Beets and Beet Greens Risotto

I love eating beets roasted, but here is another way to enjoy beets. This recipe was taken from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It uses both the beets and beet greens, my favorite way of cooking - all parts of the vegetable are used! I love how the color of the beets and its greens bleed into the risotto. I served this with a side of roasted cauliflower and beans.

You can follow the recipe here.

I used bull's blood beets, but any beets will do.

Grated beets!

Here's the risotto cooking drenched with beets and its beet greens.

Beets and Beet Greens Risotto with Roasted Cauliflower and Beans. Maybe some meat lovers will find this delicious? :-)

Salads Galore!

I didn't intend to make a dinner full of salads but it just happened to come out that way! It was a great way to clear a lot of veggies I had in the frig. Can you say salad buffet? I guess you can call it summer cleaning. It's great for a hot summer evening to cool you off after a warm day out.

Here was my dinner - Roasted Beets Salad, Broccoli Mix Salad with dressing, and Lettuce Salad.

The broccoli salad was delicious! The combination of broccoli sprinkled with some gala apples, crisy shallots, and red onions topped with the almond butter-based salad dressing was actually quite filling and flavorful. I didn't have any walnuts on hand (the recipe had called for it) but it was still great. Next time I will definitely need to add it to the mix! Here's the close up of the salad. Yummm! :)

Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens

Beets! Here's another vegetable I've never tried before. You can just tell they are super healthy for you from its deep red/purplish color. One cup of beets has 2g of fiber, 2g protein, and is a great source of vitamin C, folate, manganese, and potassium.

I made this simple side dish that uses all parts of the beet, including its leafy greens. Just allot enough time (up to 1 hour) to roast the beets. I used a combination of red ace and chioggia beets I got from my csa. And I left the skin on. If you want to remove the skins, do so after you have roasted them. Adopted from this recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of beets with greens, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 T chopped onion
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or butter (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes or until you can easily slice a knife through the largest beet.
3. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Stir in the beet greens and cook until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper.
4. When the beets are done, drench with red wine vinegar or butter. Mix in the greens and serve.