Before we get to our regularly scheduled blog post....
Congratulations to our own Ruthy! "Refuge of the Heart" has won the Maggie award in the inspirational category! Yay, Ruthy!
Now we get back to the beets. Why beets?
For one thing, I happen to love them. :)
Second, they're versatile. You can pickle them, fry them, make a casserole out of them...and the greens are the best part! Similar to spinach or swiss chard.
Third, they're very healthy. An "excellent" or "very good" source of manganese, folate, copper, and potassium. They're also high in Vitamin C, dietary fiber, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Plus a whole slew of other great stuff. Remember that we've been taught to eat colorful vegetables? Beets are about as colorful as they get with their deep red color.
Fourth, my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Katie, brought some home from her mother's garden last week. :)
The first step in any beet recipe is to cook them. I washed them, pricked holes in them with a fork, and then roasted them at 300° for about 2 1/2 hours.
Once they're roasted and cooled, you can peel and slice them.
Now that you've reached this point, you can use them in just about any recipe under the sun.
I decided to try them in a casserole, similar to something my grandmother might have made with beets out of her garden.
Beet Casserole
ingredients:
about 3 cups beets, cooked, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
pinch salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
more butter
plain bread crumbs
Make a white sauce with the butter, flour, milk and salt. If you aren't sure how to make a white sauce, go here:
Basic White Sauce
Once the white sauce is made, add the brown sugar and stir in. Enjoy the light brown color - it will soon be pink!
Stir the white sauce into the sliced beets and place in a casserole dish. I used an 8" x 8" baking dish.
Top with a sprinkling of bread crumbs and dot with butter...
Then bake at 375° for 20 minutes.
Serve this as a vegetable side dish for an autumn treat. :)
Speaking of autumn, we've been enjoying fabulous fall weather here in the Black Hills!
Beautiful blue skies, warm temperatures, and golden aspens!
Nothing like three years ago this weekend...
That's when winter storm Atlas decided to pay us a visit!
You can read all about that storm here.
But there's a funny thing about living in the western plains - you get used to huge and quick weather changes.
We spent Saturday at Devils Tower in 80° weather.
Gorgeous. Even the climbers thought so.
Can't see them? Let's try a closer shot.
But in October there's a different feeling in the air than in the middle of the summer. We may have been in the 80's over the weekend, but by Tuesday our highs will be in the 50's and lows in the 30's.
Even the animals feel it. Have you ever seen such a fat prairie dog?
So we prepare, even on days like Saturday. The ranchers pull their cattle in to the winter pastures. I take the fall inventory of our pantry. We gather in, batten down, store away, and button up.
Because you never know when the temperatures will drop, the wind will howl, and you will glad of the fire in the stove!
Are you getting ready for winter yet?
Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.
