Beets - The Candy Vegetable

Beets are fantabulous (fantastic + fabulous).  Prior to this year I would never have eaten them on purpose.  My only experience eating beets was many years ago eating them at a farmer's house.  I did not like them, but it was not until recently that I considered they were pickled.  I don't enjoy pickled anything.  The vinegar and salt overwhelm the flavor of the vegetable, mutating it into something it shouldn't taste like.  What made me decide to try beets again was a recipe from Spark People, a diet plan website that I subscribe to occasionally that creates meal plans based on healthy food and recipes.  I was challenged with the recipe of a beet salad.  It was actually the recipe that broke my resolve to stay on the plan.  It called for fresh beets, but I could not find those in the grocery store.  Reluctantly, I bought canned beets even though I thought they would be pickled.  I kept finding substitution recipes to eat instead of the beet salad.  Eventually I gave up on the salad idea, and the beets became just a can taking up space in my pantry.  Several times, I considered just donating the can to various food drives, but I always forgot to get around to it.

Finally, I decided that I was going to throw out the can, but before tossing it out, I would try one.  Beets have a very unique flavor.  The first thing I noticed was that these beets were not pickled, so I kept eating them.  They were very sweet, but they still tasted weird to me.  The odd flavor was too interesting for me to stop trying it.  I have since bought several cans of beets.

The other day however, I found some fresh beets in the organic section of produce.  I decided to bake them as opposed to boiling.  The outside was very rough so I scrubbed it with a veggie brush until it turned red all over.  I cut off the leafy top and the root end.  I found this recipe for baking instructions online and baked them at 400F for an hour.  I stuck them in the fridge to cool.  Once they cooled down, I rubbed off the outer layer of skin to finish them.  They taste so awesome!  They taste (not surprisingly) even better than the canned beets.  The fresh baked beets taste good enough to eat hot or cold, and they are so much sweeter.  I already knew that I would be growing beets in my garden this Spring, but now it's double guaranteed.  Beets are more like dessert than just a vegetable.  I look forward to trying them in more recipes.

The Awesome that is Slow Cooking

Imagine if all it took to have a delicious, savory dinner was to put meat in a pot, add some spices, push a button, and let the meal cook itself.  This is all completely possible with a slow cooker, also known as a crock pot.  I have tried this myself on whole chickens and pairs of Cornish hens with great success each time.  The meat is far more moist than if it were roasted in the oven.  It comes out so tender that the meat is falling off the bone.  Instead of carving the meat off with a knife, I can use a spoon.  My favorite method is to use two wooden spatulas to pry the meat from the bone.

Once you have acquired a slow cooker big enough for a whole chicken, there are 3 things you need to make amazing food.  The first step is to chop up some vegetables.  One onion is sufficient, but you could go further and add some chopped carrots and celery.  I cooked a turkey breast yesterday and had no onions, so instead I used chopped leeks.  It was still very delicious.  The chopped vegetables are the first thing to go into the slow cooker, enough to mostly cover the bottom.

The second step is the seasoning.  Mix it up before getting your hands dirty with the meat.  Paprika is a good start to the herb mixture because it adds a lot of color to the mix.  Garlic powder and onion powder add lots of concentrated flavor to the mix.  Cayenne pepper is good both for color and flavor.  Also add a bit of black pepper and salt just to round out the flavor.  Beyond that any herb would be a great addition.  I enjoy thyme, rosemary, sage, and ginger, usually only one or two per mix, but sometimes I go crazy and add everything.  You could even add cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, or chili powder.  Whatever floats your boat.  If you enjoy slow cooked meat, you'll likely be doing this a lot since it is so easy.  Try out different combinations each time you cook and see what you like.

The last ingredient is, of course, the meat.  My rule of thumb is to use a whole chicken or something else of equivalent size.  That way I don't have to fiddle with changing the cook time or amount of other ingredients, and I also know how much food to expect.  Clean it, rub it down with the herb mixture, and put it in the slow cooker.  Add the lid, and set the cooker to high power for four hours.  Bon appétit!

Oatmeal Pancakes from Scratch

I love cooking from scratch.  When I really want to satisfy a particular craving, I can make it even if I don't have the exact ingredients required.  I searched online for oatmeal pancakes, but all the recipes called for buttermilk.  So I looked up how to substitute for buttermilk.  The solution was 3/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk.  I followed the Oatmeal Pancake recipe on allrecipes.com and substituted the buttermilk for a 6 ounce serving of strawberry yogurt and a quarter cup of milk.  I also substituted whole wheat flour for all-purpose.  The batter was thicker than regular pancakes because of the oats so when I put it in the pan, I spread it out evenly flat.  I cooked it at a lower temperature than non-oat pancakes because it took longer for the bubbles to rise through the pancake.  When there were several bubbles, I flipped the pancake and then put a lid on the pan.  Since the pancakes turned out so thick, I used the steam to ensure the inside was cooked.

The result was fruity flavored, delicious, and filling.  I prefer this recipe to a store bought pancake mix.  As an added bonus, I made these pancakes with a local chicken egg.  My husband received some eggs from a coworker who raises her own chickens.