How to Not Hate Beets

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! We had a fun party this weekend where you had to come in costume as "something you love." Ben and Natalia dressed as each other were fantastic.... I was a tree, Rachel was the night sky. Luke was the Virgin Mary.

I also love BEETS. And I thought I hated them for most of my life. So I would like to share with you... how to love beets (or at least not to hate them).

#1 Cut them up and admire their beautiful colors! Look carefully at the beautiful intricacy of the chiogga beets!


#2 DON'T OVERCOOK THEM. I say 12 minutes at a low boil - and this is in small pieces. If you cut larger pieces cook them a LITTLE bit longer but not much.
Also you can put interesting things in the water to make it more like broth. Salt, for one, but bay leaves or a big slice of onion and some cabbage never hurt either.


Then eat them straight up, plain, admiring their beetiness, or

#3 make a salad!
This is a "hot salad" i.e. the greens are sauteed kale, but you can also make it cold with spinach or lettuce. The important part is (a) goat cheese, (b) balsamic vinegar, (c) strawberries. You can add whatever leftover salady things you want, like walnuts from last week's box, or green beans from Saturday's dinner, but be generous with the balsamic and the goat cheese. MMMMMM good - enjoy!

Spaghetti with Sausage and Mustard Greens

I used to make a dish with a delicious Italian vegetable called rapini. It's kind of like a cross between mustard greens and broccoli. Rapini has a short season and is sometimes difficult to find, but we did get mustard greens AND broccoli in our last veggie box. What better substitute for rapini?

Ingredients:

1 lbs spaghetti or fettucini
1/2 lbs italian sausage
1 lbs rapini (Or 1/2 lbs mustard greens & 1/2 lbs broccoli)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt

Prepare the spaghetti according to package directions. I like to season the water with salt, garlic powder and a bay leaf, but this is optional.

While you are waiting for the water to boil, you can prepare the other ingredients.

Roughly chop the mustard greens into 2-inch pieces and thinly slice the broccoli.

Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and put over high heat. Once the oil is hot, brown the sausage. You can squeeze the sausage out of the casings to do this. I had to use chicken sausage because I'm allergic to pork. This was pre-cooked, so I cut it into thin slices.

Once the sausage has browned, add the vegetables and salt. Stir occasionally until the mustard has wilted and the broccoli is tender.

Add the sausage mixture to the drained pasta and combine.

Bon Apetit!