Beets grow well in NW
BBQ’d Beets w/ Beet Greens Salad
My beet garden has been very good to me this Summer, we have a ton of red juicy beets with healthy green leaf tops. My favorite way to cook a beet has become barbecuing! I used to make barbecued roasted vegetables like beets, sweet potatoes, sunchokes, etc. by cutting them up, marinating in olive oil with garlic, walla walla onions, fresh rosemary, oregano & thyme from the garden, then kebab them and grill. That was good. Then one night we were barbecuing and I didn’t want the hassle of cutting, marinating and kebabing! We had a plethora of beets. So I just washed them, rubbed olive oil on them and tossed them on the BBQ. Cooked the beets a solid 25 minutes, like you might when making potatoes on the grill. These were the best beets ever! The outer skin got crispy like a baked potato, the inside was juicy and they were cooked to perfection! These beets had the best smokey flavor from the bbq, applewood chips combined with the sweetness, delish!
I used the beets for this lovely summer salad:
BBQ Beets Salad
3-5 barbecued beets
Beet greens
Sprigs of lettuce of your choice: spinach, arugula, romaine
Thinly sliced Walla Walla onions
Goat cheese
Olive oil ( my new favorite is G. Guidi of Napa Valley)
Balsamic Vinegar
Garlic, crushed
Garden herbs such as Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram
Crushed pepper
Himalayan sea salt
Since “Salad” comes from the French, I like to make my salads the way they do in France. They always put all their salad dressing at the bottom of the bowl, once you try this you will always do it this way because it dresses the salad so much better than dumping it on top…So you have your empty salad bowl and then you add olive oil and balsamic in equal amounts (sorry I don’t measure when I cook! That’s why I am a better cook than a baker). Then add your crushed garlic, garden herbs that have been slightly mortared to release their flavor, then crushed pepper, sprinkle of sea salt, stir these ingredients together until they meld. Then add the Walla Walla onions, throw in all of your lettuce, beet greens and barbecued beets and using salad fork and spoon, lift the dressing up into the salad from the bottom of the bowl. Then add the goat cheese last. Enjoy.
Barbecued beets are great to have around as leftovers, I throw them into my Nutribullet smoothies. I got hooked on beets when I was taking classes at Bastyr University, their cafeteria had the best beets and all the Naturopathic students ate them up because they know how beneficial beets are for your health. Beets are an ancient food dating back to BC Mesopatamia.
Barbecued Beets
Here are some of the fabulous health benefits of beets:
• Beets are blood building! Build your blood = Increase Energy!
• Studies have shown beets can guard against colon cancer
• Betacyanin is what makes beets so red in color, this has been studied to fight cancer.
• Beets are high in Folic Acid, especially important for pregnant women
• Beets can cure constipation, improve digestion (don’t be alarmed by red poop!)
• Beets are powerful colon cleansers
• Beet root juice has been considered an aphrodisiac since ancient Roman times.
• Beets are high in minerals including magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, iron & sodium.
• I’ve recently learned red lipstick is loaded w/ lead! Why not rub some cooked beets on your lips to give them a healthy red glow? Beets were traditionally used for blush & lipstick in ancient Egyptian times, perhaps Cleopatra used beets for this?
• Beets contain a phytonutrient called Betalins are anti-inflammatory and detoxifying. Researchers are studying the affects of this nutrient to shrink cancer tumors!
• Beets are high in the right kind of carbohydrates which means they give you energy you can use, builds muscles and balance blood sugar.
• Beets are alkaline, having a more alkaline diet has been shown to prevent cancer
Salad made from Reiki Garden
