. . .Nothing Beats a Beet. . .

As A Foodie, in my perfect vegetable world. . .Nothing Beats a Beet!  The entire plant is not only edible, but when done right it's really tasty and healthy.  The greens, when perfectly steamed are heavenly, a bit like spinach, but with more body and character.  The stems are also great when chopped and steamed for 5 minutes before adding those luscious greens.  The root, well, what can I say. . .it tastes like dirt, in THE best possible, healthiest, 'doing our bodies good' kinda way.  So beets. . .yeah, I love 'em!

I was going through some photos the other day, from several years ago when an old friend visited me.  We had lunch atop the Raddison Hotel in their rotating-see-the-city restaurant.  I remember the salad well, after seeing it in this picture.  Right down to how delicious it was, but the dressing was just a touch off. Speaking strictly for me, it goes like this:

Beet Salad + Raspberry Vinaigrette = Perfection!

So many times I've heard different Chefs say, "Red onion is the mildest of onions - they're perfect in a salad." Wrong! On two counts. First, it's not 'red,' it's a Purple Onion, (just like cute little red-haired children do not have 'red' hair, it's orange!) Second they are not the mildest of onions.  In fact, at the risk of just sounding ornery, in my onion, they're the strongest.  Not good raw in salads, but great for quartering, tossing in seasoned EVOO and slow roasting. Or in a slow-simmered dinner with rough cut vegetables and huge chunks of meat.

So today, when a salad was sounding good, I decided to recreate that one. 

Spinach, beets, mung beans I sprouted, julienne carrot strips, shallot slices, walnuts, feta cheese and a great Raspberry Vinaigrette.

With a big glass of this great drink - it was perfect. . .Lin