Beets Me

I did it! I bought a bunch of fresh beets, found a recipe and tried it!

Beetroot:
The recipe called for cutting the leaves and spindly tip of the root off, wrapping them individually in foil, and baking for about 40 minutes. Chopping off the latter made me feel like I was removing the hair/ tail thing of an Avatar, and it seemed wrong, but what can you do?
The baking part was easy, but they dripped everywhere even wrapped in foil, so I am glad I thought to put a cookie sheet under them. After they cooled I was directed to peel them and dice them. They are so messy! By the time I was done it looked like I'd murdered someone on my counter! The juice stained my hands (and the counter), but the deep red slices of beets were really beautiful. They are layered like a an onion, but you can't pull them apart. It's not often that you see such depth of color in a food. It was like looking into a stained glass window, and it had the vibrancy that a turquoise ocean has as the light makes it's way through the water...it sort of glows from the inside.
Anyway, the rest was a cinch. I was making a warm beet salad and the dressing was really good, and pretty simple. In a bowl I mixed in equal measure olive oil, balsamic and red wine vinegar, I added a few chives, some salt and pepper and that was it. I poured the mixture over the warm beets and then sprinkled it with feta cheese. It was delicious! Sooooo yummy!

Conclusion: The upside was that I really enjoyed it. Beets don't have a ton of flavor, but it's pretty distinct in that they don't taste like something else. They have a good texture, and I liked having my salad when they were still slightly warm. The downside is that for as beautiful as they are they are messy because of their color. While I must admit it was fun to sway around the kitchen moaning and pretending like I'd been stabbed with a kitchen knife as the ruby red juice dripped from between my fingers, it was a hastle to clean up. And who knows what would have happened if I'd gotten any on my clothes? And it took a while to cook them. After my experience I think they they might be more of a "special occasion" root for me meaning that if I am making a nice dinner for a special occasion I will absolutely include them. They might be a fun Halloween dinner:) But for normal everyday cooking they are a little too much work from start to finish. I know you can buy them in a can, but to me anyway, that sort of defeats the purpose. In the end I give beets 3 stars.