No One Wants to be Defeated

Beets are an intimidating food. Not only are they always covered in dirt (and where do you go from there?) but so many people seem to have expressly bad opinions of their taste that buying them and going to the trouble to scrub off that dirt doesn't seem like it would be worth it. My mom is one of those people who never liked beets, whenever they were an option at family gatherings she would refuse saying, "They taste like dirt!". Needless to say, I didn't grow up learning how to eat beets but then again, I didn't grow up learning how to eat a variety of foods, yet somehow I've managed pretty well.
My sister and I attended the http://fultonstreetmarket.org/ last weekend. I had thought we were going to the beach afterward so I'd worn my swimsuit under a sundress. The market was busy, lots and lots of amazing food and I ran into a few friends which was great. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the beach that day. I did get wet but it wasn't in the lake. After we'd been at the market for about 15 minutes, it poured on us. Water collected overhead as people darted to avoid getting wet around us. The water, gathering in the tents above, spontaneously overflowed in rain-waterfalls showing no mercy and drenching those without cover of umbrella. I was one of those, good thing I was wearing my suit! We actually enjoyed ourselves despite the weather and were able to purchase plenty of food.
In an attempt to use up our http://www.doubleupfoodbucks.org/ we surveyed all the vegetables and my sis kept acting so interested in the beets that I felt like we needed to just try them. In the past, I'd had some delicious beet-goat cheese combinations so we bought some local chevre as well.
Scrubbing and roasting beets is nowhere near as scary as it seemed to me. It took about 10 minutes to scrub them. After they were all clean, I poured on some olive oil and sprinkled a little salt on them and wrapped them in a big foil bundle. They were in the oven at 375 for about an hour before the skins looked loose and they were easily pierced by a sharp knife. After letting them cool, the skins peeled off easily. Done, I had roasted beets. The color was outstanding and juice seeped out of them... oh beautiful beet juice! I left them in the fridge for a day or two before we made this salad and they were really tasty. Next time I might mix a little balsamic vinegar with the olive oil "dressing" for a hint of sweetness. Oh and by the way, they didn't taste like dirt. Don't let the dirt, rain or anything else beat your need to stay well fed!

Simple Roasted Beet Salad with Chevre

4 or 5 raw red beets
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cups baby arugula
3 oz crumbly chevre
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scrub beets clean and rinse well. Place the beets on a large piece of foil and pour the 2 tbsp olive oil over them. Sprinkle with the salt. Wrap the beets up in the foil and place in the oven. Allow beets to roast until tender enough to be very easily pierced with a sharp knife (about one hour). Once beets are tender, remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, peel skins off of the beets and discard. Dice the beets into chunks (be careful of the juice, it stains). Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven until just fragrant. Remove and allow to cool slightly, then chop roughly. In a large bowl combine the arugula, walnuts and beets. Crumble the chevre over the top and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Toss well, until chevre has a slight pink hue from the beet juice. Serve immediately.