What did you do this weekend?
I did this:
Souvees! |
Leah, Bjorn, our friend Erin (shout out!) and I headed to an International Beer Festival in Thousand Oaks. We were hoping for some good cougar sight seeing, but we only had one possible D list celebrity sighting instead. I'll take it. It was a really nice California evening with wonderful and entertaining company. And some yummy beers! Bears! Beers!
Today I cooked one of my very favorite vegetables. Kimberly Doyle loves this vegetable one million times more than I do, so I dedicate this blog to YOU, momma! I hope you read this. Will someone tell her to read this? Tell Doris, too.
First things first. Put your kitty apron on.
loooooking crazy. |
We have a great farmers market in Camarillo, and I picked up these gems last week:
Red and Gold, like Gryffindor |
Roasted Beets
My favorite way to prepare beets is roasted. I think you get a lot more flavor and concentrated moisture than when you boil them. I like to eat them slightly warm on a salad with a strong cheese (goat, bleu, gorgonzola) and balsamic vinegar. Golden, red, whatever, they are ALWAYS good. Yes, Kim, ALWAYS.
Note: This time I tried putting all the beets in one foil pouch to cook them but I recommend individually wrapping the beets snugly in foil in the future. The skins will come off more easily that way.
Ingredients
- Beets (try to pick out beets that are equally sized for equal cooking time)
- Foil
- EVOO
- Salt
- No desire to maintain a manicure
Directions
- Wash and trim beets
- Drain dry
- If necessary, cut beets in halves/thirds so that all are the same size
- Wrap each beet individually in a sheet of foil with a tiny drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of salt
- Wrap tight so that any leaking juices don't burn in the oven
- Place on a baking sheet
- Bake at 375 for 45 minutes (this time is for lime-sized beets... use your judgment)
- To test for doneness, unwrap one beet (BE CAREFUL!) and stick a knife in it. If it slides out easily, it's done!
- Let cool 15-30 minutes, depending on how impatient you are
- Unwrap and skins will slip right off!
- Slice to your preference and serve
Arrrreee ya done? |
INTERMISSION. INTERMISSION. INTERMISSION. INTERMISSION.
Oh, hey sprinkles! You gonna help cook? |
Where ya going? |
Oh. |
RESUME BLOG POST. RESUME BLOG POST. RESUME BLOG POST.
And no salad is complete without a homemade vinaigrette, right? I rarely like balsamic vinaigrettes out of a bottle. And I don't like the excessive oil. So I make my own.
Basic Vinaigrette
Can be adapted one trillion different ways. My favorite way is to add 1 tbsp of nonfat plain greek yogurt to make a creamy balsamic. Amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp very finely diced (or grated) red onion
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp good dijon mustard ( I recommend Annie's or Grey Poupon)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
And now you have all the skillz to make a fancypants salad. Like this one:
Lettuce, red onion, red and gold beets, goat cheese, chicken, vinaigrette. |
So now I look like I murdered someone....
And the kitchen looks like a crime scene.
But it was totally deliciously worth it.
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