Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad

Everyone loves pickled beets, but I decided to do something different. I looked for something unusual and ran into a salad that looked interesting. Some of the things they put in there I didn’t care for, or I didn’t have in my garden, so I started with beets. Then I came up with a version that my wife and I would like. You see, the only way my wife likes beets is just plain cooked with salt and pepper. I like that too, but these recipes are to inspire, not just go with the flow.

I started with roasting a few beets and carrots from the garden. I roasted them at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes, in foil, until I could run a knife through them easily. I took the beets and carrots out and let them cool before I peeled and chopped them into large bite size pieces. Next I added some salt and pepper to taste.

Then I went to the garden looking for some greens. I grabbed a handful of climbing spinach and also a handful of chard that I had planted for a fall crop. I added the leafy greens to the beets and carrots, added a bit of zesty Italian salad dressing, and topped it off with a bit of smoked gouda cheese. Now I had a salad that was different than the ones we traditionally eat. Salads don’t have to be boring.

I like to leave my beets and carrots in the ground as long as I can. Mother Nature has a way of making them sweeter.

Beets can be harvested any time after they get at least 2 inches in diameter but I usually wait until they are around 3 inches. Don’t leave them in the ground too long or they can get woody. If you are running out of time, you can preserve them by cutting them up and freezing them for up to 8 months.

Carrots I sometimes leave in the ground almost all winter. I use Mother Nature as my freeze box. She can preserve carrots better than I can, and the longer I leave them in the garden, the sweeter they become. The downside is that when I need some, the ground is too frozen. After a week in Colorado it generally thaws and I can harvest a batch.

I like to grow some unusual greens. My fall lettuce wasn't to size yet, which is why I always plant a climbing spinach for the hotter times of the summer. Climbing spinach, or malabar spinach, isn’t really a spinach, but a leafy vine that is a great substitution for lettuce in the heat of the summer. The hotter the temperature is, the faster it grows. It doesn’t like the cold soils. The succulent leaves and stem tips are rich in vitamins A and C and are a good source of iron and calcium. They may be eaten raw in salads, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups, stews, tofu dishes, and curries. Or you can use them as a filling for quiche, omelets, savory turnovers, and potpies.

Hopefully you try some of these things in your garden next year.