cooking: endive and papaya. Right away I looked into how these two could be used together, and I found a salad that included green onions (also in in my share last week). This salad is great, as it also has avocado and a lime dressing. Simple,various flavors and trying new foods. Can’t be beat.

I still have lots of endive. Do you have any good recipes on how to use it?

Endive, papaya and avocado salad

Serves 4 as a side salad

Ingredients

Salad:

• 4 cups chopped endive or mixed lettuce
• 2 cups papaya
• 1 large avocado
• 2-4 green shallots

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tbls grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp mild curry powder

Directions

1. Wash and chop endive.
2. Peel, seed and cut papaya into cubes.
3. Cut avocado into half remove seed and skin. Chop avocado into cubes.
4. Wash, trim and finely chopped shallots.
5. Place ingredients in a bowl.
6. Gently toss ingredients.
7. Combine all dressing ingredients and shake. Add to salad and toss to coat.

CSA week three

This week my CSA share has taken a decidedly fall turn.

The summer squash and greens is mostly gone and tomatoes and cooler weather food are in. Tons of greens, radishes, tomatoes, cucumber and butternut squash. Let’s just say I’ve had a lot of great salads these past few weeks. I’m excited what foods will be coming in the future as the weather has cooled a lot in South Florida recently.

With all these butternut squash piling up (a good problem, trust me!) I though this creamy garlic butternut squash soup would be perfect. It was super simply and thick and tasty. Really, just roast garlic, onions and butternut squash, blend with spices and broth. Soup! Always looking for new ideas: How do you use butternut squash?

What fall meals have you been making or loving?

Friday links

Sandy has taken over every aspect of news this week (and rightfully so!) so beyond that, there wasn’t much news. I hope everyone is safe. Have a lot of friends and family in New York and sending dry, warm, bright thoughts their way.

Has anything caught your attention this week? Here are a few things I liked:

Decoded: How to know what the terms on labels mean.

Burger King to offer delivery service at select South Florida restaurants

Florida beer festivals crowd the calendar in November

And this just made me laugh. It’s funny because it’s true!

Very veggie enchiladas

It’s already week 2 of my CSA! I got another good haul of food. I got a huge head of cabbage, arugula, tons of corn, 2 eggplant, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, a melon and an avocado.

But I never got around to posting the awesome dish I made with my week 1 food. I made loaded veggie enchiladas. So good, you wouldn’t know meat was gone or it was only vegetables and black beans.

These were really great, easy and a good way to use a lot of the produce from my delivery, or any produce you have around or in season you want to use.

Enchilada filling

Enchiladas

Makes 8 stuffed enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 2 cups sliced zucchini
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 ears of corn (1/2 cup)
• 14 ounces black beans
• 14 ounces enchilada sauce
• 2 cups cheese
• 8 tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Saute the onions about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, saute about 5 more minutes. Add the pepper and garlic and saute about 2 more minutes. Add the corn and black beans, cook until heated through.
3. Pour 1/3 cup enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup cheese into the filling mixture.
4. Fill each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in a greased 9-by-13 baking dish.
5. Top with the rest of the sauce and cheese.
6. Bake covered with tin foil for 10 minutes. Take the foil off and bake another 5 to 10 minutes.