Beets marry Vanilla salt

It is nearly impossible to satiate my craving for beets. From soups to roasted chunks, they are like a bad habit I cannot kick. I attribute this to my love of dirt. I can only guess that such a fondness for the smell of dusty, earthy dirt must have come from my father's love of gardening.

Though I hated planting heaps of flowers and moving ridiculously heavy pots under the hot California sun, I was secretly enamored by the whiff of a new bag of dirt, and just as captivated by the packed soil that nourished a previous seed.

Like soil and clay, a wine that says "dirt-packed barnyard" sends a signal to my brain, clicking the "on" button. Call me a filthy chiquilla, but a terroir-driven Cab Franc from the Loire valley makes me happy as a clam. It's the dirt.

Roasted Beet recipe:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash 5-6 large beets, trimming the stems. Cut beets into large chunks, cutting off skins.

2. Place chunky beets on a sheet pan with tin foil, and coat beets with extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until tender (when pierced with a fork).

3. Remove from oven and let cool. Once beets are room temperature, toss again with extra virgin olive oil.*

4. Sprinkle Vanilla salt to finish for a dirty, salty, sweet bouquet.

* I coated my beets with an almond oil that was gifted to me (in above trio photo). Tourangelle stocks beautifully-flavored, aromatic French oils. Flavors run the gamut, from Pistachio to Avocado to Grapeseed to Sunflower, and even Pumpkin Seed.

Bowl of Beets

Is it presumptuous to say it's been a momentous start to the New Year enveloped by an unprecedented amount of optimism? We think not.

Michael Pollan's analogy of the 'President we elected to the Chef we voted' into the White House is brilliant. The food that we eat is related to everything from our consumption of fossil fuels to the viabilities of our local economy. Yes, we too, can make a difference by what we buy and put into our mouths.

Our resolutions are simple. They also aren't any that we can't keep. We're committed to be more aware. To shop locally. To buy responsibly. To maintain sustainability. To support our community's farmers. This recipe says just that----- as all of our ingredients were sourced from the Ballard Farmers Market in Seattle.

What are your resolutions?

We recycled our left-over beets from the Farmers Market post below into a velvety beet soup with a dollop of sour cream finished with Lavender Rosemary salt.

Recipe:

1. Put left-over puree on stove stop and simmer for 3-5 minutes. For the initial puree, we added 1 cup of chicken stock and 1/2 tsp of butter to the blender.

2. Add 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, stirring until it incorporates.

3. Pour in bowl, adding a dollop of sour cream finished with a sprinkle of Lavender Rosemary salt.

Full Circle Farm Beets

Beets are beautiful, earthy, and reminiscent of the dirt that nurtured them.
They are also rich in nutrients such as betaine, an important component for cardiovascular health.

We bought our organic Golden and Red beets from Full Circle (Carnation, Washington), a farm that specializes in organic produce and soil health.

Though many are familiar with the beet salads that grace the menus of our favorite restaurants, some may be unfamiliar with how they are prepared. They can be boiled, oven-roasted, or served cold on a salad. We oven-roasted ours, using the red-hued beets to make an earthy puree, while the golden-ones were diced into qube-like segements and placed on top of the puree for added texture.

The deep-hues will stain your fingers purple and sickle-orange if you let them. Yet isn't that part of the fun and art of cooking?

Beet (puree) Recipe:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim the beets.

2. Coat them with oil and Almond Cardamom salt.

3. Wrap them in tin-foil and cook them for 45-60 minutes or until you can easily pierce each one with a knife.

4. Take the skins off. The deep-hues will stain your fingers and/or cloth so that you may want to use an old towel.

5. Puree the beats with a cup of chicken stock and 1/4 tsp of butter. Puree until high and smooth.

6. Put beet puree in sauce pot on stove. Simmer and mount a 1/2 tsp of butter to round out the flavor.

7. Plate puree and finish with Almond Cardamom salt.