Russian Salad:

Simply take 1 or more cucumbers depending on how much salad you want- peel, and cut into slices approximately 1/4-1/2″ thick. Cut those in half to make half circles.

Slice several tomatoes (preferably romano) into thin wedges.

Thinly slice some onion into the bowl.

Chop some fresh dill into the bowl.

Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Toss and serve.

Keep in mind that if you plan to refrigerate or leave the salad sitting out for long, you may not want to add the salt right away, and may need to scoop the tomato innards out before mixing, otherwise you’ll have a lot of liquid left over.

Alternative: My father sometimes substitutes sour cream for the olive oil and adds a little crushed garlic. It’s very, very nice.

They’re also one of the easiest foods to make. And yes, beets can be eaten raw, but I prefer the texture of them cooked.

If you want to make roasted beets, all you’ll need is a bunch of beets (they usually come 3 beet roots to a bunch), an oven safe bowl, some foil, and a knife.

Clean the beets well. They don’t need to be scrubbed since the skin will be coming off of them after they’re cooked, but you do want to get most of the dirt off.

Next, take the knife and cut the beet stems about an inch above the beetroot (the bulb part). Leave the dangly bit of the root attached, and try not to damage the skin. Even the golden beets have juice that can stain, it’s just not as bright as the juice from red beets.

Place a layer of foil in the bowl, and place the beets on top of the foil, so that they’re nestled in the bowl (or pan, or what have you). Cover with more foil, and press the foil down tightly around the edges.

Place the covered bowl into the oven, and bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 45 minutes to an hour for small to average sized beets. You may need longer for very large  beets, or for roasting larger quanities.

Often, you can tell when the roasted beets are thoroughly cooked just by smell. When the oven starts giving off the aroma of beets, they’re nearly done. I also add a bit of water to the bowl if the beets are particularly large, to keep them from burning during the extended cooking time.

Once the roasted beets are finished and cooled enough to touch, simply pinch off the long root stem, and the stems at the top. Gently squeeze the beet to break open the skin, and peel it off. I recommend rinsing the beets once peeled, since some of the dirt from the outside may remain.

You can slice beets any which way, and top with anything you wish (oil, butter, herbs, salt & pepper), but I like them best just plain and a little warm.

For an extra nutritional punch, baby beets can be used since they don’t need to be peeled before being eaten, and beet greens are wonderful in salads, sauteed, or my favorite- used in home made fried rice! For more information on the health benefits of beets, please see my other posts.

Heat your skillet to medium, and coat lightly with olive oil. Rough chop 1/4 of a small red cabbage and throw into the pan to begin cooking. Add a Tablespoon or so of diced onion. Peel and mince 1 large clove of garlic or 2 smaller cloves into the pan. Give the contents a good stir, adding more oil if necessary.

Take the greens from 3-6 beets and wash well. Tear beet greens into largish pieces (about 3″ pieces) and add to the pan. Give it another good stir or toss, adding oil if necessary. Continue to sautee until beet greens are done to your desired softness (they will not turn to mush like spinach will). Add salt and/or pepper to taste, serve.

If you don’t have access to the cabbage or beet greens, a bag of baby spinach, or a bunch of bok choy can be substituted for either.