it is prime time for one of my favorite veggies, beets.  this fine root vegetable is available year round but is best from june till october, so grab some at the market.  beets are good and good for you.  filled with vitamins and antioxidants, beets have been proven to help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain types of cancer, so eat up.

beets are very high in sugar content (used in the production of refined sugar) though still low in calories.  the natural sweetness along with their unique earthy flavor makes them great in a number of preparations.  they are great roasted, pickled and even shaved very thin and served raw.  it is fun to try the golden beets and the beautiful chiogga or candy striped as well.  the striped ones have beautiful rings of pink and white.  i often steer towards the non red varieties to avoid the color from bleeding on to other veggies in the dish, but the rich red color is hard to resist.

the greens are filled with a lot of vitamin c and beta carotene so just give them a rinse and saute them as you would swiss chard (which is in the same family).  i like to keep it simple.  just saute a little onion and garlic, add in the greens then season with just a splash of soy sauce and maybe a few red pepper flakes.  they do not last as long as the roots in the fridge (which will hold for a few weeks), so eat them while they are still crisp and fresh.

simple roasted beet salad
beet and olive bruschetta
beet martini

fun fact… one third of the world’s sugar comes from sugar beets, not sugarcane.  who knew.