Freezing Beets

I have decided that since I have a TON of beets, I will spare my family another week of beet-related meals and save them for when the weather turns cooler.
I love beet soup and quick (and easy) microwave beets. I also love shredded beets in salads with some apples and either pecans or walnuts (for some reason beets in salad makes me think of early fall and not summer).
I freeze A LOT of stuff - right now, I have beans, bulgur, brown rice, cooked beans, extra pasta sauce, extra freeze-dried herbs, homemade "ice-cream", and soup base in my freezer. I will literally attempt to freeze anything if it means that I can save it before it goes bad or before it goes to waste. I have never attempted to freeze beets before, so I won't be able to tell you - until maybe September or October - - how they come out, but I will be sure to mention it once I use them again.

This was my method to freeze the beets:

Clean beets; trim off ends; submerge in a pot full of water; bring to a boil; Continue to boil for approx. 25 minutes (until you can insert a knife or fork into the largest one easily).

Drain pot of hot water; add cold water and (lots!) of ice cubes to cover; leave for approx. 15 minutes (or until beets are cool enough to handle).

Peel beets (I use wax or parchment paper on my cutting board so that I have less (beet juice) to clean up).

Slice beets, if desired (I sliced some and left the small ones whole).

Lay out on parchment paper on a small cookie sheet or jelly roll sheet and put in the freezer overnight.

Put in freezer bags to save for later!!

What kinds of things do you freeze?

You can find me at some of these cool linky parties this week!
More later! :)

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A Week of Menus

I spent yesterday in Dana Point at my aunt's sister's house. Turns out that the beach down south has the PERFECT climate for growing veggies - - nearly her whole backyard is covered with zucchini and other squash plants, beets, tomatoes, peas, strawberries, lettuce, and and even an avocado tree!!

I didn't take any squash because we got so many in our CSA basket. BUT, needless to say, we are once again flush with large beets ready for some magic!!! Mr. No-No is excited about that - - hahahaha! j/k - I told him that we would be having boiled beet sandwiches (as if I would really make that!!), but he just groaned and walked away....

Monday
Italian Ragout with Salad and Garlic Toasts

Tuesday
Broiled Tofu Steaks; Microwave Beets; Israeli Couscous

Wednesday

White Beans with Sauteed Squash and Buttered Carrots; Brown Rice

Thursday
Taco Thursday / Left Over Bonanza

Friday

Dinner out

Saturday

Dinner at my parents'

Sunday

Pasta Sunday

Notes:

1. The italian ragout is basically veggies (I usually make this when I have extra squash, but you could throw in mushrooms or peas, too) sauteed with diced onions and a little bit of garlic until soft, then I add in some diced tomatoes (usually 3 - 4 or 1 can drained), some broth to cover it by about 1/2" or so, a 1/2 tsp or so of dried basil and oregano, let that simmer for about 20 minutes, then add in a can of garbanzo beans and either some fresh spinach or arugula (usually 1 cup per person) and let that cook until everything is hot and the greens have wilted down - about 10 more minutes. Today, I have a lot of kale so I will be using those as my greens and, because they are so tough, I will add them in with the diced tomatoes.

2. Broiled Tofu steaks are so fast and easy - - I originally read how to do this in Veganomicon, but have since learned how to just eyeball it and add what it looks like it needs when I think it needs it! Basically, I just slice the tofu to 1/2" slabs (approximately), lay them in a cast iron pan coated with a light spray of olive oil and then add in the marinade: about 2 T. of Braggs liquid aminos (or you could use low-sodium soy sauce), 2 T of water, the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, and one minced clove of garlic. I broil (adding more of the mix as needed, I usually have to make more during the cooking). I broil the whole thing for about 30 - 45 minutes (depending on how much time I have). It's delicious, good, and the family eats it up. :)

3. Taco Thursday this week is only because I am craving mexican food!!! We are having tacos made out of whatever veggies I have on hand!!

Thanks to everyone for commenting about the rutabagas - - seems like a lot of people were in the same boat as me - - never having eaten or seen a rutabaga!!

We at maple glazed rutabagas

Buttered rutabagas

and Rutabaga soup (which looked A LOT like potato leek soup!
Please click on the link to go back to the post with the recipe.)

I was surprised at the number of people who HAD eaten rutabagas before! Ro, Efar, and Kristina all have different ways of eating and incorporating rutabagas into their menus - check out their ideas here.

Since I was out picking vegetables, and having so much fun yesterday:

Do you grow veggies (or fruit) at your house? What do you grow?

I am fortunate to have my mom and my aunt's sister's gardens for me to pillage - or just browse through! I don't have a space for growing veggies - - every time I do, it seems like the bugs or the birds get to enjoy them before I ever do.

I have linked up this week's menu here:
Making Monday Marvelous
Market Yourself Monday
Mouthwatering Monday
This Week's Cravings
Make a Food - E - Friend Monday
Tasty Tuesday Parties
Thursday Recipe Hop Parties

Happy Eating!!

More later! :)

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Quick Microwave-able Beets

We had so much fun today - Sunday is our "Family Fun Day" - just the three of us hang out and do a bunch of things together that we don't get to do during the week. Early this morning, we dressed up in sweaters and took a walk, then came home, hung out, and then got ready to go for a late lunch. There is this (relatively) new restaurant by our house called Kavikas - it's mostly upscale bar food, but it was soooo good. Afterwards, we went over to the Aquarium of the Pacific. The aquarium is something we usually do only occasionally, but we decided to drop in and see what was new. There is this exhibit there called the Lorikeet Forest and there are all these free-flying Lorikeets. You can feed them, but Miss No-No and I never do (since they may bite if you jerk or jump when they land on you). HOWEVER, Mr. No-No was not at all worried. He ended up having this one bird alllll over him - even on his head!! And then, out of nowhere, this bird started gnawing on his ear (!) and poor Mr. No-No didn't know how to get him off without getting hurt!!! :(  They ended up sending over their sudo-EMT person to take care of him (and he also got a free plush - lol).

Beets are in season right now - and we are loaded down with them!!! :) This recipe is a quick and easy way to make beets (which usually need to be cooked for about 45 minutes on the stove top to get them tender).

Microwave Beets

1 bunch of beets

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

lemon juice or balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Peel beets and cut into 1/2" dice. Place in a glass microwave-able dish and cover with water. Microwave beets for approximately 8 - 10 minutes (or use your "fresh vegetable" setting on your microwave). Remove beets from microwave, drain, and let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the beets with olive oil, a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, add garlic and salt and pepper (to taste) and mix. Serve and enjoy!!!

I served this with some sauteed rainbow chard (1 clove of garlic, minced, in olive oil, add sliced chard, saute for a minute, add 1-2 Tbs water, cover and steam for 5 minutes, remove lid and cook off most of the water) and a chicken-style gardenburger.

The whole dinner takes about 15 minutes and is delicious and nutritious!

What kind of things do you cook for a quick meal?

What are your go-to ingredients to put something together quickly?

Share your ideas with me and everyone else! While I have a lot of ideas of my own - - I welcome all kinds of comments - and I am sure everyone else who reads this feels the same way. Every new thing I learn helps ME live a richer life (and that's better for my family and myself!).

Have a great week!

More later!! :)

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Borscht / Beet Soup

It's been cold here lately so I have been making tons of soup!!! :) I love hot soup on a cold or rainy day. Cooking them warms up my kitchen, warms up my body, and it's just plain good for my soul.

This recipe came from Toni Fiore's Delicious TV series. I have made this soup so many times now that I pretty much have it memorized (so it may not be the EXACT recipe, but that's where it started from - and I love how it comes out). Mr. NoNo is Russian and Polish - and this soup is a total treat for him. 

I love Toni's recipes because they are quick and easy...nearly everything is something that I can whip together on a weeknight and it takes the hassle out of trying to get a super healthy, nutrient packed dinner on the table. Another thing about Toni's recipes that I love is that they all taste delicious. I have never made anything out of her cookbook (or from her show) that I have thought, "Well, that was OK, but it won't be on my regular rotation", or something like that - the food is good. And, unlike some vegan / vegetarian recipes, she is generally not trying to imitate something else. It's just basically delicious and wholesome....and we can all use that in our lives!

...and I know I'm raving a bit, so - no - I didn't get paid for this, I don't actually KNOW Toni, I just love her cooking style...

I usually use just a bunch of beets - whatever I get out of my CSA basket; I generally use whatever kind of potatoes I have on hand (as long as they are some shade of brown); and I love dill, and will use fresh when I can, but generally beets and dill don't usually come in the CSA basket at the same time, so I usually use some dried - use less if you aren't a dill fan, or leave out completely - the soup is still good without.

Toni Fiore's Borscht

1/2 brown onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced

3 or 4 red beets, peeled and diced

2 medium potatoes, washed and diced

1 apple, diced

3 cups of vegetable broth

dried dill (for garnish)

Saute onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent and carrots are soft, approx. 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cook for 30 seconds longer. Add vegetable broth, beets, potatoes, and apple. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with pinches of dried dill (1/8 tsp).

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do - - it's amazing that you can get soooo much flavor in a soup without adding ANY spices (it smells great even before you add the dill!).

If you tried it, how did it come out? And if you modified it, let me know the details!!! :)

More later!! :)

Red Hands!

Miss M has been waking up early (still!) since the time change a couple of weeks ago...It's so nice that I get to see her before I leave for work every day. Usually, she kind of attaches herself to SN - - since he's the first one she sees, I guess...but, it still is fun to talk to her for a minute or two before I head out the door.
This morning, for some reason, she came straight into the kitchen (instead of going into our bedroom) and she attached herself to me (yeah!!! I LOVE IT). So we walked around the house for about 10 mins together and she just followed me around - - until she saw SN, of course!! Hahahaa. Anyways - at one point, we were talking about something and she said - Mommy, you have a shirt on - - and I told her that I had it on because I was going to work and she looked at me and said - Wooooowww. (Like she was really impressed - - or maybe, like I was the kid telling her a story and she was the adult) Hahahaha. So funny.
She really is talking a lot now - and starting to make us laugh even more. I don't want to forget anything, so I am just going to run through it all here:
The other day, she told me something, and I said - really - and she said - Mommy, I'm serious. Hahhahaha.
Last night, she and SN were watching TV and there was a plane on whatever show they were watching. She told SN that she went on a plane once. When he asked her where she had gone, she said - I went to See-attle. :) We were shocked - even though we were there less than a year ago, we are just surprised that she remembered it - so cool.


Last night, I was finishing up dinner and I looked down at my hands and did a double take!! Red Hands!!! My hands were red all night, but thankfully, the rest of it washed off in the shower this morning...
Obviously, we had beets for dinner last night! I cooked them up the night before so all I had to do last night was take them out, slice them up, and add them to the salads:

Organic Beet Salad
4 organic beets (boiled for approx 40 mins, cooled, peeled, sliced)
2 clementine-stlye oranges (peeled and sectioned)
1 head of lettuce (cleaned and chopped)
handful of toasted walnuts

Layer lettuce, beets, oranges, then walnuts. Cover with dressing.

For the dressing, I just used a couple of tablespoons of vegan homemade sour cream (1/2 block of silken tofu, couple tablespoons of olive oil, splash of lemon juice, and cider vinegar processed in the food processor), mixed with some safflower oil and salt and pepper. mmmmmm-mmmmm
I know, its so simple and easy, but I need some things to do with beets besides roasting them with other veggies or just eating them plain on the side. I was trying all kinds of things, sauteed with greens, on the side with lemon dressing, but this was fast and easy - and I don't want to forget it, so I've got it here!
More later !
:)