Beets and Greens

As a kid, I wasn’t very fond of beets except for pickled beets. Maybe it was because we didn’t have fresh beets, only canned – I don’t remember. But my ex-MIL taught me to love fresh beets by making them very simply – just boiled, then sauteed in a bit of butter. That’s still my favorite way to have them.

I also cooked the greens – I’m not a huge fan of greens other than spinach. I don’t hate them, and I’ll eat them if they’re served to me, but I generally wouldn’t order them or buy them to cook.

Beet greens are pretty mild (I like to use baby leaves in salads), so I’m usually okay with those too. After trying this recipe for Beet Greens with Oregano and Feta, I’ll probably be having them more often. I was actually glad that DH wouldn’t eat any, because that meant more for me. This was a recipe I might even buy beet greens for. I didn’t actually bother measuring anything when I made it, but I did use all of those ingredients, with fresh oregano from the garden.

Uh, sorry about the half-eaten food. It wasn’t until I tasted the greens that I decided I needed to blog it.

For the beets, I just cut the stems off, leaving an inch or so attached to the beets. Then I boil them (whole and unpeeled) until soft. I had some small ones in addition to large ones, so I just checked them once in a while and took the smaller ones out when they were tender, leaving the larger ones to cook longer. To see if they’re done, stick a fork in the stem end – if it goes in easily, they’re done. After they’re cooked, the skins will peel right off. Then slice or dice them and saute them in some butter for a little bit. Mmm-mmm good!