Beets with Mustard Vinaigrette

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this, but growing up, we ate 4 vegetables--potatoes, canned corn, canned beans, frozen "California" vegetables (that consist of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots). When I was younger, my mom made brief forays into other areas--squash, spinach, peas, but was usually met by much resistance from the peanut gallery (shocker). Mom was a lover, not a fighter, so most of those vegetables we fussed about fell to the wayside.

When I got married, I'd never tasted an avocado, artichoke, asparagus, beets, cabbage, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and a host of other vegetables. Some I'd eaten like pumpkin and zucchini, but only in dessert form.

I've come a long way since then, but when I found myself with a big fat beet leftover from my borscht, I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I remembered reading about a beet vinaigrette salad and the idea of a sassy vinegar/mustard combo perking u the sometimes too-earthy beet appealed to me.

Good thing too, because that salad rocked. The beets keep their sweetness, but lose their too-earthiness. I still don't know if it can make beet converts out of people, but it could definitely make a beet-lover out of a beet-fence sitter.

Beets with Mustard Vinaigrette
adapted from Dr. Weil
makes about 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time (for beets): 1 hour
Sit time: 4-24 hours

1 pound beets (2-3 largish ones)
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp mustard (Dijon is good, but normal works too)
1 small onion, chopped
salt to taste

Cook your beets. You can boil them or roast them at 350-375--just flop them in whole. It will take about an hour--you should be able to pierce the beet easily with a knife.

When they're cooked, let them cool, then take the skins off. Everyone says they "slip" off, but mine didn't slip as easily as I'd thought they would. Still they came off just fine.

Cut your beets into a small dice or slivers.

Add other ingredients, mix, and let sit for 4-24 hours.

Eat. Yum.

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