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the first beets from my garden and a lovely salad!

4/12/2022

4 Comments

 
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First Beets from the garden & Salad
     Back in January, I put in my 2022 garden here in Phoenix.  I have a grow box, a few things in the ground out of the grow box, and some containers.  It seemed like I waited forever for the seeds to germinate, but they finally did.  The beets I planted were the first things to come up.  

      Did I say beets?  I told you in this post about how I don't really love to eat beets, but I found ways to include them in my diet because they are so good for you!  The great thing about beets is that you can eat the entire plant!  Even before you can harvest the beet root, you can cut off some of the leaves to include in your salads or other dishes where you would use healthy greens.  I even used some beet leaves as the lettuce in BLTs already this year!  (Check the aforementioned post for some recipes!)
      Well, today, I was out watering the garden and checking it over when I saw the first shoulders of some beets pushing above the soil!  I was so excited!  I also noticed that there were 2 of them that were kind of close together crowding each other out.  I made the decision to harvest them.  They are a beautiful variety of golden/orange beet and I was over the moon about bringing them in and using them in our dinner salad today! 
first beets from the garden
Obviously, these could have stayed in the ground a little longer, but when they are small like this, they are tender and sweet.
     I certainly wasn't going to let any of these beauties go to waste.  I decided to make a salad with the beet greens, baby spinach from my garden, green onions that I grow on my window sill, the beets, cut into shoestrings and marinated, and a chopped tomato, the only thing that wasn't from my garden. (But, my tomatoes are flowering as I speak!)
first beets and spinach
Baby spinach growing in my front flower bed!
first beets from the gardenand onions in the window
Onions in my window
​Preparing the Beet Root:
      To prepare the beets, I simply removed the greens about 1/2 an inch above the root and boiled the beet roots until they were fairly soft, in salted water.  The time to do this will vary depending on the size of your beets.  
       After the beets come out of the water, the outer skin will slip right off.  
       Next, I sliced them into shoestring slices and marinated them in Italian dressing, spiked with a little red wine vinegar.  
      
Preparing the Greens:
      Just wash the beet tops as you would spinach.  I removed the stems and tore the tops into bite size pieces and put them in my salad bowl.  
       Next, I went out and harvested as much baby spinach as I thought I would need to mix with the beet tops and washed them and added them to the bowl.
         I decided that the green onions would be a nice addition, so I snipped a few stems from those and washed them.  Then, I chopped them up into the salad.

     When the greens were all in the bowl, I gave them a toss.  See how great they look! I am a proud grower of this salad! 
first beets from the garden and salad
This photo may have been taken before I added the onions.
       Now to add color, I diced up a tomato.  I tossed it into the salad and then finally I added the beets.  I didn't pour the marinade over the salad.  That may have been good, but I decided to allow my family to choose their own dressing instead.  I'm really glad I marinated the beets though, they tasted so good, not pickled, but sweet and flavorful and not like dirt! 
first beets of the garden and salad
Doesn't that look appetizing? And I grew almost all of it!
Beet Salad with Salmon
     This salad was the perfect accompaniment to our broiled salmon at dinner tonight.  I was in heaven!  My linger covid tastebuds barely bothered me at all!  
     How are your gardens doing this year?  I am having so much fun with mine!  If you don't live in Phoenix, you may just be thinking about putting yours in.  I hope you will give beets a try! 
​
​Other posts like this that you may enjoy:
  • Spinach Salads that Make the Meal
  • An Inexpensive Fairy Garden for my Grandkids
  • Wood Burned Garden Markers

4 Comments
Grandma's House DIY link
4/18/2022 07:48:32 am

Thanks for sharing with us I'll be featuring you this week when the next To Grandma's house we go link party starts!

Reply
Dee | Grammy's Grid link
4/21/2022 11:52:44 am

Nothing beats homegrown food! I love beets but I have never seen them this color. Bet they were yummy! Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 75. Pinned.

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Helen at the Lazy Gastronome link
4/22/2022 10:25:07 am

Visiting from Grammy's Grid unlimited linky- your beets are beautiful!!! I haven't been able to plant due to unexpected snow and freezes! I'm so ready!

Reply
Dee | Grammy's Grid link
5/19/2022 04:52:55 am

Visiting again to say thanks so much for linking up at A Themed Linkup 109 for Vegetable Gardening. Pinned.

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