Blushingly Beautiful Beeeeeets

Alrighty bloggies, we are closing in on summer produce which means the realm of possibility is opening wide for our weekly meal planning. This week I am going to post a meal planning "how to" so that the new possibilities for what to cook, buy and eat don't overwhelm you. As of now I have made it clear to eat seasonal produce but there's more...
I'm assuming some simple guidelines that I've found to work quite nicely in my life will be much appreciated in yours. Until I get it all organized in blog format, I wanted to post one last spring vegetable dish!

I attended the CO farmers market early saturday morning hoping to get some inspiration for this week's seasonal produce meal. To be quite honest, I was a bit disappointed at the lack of produce until I remembered that Colorado's growing season doesn't really begin until August.  I therefore resorted back to my seasonal produce chart that I posted for you last week and chose beets!! At least they are in season for most areas: )

It only took a few flips through my favorite cook books before I found the perfect recipe as well: Quinoa, beet and cilantro salad. With warm summer afternoons on the horizon this week, I envision this dish to make the perfect picnic entree... It also spotlights one of my favorite grains. QUINOA!! Once you wrap your lips around the name you'll fall in love with it because it truly is a super star in many respects. Native to South America, Quinoa used to be referred to as "gold of the Incas" and for good reason. It contains all 9 essential amino acids (the important ones that we can only get through diet) making it an excellent choice for those of us who don't eat meat everyday.  Enough said. Test out the recipe that I made this week and I think you'll have a very good introduction to the tastiness of quinoa. I could post hundreds of other quinoa recipes but I'll try to refrain myself. (I'll be throwing out plenty more quinoa ideas in the future no worries: )

Here's the recipe: 

3-4 medium beets, washed and trimmed (do not peel before you cook)- excellent support for your liver! (warning- they also put some strange hues in your pee... TOTALLY normal)

1 c. (240 ml.) dry quinoa- can be bought in the bulk section at any natural grocer

2 cups (480 ml.) water

1 white onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced or grated

grated rind of one lemon

juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

2 T. (30 ml.) apple cider vinegar

3  tsp. (10 ml.) mustard (this is what I used: Eden Brown Mustard)

1/3 cup (80 ml.) fresh cilantro, chopped-very detoxifying

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Wrap beets in foil and bake until extremely tender, about 45 minutes-1 hour.  Let cool, then peel off the skins and dice into 3/4 inch (2-cm.) cubes.  Set aside.

Bring water to boil in a small heavy saucepan.  Rinse quinoa well and add to water.  Return to boil, then reduce heat to low and cover.  Allow to simmer, untouched, for 25 minutes, then check to see if water has been absorbed.  

In a nonstick frypan, heat oil and add garlic, onion and lemon rind.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then add vinegar, lemon juice and mustard.  Remove from heat. 

Add beets to cooled quinoa.  Pour onion mixture over quinoa and beets. Toss well until quinoa is tinted pink.  Add cilantro and enjoy!!!


 This salad is even better the second day, after flavours meld.  Makes 4 servings.


My good friend Cara is in town with  me this week and together we prepared the recipe in about 15 minutes (not counting the time it took to cook the beets). 

Cara after slaughtering the beets: )

We then packed a picnic, hopped on our bikes and headed to the park...

Our arrival at the the perfect picnic area in Washington Park

What a fun evening.... Plan a fun picnic this week for yourself!: )

The Final Product!!