10/8/07 Caught Beet-Handed

"Peg, it still tastes like a beet."

It all started at the grocery store. There was this large display of beautifully shiny purple eggplants on sale. I was drawn to them and had to buy one. The next day, I got home from work, sliced up the eggplant, treated it with salt, and left the slices to drain in a bowl while Jon and I went for a walk. After we got back, I wrung out the eggplant and prepped the slices for oven-roasting. Had Jon been there in the kitchen with me, he would have seen the gears churning in my noggin. (But alas, he was not) "Hmmmm, what else can I roast in the oven besides the eggplant? Wait a minute, I have 3 beets from the last produce box. They need to be roasted."

Now, I don't know how many of you have ever cooked fresh beets, but they are really quite messy. The last time I cooked beets from the produce box, they were the golden and white varieties. No mess, no stain. But this time, they are the deepest, darkest, well, beet-reddest beets you have ever seen. I took precautions. Cutting board is out. Quartered them on a porcelain plate (not good for the knife but no stain). Three medium sized beets and my kitchen looked like a slaughter house. Into the oven they go, along with the eggplant slices. OK quick! Clean up before Jon sees any evidence of beets. Oh, did I mention Jon cannot stand beets? Um, yeeeeah, not a fan of the beet.

To blantantly serve just roasted beets and eggplant would be quite bold. And eating veggies really doesn't make it a meal. Meat as the main entree with the roasted veggies would be ideal, but no meat in the house. Then a grain perhaps... Couscous saves the day.

As Jon sat down at the dinner table, he asked what we're having. My response was "If you don't like it I'll make you something else." That alone should have tipped him off, but I often make disclaimers prior to serving a meal. He looked at the big bowl on the dining table and asked what it was.

"Couscous. It's couscous, with roasted vegetables."
"Hey, the couscous is pretty good. Hey wait a minute, what's that red chunk. Are there beets in here? What the..."
Okay, to his credit, he ate one. "Peg, it still tastes like a beet."
"I said I would make you something else if you don't want it."
"Disclaimer does not equal disclosure Peggy."

In produce box:
bok choy
cucumbers
kale
limes
apples
grape tomatoes
slicing tomatoes
zucchini