Sauteed Beets

As much as I love summer, fall is a nice way for summer to end. The weather is beautiful -- warm during the day, crisp at night -- the foliage is gorgeous, and the farmer's market may actually be even better!

Last week, I went to the farmer's market and picked up, among other things, a bunch of beets. They looked and smelled just delicious. Ok, maybe looking delicious is an overstatement, as they are a root vegetable and they were covered with dirt and little stringy roots sticking out all over the place. But they did smell great and looked like they could be delicious with a little work.

Of course, once I got home, I realized that I had no idea how to cook beets.

Thank goodness for Google! I googled away and found a yummy beet recipe. Even better, it used the greens and stems from the beets, as well. I like cooking the greens on root vegetables whenever possible. It just seems less wasteful.

Sauteed Beets and Greens

Ingredients:
1 bunch beets with greens attached
2 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic
salt
pecans or walnuts
sunflower seeds

1) Cut stems and greens from beets.

2) Scrub and peel beets.

3) Cut into 1/4 inch slices.

4) In large frying pan, heat 1 TBSP olive oil and 1/4 cup water over medium heat. Add beets, cover, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

5) While beets are cooking, wash stems and cut into 2 inch pieces.

6) When beets are tender, add stems, cover and cook for about 3 minutes.

7) Peel and dice garlic. Add to pan and cook until fragrant.

8) Chop greens. Add to pan and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.

9) Divide between 4 bowls. Sprinkle with nuts and sunflower seeds.

Yummy! And once the dirt and stringy roots are removed, don't the beets look delicious? What a great color! Word of caution, though: beets stain. Wear an old crappy shirt when making this. Trust me.