Harvest Time!

The beets bulbs are starting to show above the soil, and from the looks of things it was time to 'harvest' one or two of them to see how they were tasting. I actually got excited to see how they were going to turn out. Before I picked them out, I wanted to find some way to cook the beet greens, because I've read that they're really high in vitamins, and easy to incorporate into a meal. So I found a recipe for a potato and green recipe:

Greens and Potato Gratin

The beets were smaller than I hoped when I pulled them out of the dirt. They came right out though, without many roots growing from the bulb. Then I trimmed off several of the greens on the other plants, because the recipe called for 2 1/2 lbs of greens. I still have 5 others planted, so I'll leave them in the soil and hopefully they will continue to grow to a respectable size.



The recipe called for a 1/4 cup of parsley...



I chopped off the greens, then wrapped the bulbs in tinfoil, and baked them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. They were extremely light tasting and delicious. As you can see, by the time they cooked though there wasn't much to them.



I blanched the greens, and then cooked them into a potato au gratin casserole. It was really delicious! Lots of cheese, so probably not a diet food, but definitely a hearty meal. And although it sounds like a cliche at this point, there is nothing better than eating food that you've grown yourself.